The Baltimore Ravens' nightmare 2025 season ended at the hands of their arch-rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers, in Week 18. Tyler Loop's missed kick and Chidobe Awuzie slipping to give Calvin Austin a wide-open touchdown will forever live in infamy.Â
On the bright side, this embarrassing loss to cap off an 8-9 season triggered some much-needed offseason changes, including a new coaching staff, a revamped pass rush, and an improved offensive line.Â
Still, it's not enough for everyone to buy into the Ravens. Recently, Jarrett Bailey of SB Nation predicted that the Ravens would once again lose to the Steelers in Week 18 and miss out on the playoffs.Â
As painful as this deja vu scenario may sound for Ravens fans, it's not very realistic. Thus, fans should be able to laugh at Bailey's prediction.Â
The Baltimore Ravens improved enough to avoid familiar fate
Baltimore's 2025 season was derailed by two main factors: injuries and poor roster construction. The first problem could always pop up again, but that the might be the only possible scenario where the Ravens could find themselves battling to make the playoffs in Week 18. Their new-look roster is simply that well-balanced, and it's miles better than the Steelers' roster.Â
Last season, the Ravens put forward arguably the league's worst guard duo, Daniel Faalele and Andrew Vorhees. Even if losing starting center Tyler Linderbaum hurts, adding first-round pick Vega Ioane and sturdy veteran John Simpson in place of Faalele and Vorhees upgrades their interior line. Plus, Ethan Pocic is a solid starting center. This upgraded o-line should give Lamar Jackson ample protection and, in turn, help him return to his MVP standards.Â
The Ravens' inability to generate pressure also caused their defense to spiral. Notably, they ranked in the bottom five for sacks and pressure rate. That will surely be different with the additions of Trey Hendrickson, Calais Campbell, Zion Young, and Jesse Minter's system.Â
Speaking of Minter, he and the rest of the coaching staff should be a breath of fresh air, as Lamar said. Frankly, the Ravens were a disjointed team last year with questionable play-calling on both sides of the ball. Minter, Declan Doyle and Anthony Weaver should all help solve this problem.Â
Simply put, the Ravens addressed all of their fatal flaws and have Super Bowl upside this season.Â
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a tier below the Ravens
Ok so we've established that the Ravens have improved, but what about the Steelers?Â
Mike McCarthy replaced Mike Tomlin, who stepped down after another Wild Card Round exit, which feels like a lateral move at best. Likewise for replacing "Team MVP" Kenneth Gainwell with Rico Dowdle. They did trade for Michael Pittman, which upgrades their receiver room. Jamel Dean and Jaquan Brisker are also genuine upgrades to their secondary.Â
However, are we really going to sit here and act like the Steelers had a better offseason than the Ravens? I, for one, don't see how you could argue this.Â
And lest we forget, 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers is still their quarterback. When you have an aging and, at this point, limited QB, your ceiling is inherently lower.Â
The Steelers were slightly better than the Ravens last season. One team improved marginally, and another team improved by leaps and bounds.Â
So think about it: What are the chances the Steelers win the division and the Ravens miss the playoffs? Realistically, not very strong. Ultimately, while Bailey's prediction might trigger some bad memories for Ravens fans, it's worth nothing more than a good laugh, as Baltimore has bigger fish to fry than the Steelers.Â
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