Steel City Underground scouts the Pittsburgh Steelers’ opponents each week of the 2025 NFL regular season ahead of the games to preview the upcoming matchup with a focus on key players, potential outcomes, news, and the latest social media chatter.
The Baltimore Ravens enter Week 14 of the 2025 NFL regular season with a 6–6 record, perched atop the AFC North despite a rocky beginning and a holiday-week stumble. They’ll tangle with the Pittsburgh Steelers who had held a sizeable division lead before sliding to 6-6 in the past couple of weeks. We scout the Ravens ahead of their division meeting with the Steelers.
After a dismal 1–5 start — their worst since 2015 — Baltimore has shown signs of life, winning five of its last seven games. The resurgence reflects a more balanced output on offense and an increasing emphasis on establishing the run.
According to team stats, the Ravens are averaging 136.8 rushing yards per game heading into Week 14. Baltimore would like to put even more emphasis into the run against Pittsburgh.
“We have Lamar Jackson; we have receivers; we have tight ends; we have all that – but we want to always be a team that runs the ball and stops the run. That’s been [the case] since 2008. It’s not going to really probably ever change, and that’s really what football is.” – Head coach John Harbaugh
On offense overall, Baltimore has amassed 4,205 total yards, with 1,421 on the ground and 2,924 through the air. They are converting third downs at a modest 53 of 141 rate and have managed 16 of 28 fourth-down attempts. But their scoring has been just middle of the pack — averaging 24.1 points per game over 13 weeks per Pro Football Reference.
Still, the climb back to .500 and into first place in the division underscores resilience behind an offense that has begun to reflect the Ravens’ traditional formula: run first, control the clock and lean on playmakers when needed.
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At quarterback, Jackson remains the pivot — his 1,841 passing yards lead the team. Jackson has been dealing with knee, ankle, and toe injuries this season, but was active in practice on Wednesday. It was his first Wednesday practice participation in a while.
On the ground, Derrick Henry has powered a rushing attack that ranks among the top five in the NFL in yards per game. But, the Ravens are coming off a 32-14 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in which Henry had just 10 rushing attempts, despite averaging 6.0 yards per carry. After breaking loose for a 28-yard touchdown run on Baltimore’s opening drive, Henry had just five carries the rest of the game, and none in the second quarter.
Offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley said. “I think we just have to keep it going and keep the momentum going, and we make sure that’s our identity, and we have to make it work.”
In the passing game, Zay Flowers leads the receiving corps with 767 yards so far in 2025. Meanwhile, tight end Mark Andrews remains a reliable target in the red zone and on key third downs.
“We’ve had ups and downs… Now we’ve got to show the kind of Ravens grit that gets it done when it matters.” – QB Lamar Jackson
Baltimore’s defense has seen a dramatic and at times volatile season. Through 12 games in 2025, the Ravens were allowing 24.4 points per game per StatMuse. That places them in the lower half of the league — hardly the stingy unit the franchise is known for.
Over their first five games, Baltimore surrendered a franchise-worst 35.4 points per game — the highest five-game stretch in team history.
Baltimore’s run defense struggled, tackling was inconsistent, the pass rush was largely ineffective, and opposing quarterbacks exploited coverage in the secondary. It is a pattern the Pittsburgh Steelers defense has witnessed this season as well, making this game a late-season defining point.
The mid-season trade bringing in veteran safety Alohi Gilman, and repositioning playmaker Kyle Hamilton closer to the line of scrimmage, helped stabilize the secondary and bolstered run-stop fundamentals. Over the subsequent stretch the defense allowed fewer than 20 points per game in multiple outings — a stark contrast to the early-season woes.
While the defensive line — per recent analysis by Pro Football Focus (PFF) — ranks among the league’s best in 2025 (top overall grade, pass-rush grade, run-defense grade, leading all defensive lines in PFF WAR), the unit’s pass-defense numbers remain concerning. Over the season, opponents have generated substantial yardage in the air, and when pressure has faltered, coverage has suffered.
Against the Steelers, this mixed defensive profile could play a pivotal role. If Pittsburgh finds its identity on offense once again, and it happens in Week 14, Baltimore will need to hang on tight to stay in the division rivalry game or risk dropping in playoff seeding and contention.
