Ravens vs Steelers Week 18 Sunday Night Football Betting Picks

The Pittsburgh Steelers will host the Baltimore Ravens with the AFC North title on the line. This is a simple win-and-in situation. The winner of this game will host a playoff game as the fourth seed in the AFC.

These are two teams that are leaning on their defenses. It’s also a divisional matchup for the playoffs, which tend to bring more defensive success.

The Steelers currently rank 10th in the NFL in points allowed (.341) per play. They’re giving up 21.1 points per game at home this season. They’ve also been quietly successful against some solid offenses in recent games.

The Ravens only rank 16th in the league in the same category (.366), but they’ve been dealing with injuries throughout the season. They’ve been drastically better in recent games, allowing only .280 points per play over their last three games. Granted, that number is slightly inflated by a shutout against the Cincinnati Bengals.

These are two teams that have seen inconsistent production on offense this season. Pittsburgh ranks 11th in the NFL in points (.405) per play, while Baltimore ranks seventh in the same category (.432). Overall, these teams are combining to average 48.2 points per game.

The key for the Ravens is that they’ve been struggling with Lamar Jackson at quarterback. He’s been dealing with injuries, and it’s clearly limiting him. Baltimore is averaging only 21.2 points per game over Jackson’s last five “healthy” games. He played only 88% of the offensive snaps against the Cincinnati Bengals, but that game was counted.

The majority of the Ravens’ recent success was with Tyler Huntley at quarterback. That is likely more of a coincidence rather than the expectation, but it’s fair to believe that Jackson is playing at less than 100% at the moment.

The Steelers have flashed offensively recently, but they’ve also struggled quite a bit. They’ve posted 27, 28, and 29 points in three of their last five games, but they also scored 7 and 6 points in their other games. They are far from an offense that should be expected to produce week in and week out.

This is the type of game environment that leans more towards the defenses. Both of these teams have found more defensive success recently, and I expect that to be the case on Sunday Night Football as well.

Where to Bet: Baltimore Ravens & Pittsburgh Steelers under 41 points | -120 at BetMGM

2025 NFL Season Betting Record: 25-41