Steelers-Ravens Flexed to Sunday Night Football

The Week 17 Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens game on Sunday, Jan. 1 has been flexed to 8:20 p.m. on NBC and WPXI in Pittsburgh.

The Steelers-Ravens game was originally scheduled for a 1 p.m kickoff from M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. The Steelers and Ravens haven’t played in primetime since Week 4 of the 2018 season. From 2001 to 2018, the Steelers and Ravens played 14 primetime games against each other in an 18-year span. The Steelers were scheduled to face Baltimore on Thanksgiving night in 2020, but a Ravens COVID-19 outbreak forced the game to get pushed back to Wednesday at 3:05 p.m.

To make room on the Week 17 schedule, the Los Angeles Rams vs. Los Angeles Chargers game will move to 4:25 p.m on CBS.

The Steelers are still in the playoff hunt, but are long shots to make it with a 3% chance. The Ravens may be without Lamar Jackson (left knee) for the fourth straight game and Pittsburgh could be eliminated from playoff contention before Sunday night.

The Steelers lost to the Ravens in a nail-bitter, 16-14, in Week 14 at Acrisure Stadium. Calias Campbell had a key blocked field goal and Baltimore racked up 215 yards on the ground without Jackson. Kenny Pickett was knocked out of the game early in the first quarter after Roquan Smith slammed him. Mitch Trubisky relived Pickett and tossed three interceptions, all of which occurred in Ravens’ territory. That game snapped a four-game Pittsburgh winning streak in the rivalry.

The Steelers are 32-25 all-time against the Ravens, which Mike Tomlin holds a 17-15 career record against John Harbaugh.

The Ravens have already locked up a playoff spot by defeating the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. Jackson’s status for Sunday will be key, as the Ravens are a completely different team with the 2019 League MVP under center. Pickett will get a second chance at his first experience of the rivalry, after leaving six plays into his first contest between the teams.