OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — John Harbaugh said he has some coaches and players coming to watch Pittsburgh play Cleveland in a game that could knock his Baltimore Ravens out of the playoffs.
When the Browns won and temporarily saved Baltimore’s season, the reaction was as you’d expect.
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“It was a no-gag guy. It was loud,” Harbaugh said. “It was great. Everyone was jumping up and down, excited and happy. Lots of hugs.”
Now it’s time to get back to business for the Ravens, who are unlikely to have a chance to win in the AFC North against Pittsburgh on Sunday night. To survive, Baltimore needs to win last weekend in Green Bay and lose to the Steelers. Both outcomes occurred.
Despite Lamar Jackson’s absence, the Ravens (8-8) defeated the Packers 41-24 on Saturday night. Jackson has been recovering from injury, but Tyler Huntley improved to 2-0 this season as the starting quarterback, and Derrick Henry ran for 216 yards and four touchdowns.
The Browns then defeated Pittsburgh 13-6 on Sunday. Harbaugh said he didn’t watch that game as a coach.
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“Honestly, I’m in fan mode,” he said. “I’m complaining about the game call.”
Harbaugh said he’ll have a better idea Wednesday about Jackson’s status for the next game, but the Baltimore coach dismissed the idea that Huntley’s success would make the Ravens hesitant to bring back Jackson.
“The fact that we have a lot of confidence in Tyler is a big positive, a real advantage, but it doesn’t have any bearing on whether or not Lamar plays,” Harbaugh said. “If Lamar is ready, he’s going to play.”
Jackson has missed four games this season with hamstring and back issues, but he played earlier this month when the Ravens lost 27-22 at home to Pittsburgh.
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The rematch will be the final game of the entire NFL regular season and will feature a major showcase on national television.
After that, both teams struggled for most of the season but failed to make it out of the division.
“It’s a great opportunity. We have the conference championship game on Sunday,” Harbaugh said. “We’ve worked hard to get to where we are. There are many different paths in football, there are many different paths in life and this is the path for the 2025 season. So here we are and our goal is to make the most of it.”
This is the second straight season that the Steelers and Ravens are playing elimination games. Baltimore defeated Pittsburgh 28-14 in the playoffs in January.
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If Jackson is able to play, it would be an opportunity for him to get through a tough stretch. He strained his hamstring in Week 4, and Baltimore was 2-5 when he returned. The Ravens won their first four games with him back, but he’s dealing with other health issues and still hasn’t practiced a full week since early November.
Home losses to Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and New England meant the Ravens faced elimination heading to Green Bay, with Jackson missing the second half against the Patriots. He was unable to play against the Packers, but Harbaugh said his back injury was progressing last week.
“Things were not good at all early in the week, but as time went on, things improved,” Harbaugh said. “That’s reason for optimism.”
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