AFC North fans rejoice, there will be a third installment in the division's fiercest rivalry this season as the No. 3 seed Baltimore Ravens host the No. 6 seed Pittsburgh Steelers in next week's wild card round.
Of course, these two teams split the regular-season series, with the home team winning both games. The Steelers won 18-16 in Week 11, while the Ravens won 34-17 just under a month ago in Week 16. Baltimore had lost eight of the past nine games in this rivalry before that Week 16 victory, but earned a major confidence boost late in the season.
These two rivals enter this game heading in complete opposite directions. Baltimore enters the playoffs on a four-game winning streak, while Pittsburgh enters on a four-game skid. Their opposite trajectories allowed the Ravens to steal the AFC North crown after the Steelers held it for most of the season.
For a while, it looked like the Los Angeles Chargers would be coming to Baltimore as the No. 6 seed, whereas the Steelers would be the No. 5 seed and travel to face the No. 4 seed Houston Texans. However, the Chargers won their final three games, including Sunday's 34-20 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders, to earn themselves a better seed. That sadly means we won't see a second edition of the "HarBowl" between John Harbaugh's Ravens and Jim Harbaugh's Chargers (unless they meet later in the playoffs), but Ravens-Steelers Part III is just as juicy, if not more so.
As for the final AFC wild card game, the No. 2 seed Denver Broncos will host the No. 7 seed Denver Broncos, who are making their first playoff appearance since winning Super Bowl 50 nine years ago.
Dates and times for wild card weekend will be announced soon.
