The Baltimore Ravens got their postseason assignment on Saturday by beating the Cleveland Browns 35-10. The Pittsburgh Steelers could have done the same, but they’ll have to wait for the outcome of Sunday’s Los Angeles Chargers-Las Vegas Raiders games after losing 19-17 to the Cincinnati Bengals, who must sweat out Sunday to see if they’ll go to the playoffs at all.
By completing their regular-season schedule with a 13-5 record, the Ravens enter the playoffs as the AFC North champions and will play a first-round home game. Baltimore will be the No. 3 seed in the AFC field behind the No. 1 Kansas City Chiefs and No. 2 Buffalo Bills.
Pittsburgh would have been the AFC North champ if the Ravens had lost and the Steelers had won on Saturday. After Baltimore’s Saturday afternoon win, Pittsburgh could have locked up the AFC’s No. 5 seed by beating the Bengals on Sunday night. Instead, the Steelers suffered their fourth straight loss to drop to 10-7 and need the Chargers to lose to the Raiders on the final Sunday of the regular season. Otherwise, Pittsburgh will fall to the No. 6 seed, which will be the Ravens’ opponent in the first round.
Cincinnati closed its regular-season schedule with five consecutive victories to raise its record to 9-8. But to get into the postseason field as the AFC’s third wild-card team and No. 7 seed, the Bengals need the Denver Broncos to lose to the Kansas City Chiefs and the Miami Dolphins to lose to the New York Jets on Sunday.
Sixteen players from Alabama high schools and colleges got on the field during the NFL’s Saturday doubleheader:
Baltimore Ravens 35, Cleveland Browns 10
Ravens cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis (St. Paul’s Episcopal, Alabama) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
Browns cornerback Tony Brown (Alabama) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
Browns guard Javion Cohen (Central-Phenix City, Alabama) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
Ravens wide receiver Malik Cunningham (Park Crossing) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
Ravens guard Darrian Dalcourt (Alabama) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
Mohamoud Diabate (Auburn High) started at linebacker for the Browns. Diabate made five tackles.
Browns safety Chris Edmonds (Samford) did not record any stats. Cleveland elevated Edmonds from its practice squad to make him eligible to play.
Browns running back Jerome Ford (Alabama) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
Derrick Henry (Alabama) started at running back for the Ravens. Henry ran for 138 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries and caught two passes for 23 yards. Henry scored on 2-yard run with 6:44 to play and a 43-yard run with 3:04 remaining. By finishing the regular season with 1,921 rushing yards, Henry set an NFL record for the most in one season by a player at least 30 years old.
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Marlon Humphrey (Hoover, Alabama) started at cornerback for the Ravens. Humphrey made four tackles and broke up one pass.
Jerry Jeudy (Alabama) started at wide receiver for the Browns. Jeudy had six receptions for 63 yards.
Browns tight end Cameron Latu (Alabama) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
Ravens nose tackle Michael Pierce (Daphne, Samford) made the first interception of his NFL career. Pierce picked off a pass by Cleveland quarterback Bailey Zappe in the fourth quarter at the Baltimore 16-yard line and returned it 6 yards.
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Browns defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson (Alabama) was designated as a game-day inactive. A knee injury kept Tomlinson out of the lineup. He had started every game this season for Cleveland.
Browns linebacker Nathaniel Watson (Maplesville) made two tackles on defense, broke up one pass and recorded one tackle on special teams.
Browns offensive tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. (Alabama) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
Browns quarterback Jameis Winston (Hueytown) was designated as a game-day inactive and served as Cleveland’s emergency third QB.
Browns defensive end Alex Wright (Elba, UAB) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris carries the football for a touchdown during an NFL game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh.(AP Photo/Matt Durisko)
Cincinnati Bengals 19, Pittsburgh Steelers 17
Steelers nose tackle Montravius Adams (Auburn) made two tackles.
Jordan Battle (Alabama) started at safety for the Bengals. Battle made one tackle.
Bengals wide receiver Jermaine Burton (Alabama) was designated as a game-day inactive.
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Minkah Fitzpatrick (Alabama) started at free safety for the Steelers. Fitzpatrick made three tackles.
Steelers cornerback Zyon Gilbert (Jeff Davis) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
Najee Harris (Alabama) started at running back for the Steelers. Harris ran for 36 yards and one touchdown on 12 carries and caught four passes for 20 yards. Harris scored on a 1-yard run as Pittsburgh cut Cincinnati’s lead to 10-7 with 9:54 left in the first half. Harris went to the locker room after taking an unpenalized helmet-to-helmet hit in the fourth quarter but returned to the field before the game ended.
Bengals defensive end Cedric Johnson (Davidson) made one tackle and registered one quarterback hit.
Bengals safety Jaylen Key (UAB/Alabama) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
Steelers outside linebacker Eku Leota (Auburn) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
Bengals guard Tashawn Manning (Auburn) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
Bengals kicker Evan McPherson (Fort Payne) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
Steelers linebacker Jeremiah Moon (Hoover) did not record any stats.
George Pickens (Hoover) started at wide receiver for the Steelers. Pickens was thrown to six times but had only one reception for zero yards.
Cam Taylor-Britt (Park Crossing) started at cornerback for the Bengals. Taylor-Britt made two tackles and broke up one pass.
Steelers punter Corliss Waitman (South Alabama) averaged 42.6 yards on five punts, with a net of 37.8 yards. Waitman had a 39-yard punt returned 6 yards to the Cincinnati 33-yard line, a 39-yarder out of bounds at the Cincinnati 16 after he fumbled the snap, a 50-yarder returned 18 yards to the Cincinnati 36, a 43-yarder downed at the Cincinnati 13 and a 35-yarder muffed and recovered by Pittsburgh at the Cincinnati 38.
Steelers wide receiver Quez Watkins (Athens) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.
