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The stage is set and the stakes are clear.

With a win Sunday night over the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Ravens would claim a third consecutive AFC North title and the conference’s No. 4 playoff seed.

With a loss at Acrisure Stadium, one of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history would end short of the playoffs.

“We’ll be playing a division championship game on Sunday,” coach John Harbaugh said Monday.

And the drama has already started. Here’s what reporters Jonas Shaffer and Giana Han, columnist Kyle Goon and “Banner Ravens Podcast” co-host Paul Mancano make of a season-defining matchup.

The Ravens’ two most impressive wins this season came with Tyler Huntley playing QB. Would you consider rolling with Huntley, even if Lamar Jackson is healthy enough to play?

Shaffer: Does anyone calling for Huntley to start remember the last half we saw from a healthy Jackson? He was 7-for-10 for 101 yards — almost as many yards as Huntley finished with Saturday in Green Bay — and averaging a blistering 0.49 expected points added per play against the Patriots.

If T.J. Watt is healthy enough to return to a Steelers pass rush that already features Alex Highsmith, Nick Herbig and Cameron Heyward, the Ravens will need their best escape artist under center. Huntley is mobile, but he also takes a lot of sacks. Jackson’s pocket management this year hasn’t been great, but he gives the Ravens their best chance for explosive plays. If Jackson feels physically fine, he should be mentally prepared for battle, too. If Jackson has any trepidation, Huntley should get the call. He’s already won in Pittsburgh once before.

Han: The key word here is “enough.” If Jackson is healthy enough to play but still far from full strength, I don’t know if I would risk it. Don’t get me wrong, I would take a truly healthy Jackson any day of the week, even if it’s against the Steelers, who have often been his and Harbaugh’s kryptonite. But Jackson hasn’t been remotely near full strength all season, and he has struggled.

Huntley showed speed that Jackson has but currently can’t seem to access. The backup’s been a good enough game manager that the Ravens should be able to beat this broken-down Steelers team at less than full strength. And if the Ravens get into the playoffs, then Jackson has had more time to heal. And if they don’t, well, they probably didn’t deserve to anyway — and Jackson’s health won’t be at further risk. So yes, I would consider Huntley depending on how healthy Jackson truly is.

Goon: Don’t overthink it. Huntley has been serviceable, but he doesn’t replace a two-time MVP. Jackson showed strong signs of improvement in his passing before his back bruise, including a few downfield zips in Cincinnati. The vertical threat is precisely what Huntley lacks. The Ravens can’t even pose the threat of going deep to Rashod Bateman and Zay Flowers without Lamar on the field. Baltimore can still design a conservative, run-heavy game plan around Jackson instead of Huntley. But the vet backup is a backup for a reason.

Mancano: Not even a little bit. Huntley appears to have taken major steps in his development this season, and has proved he deserves to recapture the backup spot behind Jackson in 2026. But one of these guys is Lamar Jackson, and the other isn’t. End of discussion.

A struggling Ravens pass defense will have to stop a Steelers offense missing top wideout DK Metcalf. How do you see that matchup playing out?

Shaffer: On paper, the Ravens should have the advantage. Then you remember that Bo Melton, a Packers wide receiver turned cornerback who’s played 83 offensive snaps all season, beat Nate Wiggins for a 34-yard catch Saturday. Then you start to reconsider.

As always, this matchup isn’t just about Ravens cornerbacks versus Steelers wide receivers. It’s also about the Ravens’ pass rush versus the Steelers’ pass protection. If Zach Orr’s defense can’t pressure Aaron Rodgers — he was hit just once in Week 14 — then it won’t matter if the Ravens’ coverage holds up for the first three seconds of a play. Zones break down over time, and that’s when Rodgers can find soft spots downfield.

The Ravens stopped a much more capable quarterback in Week 15, when they blanked Joe Burrow and the Bengals. Where’s that mojo gone in the past two weeks?

