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The Ravens’ playoff dreams are alive.

The Cleveland Browns’ 13-6 upset win Sunday over the AFC North-leading Pittsburgh Steelers has set up a winner-takes-all game next Sunday night at Acrisure Stadium. With a Ravens win in Week 18, they would claim their third straight division title. With a Steelers win, the Ravens would miss the playoffs for the first time since 2021.

Kickoff is scheduled for 8:20 p.m. NBC and Peacock will air the “Sunday Night Football” telecast.

Here’s what Banner reporters and editors make of the rivals’ dramatic regular-season rematch.

It’s there for the taking

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: The Ravens should win this one.

The Steelers are better equipped to stop Derrick Henry than any of the defenses the Ravens have run over in recent weeks, but did you see their offense Sunday? Wide receiver DK Metcalf’s absence will loom large. The availability of wideout Calvin Austin and tight end Darnell Washington could also be in question. And coach Mike Tomlin told CBS, if outside linebacker T.J. Watt can’t practice as a full participant all next week, he won’t be active.

This is a banged-up Steelers defense, and the Ravens’ physicality has forced one opposing player after another off the field and onto the injury report. The Ravens would love to have Lamar Jackson fully healthy. But Tyler Huntley has shown he’s a more-than-capable steward, too.

— Jonas Shaffer, Ravens reporter

Battle of misfits

These Steelers are eminently beatable. They rely on the run, which the Ravens are stout against. Their pass game is composed completely of DK Metcalf, as the Browns proved Sunday, although Cleveland has a much better pass rush than the Ravens. But Metcalf will be out against the Ravens, too. Although the Steelers’ defense shut down the Browns after the first quarter, that doesn’t matter if the offense can’t score. And, if the Ravens stick to the run as they did Saturday, they should get something going — at least enough to beat this team that could put up only six points.

The Ravens don’t deserve this chance at the playoffs — but neither do the Steelers. This is going to be a battle of the unworthy. However, it won’t be easy because it never is with these two teams.

— Giana Han, Ravens reporter

‘Deserve’ has got nothing to do with it

The Ravens have been inconsistent and underachieving. They probably haven’t earned a shot at the playoffs. But, thanks to the worst team in the division, they’ll get a chance anyway. It feels as though the Ravens are gaining confidence at just the right time to play well in the postseason … if they can only win in Pittsburgh, which has been a nightmare venue for them.

DK Metcalf’s absence means Aaron Rodgers will struggle to test the secondary vertically the way he did in their first meeting. Obviously it would be better to have Lamar Jackson healthy for Week 18, but if he’s not, the run game looks strong enough to power the offense with Tyler Huntley at quarterback. The only real remaining question is if the pass rush, which has been ineffective for most of the year, can bother Rodgers. It should be close, but the wind looks to be at the Ravens’ back for this winner-takes-division rematch.

— Kyle Goon, columnist

They’re doing this thing, aren’t they?

The NFL couldn’t have scripted it better. Just when it seemed the walls were closing in on John Harbaugh and the Ravens, they pull out a season-saving win in Green Bay. Then their divisional rivals do them a solid, and now these two teams will battle in Pittsburgh with the division on the line. Do either of these teams really deserve to be in the playoffs? It doesn’t matter — one of them is getting in.

Ravens fans might be feeling whiplash after they’ve been subjected to this season. Baltimore’s offense, with its recommitment to Derrick Henry, looks formidable again. The defense is concerning, but the way the Steelers’ offense played without DK Metcalf on Sunday, it might be good enough. This game will be a coin toss.

— Paul Mancano, Banner Ravens Podcast co-host

Once more, with feeling

A season that should have never dipped to where it was, then improbably got rescued, then appeared to be fumbled away again, will culminate with a game in Pittsburgh for the AFC North title and a playoff spot thanks to the heroics of the Cleveland Browns and a QB who didn’t want to play here.

Sure.

Do I want to say what I think might happen next week? I do not, because the Ravens have rarely made sense this year. But the Steelers were beyond feeble Sunday. This game will be hyped as another chapter in a historic rivalry, but both teams are backing into it, led by longtime head coaches who inspire from their fan bases more doubt than trust. What a weird season. What a fitting end.

— Chris Korman, editor