Steelers of Pittsburgh (10-3)
The AFC North-leading Steelers’ schedule doesn’t get any easier after they emerged from a taxing run of four consecutive divisional games with a 3-1 record and a two-game lead in the rankings. In Week 15, they will take on the Philadelphia Eagles. As part of Sunday’s late schedule of games, two of the best and most physically strong teams will square off in an interconference matchup in this regular season version of the Battle of Pennsylvania.
This Sunday’s game will be the first time these two teams have faced each other since the Eagles crushed the Steelers 35–13 in Week 8 of the 2022 season, which was played at the same location.
This time, Philadelphia’s top-ranked rushing assault, led by league-leading rusher and MVP candidate Saquon Barkley, will present Pittsburgh and its strong defensive front with one of their most difficult games of the season as the Eagles look to win ten straight games.
The Steelers are entering this matchup without a wealth of injuries with just four players listed on Wednesday’s initial report for non-rest-related ailments. However, three of the four are key starters with the most notable being third-year wide receiver George Pickens who leads the team in receiving yards and is expected to miss his second straight game due to a hamstring injury. He was one of three players to sit out of practice on Wednesday with the other two being Larry Ogunjobi (groin) and defensive back DeShon Elliott (hamstring). The only full participant of the quartet was defensive tackle Montravius Adams (knee).
Ravens of Baltimore (8-5)
The defending AFC North champions will take a quick train trip to play the lowly New York Giants on Sunday afternoon, setting them up for a huge comeback from their eagerly anticipated and well-earned bye week. They have a strong chance of winning this interconference game, which many predict will serve as the springboard for a late-season surge.
This will be the first time these two teams have faced each other since the Giants hosted the Ravens in Week 6 of the 2022 season and defeated them 24–20.
Since Lamar Jackson took over as the starting quarterback in the middle of his rookie campaign in 2018, this was the first time a club captained by the franchise quarterback had suffered a loss to an NFC team. With just two victories this season and eight straight losses, New York isn’t nearly as strong of a foe this time around.
The Ravens have returned from their bye week in good health considering this time of year with just five players listed on Wednesday and all but one was a full participant in practice. Rookie safety Sanoussi Kane (hamstring) was the only player who sat out while wide receiver Rashod Bateman (knee) and outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy (hamstring/neck) returned to the practice field while veteran nose tackle Michael Pierce (calf) and rookie cornerback T.J. Tampa (ankle) are on pace to be activated from injured reserve.
Bengals of Cincinnati (5-8)
When they travel to play the struggling Tennessee Titans, they will be hoping to record back-to-back victories for the first time since October and only the second time this season. They just had their first victory in more than a month, which helped keep their fading hopes of making the playoffs alive. They are 5-1 this season against teams that are below.500, and the Titans’ 3-10 record is much below that threshold, even though they are 0-4 against teams who have a winning record.
These two clubs will face off in the regular season for the third consecutive year; the Titans won a stunning 27-3 thumping victory in Week 4 of the previous season.
Sunday’s bout will also be Cincinnati’s first against former offensive coordinator Brian Callahan who is in his first season as the head coach in Tennessee so both sides will have plenty of familiarity on both sides of the ball.
Cincinnati is a little banged up coming off a short week having played on Monday night and had five players listed in Wednesday’s initial injury report for not-rest-related reasons. The only limited participant of the bunch was quarterback Joe Burrow (wrist/knee) while defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins (illness), linebacker Joe Bachie (hip), offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr. (fibula) and wide receiver Charlie Jones (groin) all sat out.
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