Week 18 of the NFL season will feature multiple games that carry massive playoff implications. That is the nature of a sport with so few games in its regular season: The top seed in both conferences is still up for grabs, and several divisions have yet to crown a winner. But while there are plenty of games that will likely be more entertaining to watch, the matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens finds itself on Sunday Night Football for a reason.
The rivalry between these teams — and head coaches Mike Tomlin and John Harbaugh — has become one of the most heated and memorable in NFL history. Despite the Ravens only existing since 1996, the matchup has given us a string of iconic moments that have come to define the 23-year history of the AFC North division.
With Harbaugh and Tomlin nearing the end of their 18th and 19th seasons, respectively, the outcome of their clash this weekend could mean much more than who earns the No. 4 seed in the AFC playoffs. Speculation about both coaches has been one of the biggest storylines in the lead-up to this winner-take-all matchup, and major changes could be coming for both franchises based on the result.
Legacies, futures, glory. It's all on the line in the NFL's regular-season finale. Let's dive into what the potential fallout could be from the Steelers and Ravens' do-or-die clash.
Two legendary coaching legacies are at risk in Steelers-Ravens Week 18 showdown
If you are under the age of 30 and a fan of either of these teams, you may have a hard time remembering anyone but Tomlin and Harbaugh roaming the sidelines. They have been at the helm of their squads for a combined 37 years now, with Tomlin joining Pittsburgh in 2007 and Harbaugh joining Baltimore in 2008.
That long of a run with one team is rare throughout NFL history, let alone two of them concurrently in the same division. Both Harbaugh and Tomlin now sit among the top 10 longest tenures with a single franchise. But despite that success, each fan base has good reason to consider moving on.
From 2017 to the present day, both franchises have regressed in an all-important area: playoff success. Both coaches have had excellent regular-season records during that time, with Harbaugh going 95-53 and Tomlin sitting at 89-57-2. However, the Ravens are just 3-6 in the playoffs, while the Steelers are a dreadful 0-5.
For all intents and purposes, Week 18 is a playoff game for both of these teams. Only the victor will have the opportunity to try to improve upon their dismal do-or-die records over the last decade, while the other will go home sad. For Harbaugh and Tomlin, it could also mean seeing one of their jobs finally be at risk, one way or another.
Lamar Jackson and Aaron Rodgers look to save their seasons from disappointment
Lamar Jackson and Aaron Rodgers are at very different points in their careers, but Sunday night will mean a lot to both of their legacies. Both have had turbulent 2025 campaigns, with Jackson dealing with multiple injuries and Rodgers doing his best to keep Father Time at bay.
Regardless of which of their seasons ends in Week 18, this offseason will be centered around what happens moving forward for both MVP passers. Rodgers could very well be playing his final game in the NFL — or at least his last for the Steelers. Jackson, meanwhile, continues to take heat in the media, between the report from Mike Preston of the Baltimore Sun and questions about his long-term ability to stay on the field.
As crazy as it may sound, there seems to be a chance that both of these quarterbacks could be on different teams (or no team at all, in Rodgers' case) in 2026. Winning tends to cure all in the NFL, however, which adds even more pressure to their upcoming duel for the AFC North title.
Do I really expect Jackson, in particular, to play elsewhere in 2026? No, but the fact that it's even being talked about brings back memories of the 2021 season, where it seemed that the Ravens were hesitant to sign him to a long-term deal. Nothing ultimately came of it, but this situation feels different. A loss in Week 18 may be what pushes Baltimore to make a huge change, and that change may be at QB.
Rodgers has less on the line, as his career is nearing its end regardless of the outcome (and he's already got a ring). But after two wasted seasons with the New York Jets in 2023 and 2024, it's hard to imagine he will be content ending his career on a team that choked away a playoff berth.
T.J. Watt, Cam Heyward are running out of time to cement their Steelers legacies
Many great players will be on the field Sunday night for both the Steelers and Ravens, several of whom are either Hall of Fame locks or on that trajectory. Both QBs will almost certainly be enshrined one day, with six MVP trophies between them. Derrick Henry entered the top 10 in career rushing yards this season, and he's not done adding to that total quite yet.
Two Steelers lifers, however, are the ones who need this win the most. T.J. Watt and Cam Heyward have nothing left to prove on the field, as they both are among the best defensive players to wear a Pittsburgh uniform. Fans know how much that means, as no team is more well-known for its defensive history.
Still, one element of being an all-time Steelers great has alluded them: a Super Bowl victory. Pittsburgh last played in the Super Bowl back in the 2010 season, a year before Heyward was selected in the 2011 NFL draft. Watt didn't join the team until he was drafted in 2017, the beginning of the Steelers' dry spell when it comes to playoff success.
The fact that neither have even won a single playoff game is hard to fathom, and yet here we are. Nobody should be blaming the playoff drought on either player, but both undoubtedly will be viewed in a different light compared to their counterparts of the Steel Curtain era. I can already see the word "but" being tossed around frequently in future conversations if they don't win the big one.
Let's be real, though: winning in Week 18 doesn't guarantee them anything but a slim chance of changing that. The AFC may be having a down year overall, but the Steelers would be the least intimidating team in the playoff field. And even if they managed to get through the AFC unscathed, multiple NFC playoff teams would be nightmare matchups for them in the Super Bowl. Still, all either player wants as their careers get closer to the end is a chance.
Steelers and Ravens are at a crossroads, and their next moves could come down to Week 18
The modern NFL is a league full of parity, where teams can quickly go from afterthoughts to contenders in just a season or two. Just look at teams like the Patriots and Jaguars this season, both of which have gone from drafting in the top five to winning double-digit games in one year.
They did it, at least partially, by allowing themselves to have a few down seasons to rack up draft capital and cap space. It gave them the flexibility to take risks on free agents and high-upside draft prospects, and they are better off for it. They also had to find the right coaches, of course, and they managed to nail that as well.
That isn't how the Steelers and Ravens have operated with Tomlin and Harbaugh at the helm, and it's become clear that something must change if they want to get back to the promised land. Both owners, Pittsburgh's Art Rooney II and Baltimore's Steve Bisciotti, need to do something to reinvigorate their franchises — whether it's finally moving on from their head coaches, switching things up at QB or leaning into a soft rebuild by shedding older players and accumulating draft capital.
Pittsburgh is in the best position to undergo that kind of transformation, but will it be willing to? How long will Rooney be willing to sit by as his team fails to make noise in the playoffs? Or is he happy to just be in the mix every year, something Tomlin is perhaps the best in the league at?
It's impossible to know for sure, and the same goes for the Ravens. They theoretically have the right QB (when he is healthy), so is Harbaugh the one who needs to go? All of the rumblings around the league seem to suggest something will be changing for the loser of this game, but what that will be is anyone's guess.
The bottom line is this: Week 18 will undoubtedly have a major impact on not just this year's playoffs, but the legacies and futures of several prominent players, coaches and franchises. You certainly won't want to miss a second of it.