The NFL playoffs kick off on Saturday with the Wild Card spherical that options probably the most compelling slates of first-round matchups in years, given the truth that each crew within the postseason this yr received at the very least ten video games, and the title is vast open.
One former participant has his eye on one explicit crew, which he believes is “out of excuses” after years of playoff disappointments.
On Saturday morning’s NFL pregame present on ESPN, former quarterback Alex Smith mentioned, “I feel all of the strain is on Baltimore. They lead the league in Professional Bowlers once more. They’re almost definitely going to have the MVP once more. They’re taking part in at dwelling. There are not any extra excuses.”
“There are not any extra excuses. … I feel all of the strain is on Baltimore to get this executed.” 😳
Alex Smith says the Steelers are taking part in with “home cash” in opposition to the Ravens within the AFC Wild Card recreation 👀 pic.twitter.com/m5LD8WaxD4
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) January 11, 2025
Smith minced no phrases when declaring the Ravens because the crew with all of the strain.
On the identical time, he added that their all-too-familiar opponents, the Pittsburgh Steelers, are taking part in with “home cash” since no one anticipated them to be on this place final season when Kenny Pickett was the quarterback, and there was little to no hope.
There may be definitely strain on Baltimore to lastly recover from the hump, however it’s disingenuous to behave just like the Steelers are taking part in with home cash.
Pittsburgh hasn’t received a playoff recreation in eight years and has misplaced 5 postseason video games in a row.
Though Smith identified that head coach Mike Tomlin is doing an unbelievable job as soon as once more, the fact is that this crew has been churning out 8-to-10-win seasons with no playoff success for practically a decade, with nothing to point out for it.
Steeler followers are stressed, too, and certainly one of these fanbases will probably be extremely dissatisfied on Saturday evening.
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