Han: The loss of Metcalf was always going to be a blow, considering the Steelers’ game plan should be to target the Ravens’ struggling secondary. But this goes further than that. The Steelers won’t have tight end Darnell Washington (who suffered a broken arm against the Browns), and speedy receiver Calvin Austin was out last week with a hamstring injury.

While Harbaugh made a point of rattling off all the Steelers’ other weapons, there truly aren’t enough to spread Baltimore’s defense out. The Ravens will be able to focus on stopping the run with less worry about the remaining depth receivers beating their stars in the secondary — who, even struggling, are of a higher caliber.

Goon: Recall that Rodgers’ first throw back in Week 14 was a 52-yard bomb to Metcalf, the only Steeler really capable of giving a consistent downfield scare factor. In Pittsburgh’s loss to the Browns, Rodgers ran into the wall of throwing fades or 50-50 balls to his receivers who were not the 6-foot-4, blazing fast Metcalf. While the Ravens have hardly been world-beaters in the secondary in the last two games, they face a passing game with far fewer true threats than the Patriots or Packers had.

Mancano: Metcalf’s absence cannot be overstated. He carved up the Ravens’ secondary in Week 14, reeling in seven catches for 148 yards. He was particularly effective on fade routes and deep balls. Against the Browns, Rodgers showed he won’t stop taking those types of shots, even with Metcalf out. Baltimore should have the advantage against Calvin Austin (if healthy) and Marquez Valdes-Scantling.

Would getting into the playoffs guarantee the Ravens run it back next year with John Harbaugh and Lamar Jackson?

Shaffer: It’d be hard to imagine Steve Bisciotti not wanting Harbaugh back. No team has ever won three straight AFC North titles; how many coaches would want to come work for an owner knowing that they could be fired despite making history? Yes, the Ravens’ playoff failures are a stain on the franchise’s recent history, including Harbaugh. But even if Harbaugh finds his job security to be a distraction, how many other franchises could offer a team this close to breaking through?

Jackson seems like a good bet to return, too, regardless of how Sunday goes. He’s under contract through 2027 and has a no-trade clause. The Ravens’ Super Bowl hopes — this year and in the years to come — depend on keeping him happy and healthy. But Jackson’s among the NFL’s most inscrutable stars. We’re only a few years removed from an out-of-the-blue trade request. Only a handful of people know what Jackson really wants.

Han: You would like to think that owner Steve Bisciotti would see beyond the shiny title of AFC North champions to what this season actually was: a massive underperformance in all areas by a star-studded team. Making the playoffs in a terrible division shouldn’t be good enough, especially when the Ravens’ window is closing, whether they want to admit it or not.

But only Bisciotti knows the parameters of success and failure that would merit moving on from his good friend Harbaugh. Maybe he decides this year is a fluke. He was right when he decided to stick with Harbaugh before. But with Jackson, along with a list of other stars, getting older, there’s less time to let this play out.

Goon: If the Ravens win Sunday, based on the results, you’d probably not change a thing. Even in a down year, the AFC North is really tough to win three times in a row, and the Ravens have overcome some significant injuries to be in this position. That being said — the process involved was not good. Had the Ravens found a way to not blow late leads against Buffalo and New England (or found an answer after the disappointing Isaiah Likely incompletion ruling against the Steelers last time), they would have at least controlled their own destiny.

I foresee Steve Bisciotti keeping Harbaugh, especially after extending him earlier this year. There’s a comfort level with Harbaugh’s consistency and approach that makes him hard to dismiss after a down year. But the cracks in the system have been clearly visible in 2025, and perhaps one more early postseason exit makes Bisciotti wonder if the Harbaugh-Jackson pairing is the winning one. Despite some recent bluster, Jackson (who should have a third MVP on his mantel) is probably staying put in Baltimore no matter what happens.

Mancano: I don’t think anyone but owner Steve Bisciotti knows the answer to this question, but I have a hard time believing the Ravens would make drastic changes even if they lose Sunday. For all their postseason shortcomings, Harbaugh and Jackson have formed one of the best regular-season pairings in the NFL for seven seasons now. I don’t see that coming to an end, especially if they reach the playoffs again.

Of the two teams with the best odds for the AFC’s No. 5 seed — the Houston Texans (55%, according to ESPN) and the Buffalo Bills (31%) — which would be a better matchup for the Ravens?

Shaffer: Considering the state of the Bills’ run defense and Josh Allen’s injured foot, probably Buffalo. The Ravens’ rushing attack is finally starting to pair consistency with explosiveness, which can be a lethal combination against the Bills’ defensive front. The Ravens’ run defense, meanwhile, looks nothing like it did in the teams’ season opener, when Buffalo steamrolled Baltimore. Since Week 8, the Ravens rank first in expected points added per run play and third in rushing success rate, according to RBSDM.com.

The Texans’ defense is good enough to win a playoff matchup single-handedly. Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr. are elite edge rushers, and I wouldn’t trust the Ravens’ receivers to get open consistently against Houston’s secondary. If the Ravens struggle to move the ball, C.J. Stroud would need only a few big completions to secure a win. He already cooked the Ravens in Week 5, and he should feel even better about where this Texans offense stands now.

Han: In past seasons, I would have said the Texans, without a doubt. But as we’ve all seen, things are shifting this year. So it is very weird to say I’d rather see the Ravens against the Bills. Josh Allen scares me, especially with the comeback he almost mounted against the Eagles, but the Bills have been far less consistent than the Texans. The worst thing the Ravens can do is play a consistent team that can capitalize on their incomplete games.

Goon: The bad energy of ill-fated Ravens trips to Buffalo may give you some pause here. But folks may forget that before the Ravens got nailed by one of the worst meltdowns in recent memory in Week 1, they were absolutely crushing the Bills in Orchard Park. Baltimore’s run game is perfectly suited to control possession against Buffalo’s 29th-ranked run defense (I’d rather see them than Houston’s salty group). Josh Allen is obviously a problem for any defense to handle, but if the Ravens could bottle up James Cook, they’d have a pretty good shot at exacting revenge for last year’s playoff defeat.

Mancano: Bills. There is no hotter team in the NFL than the Texans, who have rattled off eight straight wins, beating the Jaguars, Bills and Chargers along the way. Houston ranks 11 spots below Buffalo in points per game scored, but they have a wide receiver — Nico Collins — who’s racked up 1,117 yards this season. As we know, the Ravens have had their issues with No. 1 wideouts.

What could the Ravens do in a win Sunday, if anything, to change your opinion of their postseason prospects?

Shaffer: If Jackson looks anything like his old self, and if the Ravens’ running game keeps rolling along, I think they could make it as far as the AFC championship game. This is a flawed field of contenders. Everyone is vulnerable.

The Ravens’ problem is that two of their biggest weaknesses — red-zone offense and rushing opposing QBs — tend to expose would-be contenders in the playoffs. Todd Monken’s up-and-down attack won’t have much margin for error if it settles for field goals instead of touchdowns. And Orr’s defense hasn’t been disruptive enough up front to make up for a surprisingly unsteady secondary.

Han: Besides getting Jackson healthy and looking like his old self, I want to see this defense play an all-around good game against a top-tier offense. Unfortunately, the Steelers can’t present that challenge for the defense. So I think even with a win, I will be uneasy about their postseason chances.

Goon: I have very little faith that the Ravens will do this on Sunday, but a blowout win on par with their performance in Cincinnati would get me to start to believe. The Steelers, to be honest, aren’t very good (especially without their best receiving threats). Jumping on turnovers and manufacturing points like we expected to start the year could produce not just a win, but a lopsided one. We all know a healthy Lamar is a prerequisite to any expectation of success beyond Week 18, but playing with a lot more polish and dominance for the division crown might sway me a bit in an AFC field that is thick with teams that have unproven stars.

Mancano: Lamar Jackson would need to play, and play well. This team has a ceiling without him, and though their shaky defense might prove their downfall no matter what, you’d feel a lot better with your two-time MVP at the helm in a win-or-go-home game.