Pittsburgh (10-4) at Baltimore (9-5)
Saturday, 4:30 p.m., EST, FOX.
BetMGM NFL Odds: Ravens by 6 1/2.
Against the spread: Steelers 10-4; Ravens 7-6-1.
Series record: Steelers lead 36-25.
Last meeting: Steelers beat Ravens 18-16 on Nov. 17, 2024, in Pittsburgh.
Last week: Steelers lost to Eagles 27-13; Ravens beat Giants 35-14.
Steelers offense: overall (18), rush (10), pass (24), scoring (10).
Steelers defense: overall (9), rush (4), pass (22), scoring (6).
Ravens offense: overall (1), rush (2), pass (3), scoring (3).
Ravens defense: overall (17), rush (1), pass (31), scoring (22).
Turnover differential: Steelers plus-18; Ravens plus-2.
LB Patrick Queen. The former Raven is making his first appearance in Baltimore since signing a three-year contract with the Steelers in March. The 25-year-old Queen was excellent in the teams' first meeting last month, finishing with 10 tackles and forcing a fumble as part of a defense that held the Ravens to a season-low 329 yards.
QB Lamar Jackson. He's putting up numbers worthy of another MVP award, but Baltimore's inability to take control of the division race is working against him. Jackson has endured plenty of frustration against the Steelers in his career, but he's only faced them at home once, in front of a limited crowd in 2020.
Pittsburgh's linebackers against Baltimore's balanced offense. Jackson and Ravens RB Derrick Henry never totally imposed their will in the first meeting this season, in part because the Ravens turned the ball over three times. Queen and Nick Herbig forced fumbles, and fellow linebacker Payton Wilson had an interception.
Steelers: LB T.J. Watt (ankle), WR George Pickens (hamstring), S DeShon Elliott (hamstring) and DT Larry Ogunjobi (groin) were limited in practice during the week.
Ravens: WR Nelson Agholor (concussion) and CB Jalyn Armour-Davis (hamstring) missed practice time.
The Steelers have dominated one of the NFL's most heated rivalries of late, winning eight of their past nine matchups with the Ravens, including each of the past four meetings in Baltimore. Jackson, now in his seventh season in the NFL, has only started five games against Pittsburgh but he's 1-4 in those. ... The past nine matchups in the series — and 27 of the past 33 — have been one-score games. ... Steelers coach Mike Tomlin and Ravens coach John Harbaugh are meeting for the 37th time. Only George Halas and Curly Lambeau (49) faced off more often.
Pittsburgh earned a playoff berth last week and can clinch its first AFC North title since 2020 with a victory over Baltimore. The Steelers are 6-1 under Tomlin in games where a win would wrap up the division title. ... The Steelers are 38-29 all time in games played on Saturday, including a win on the road at Baltimore in the 2023 season finale that helped them earn a playoff berth. Pittsburgh is also 63-55-1 when playing on five days’ rest. ... The Steelers' offense has hit a rough spot without Pickens, who will likely miss his third straight game with a hamstring injury. Russell Wilson has averaged just 143 yards through the air with Pickens watching from the sideline. Wilson averaged 271 yards passing in his first six starts with Pickens in the lineup. ... The one bright spot of late for the Steelers has been TE Pat Freiermuth, who has a touchdown reception in three straight games, tied for the third-longest scoring streak by a tight end in team history. ... How vital is Watt to the Steelers? Pittsburgh is 79-37-2 when he plays, 1-10 when he doesn't since he was drafted in 2017. ... The Steelers lead the league with 30 takeaways and are tied with Buffalo for first in turnover margin. ... Jackson has thrown five TDs against eight interceptions in seven appearances against Pittsburgh. ... Pittsburgh DT Cam Heyward is thriving in his 14th season. Heyward leads all NFL defensive tackles in tackles (60) and his eight sacks are second among interior defensive linemen behind Dexter Lawrence of the New York Giants. ... Jackson leads the league in passer rating (120.7), yards per pass attempt (8.9), touchdown-to-interception differential (31) and yards passing plus rushing (4,323). ... Baltimore's defense has had its issues this season, but in the past four games the Ravens have allowed the NFL's fewest net yards per game (269). ... Jackson needs 109 yards rushing to pass Michael Vick atop the NFL's career list for quarterbacks. ... Henry has 15 touchdowns, tied with Ray Rice and Mark Ingram II for the Ravens' single-season record. ... Baltimore has 70 plays of at least 20 yards on offense, the most in the NFL. The Ravens have also scored touchdowns on a league-best 74.1% of their red zone trips.
In what could be another tight, low-scoring game, Steelers kicker Chris Boswell probably deserves a start. He accounted for all of Pittsburgh's 18 points in the first meeting and leads the NFL in scoring (144 points).
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin watches action during the first half of an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are stabilizing Thursday following one of their worst days of the year.
The S&P 500 rose 0.2% in afternoon trading, a day after tumbling 2.9% when the Federal Reserve said it may deliver fewer cuts to interest rates next year than earlier thought. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 96 points, or 0.2%, as of 1:03 p.m. Eastern time, following Wednesday’s drop of more than 1,100 points. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.2%.
Indexes are still near their records, and the S&P 500 is still on track for one of its best years of the millennium. Wednesday’s drop just took some of the enthusiasm out of the market, which critics had already been warning was overly buoyant and would need everything to go correctly for it to justify its high prices.
Traders are now expecting the Federal Reserve to deliver just one or maybe two cuts to interest rates next year, according to data from CME Group. Some are even betting on none. A month ago, the majority saw at least two cuts in 2025 as a safe bet.
Wall Street loves lower interest rates because they give the economy a boost and goose prices for investments, but they can also provide fuel for inflation.
Darden Restaurants, the company behind Olive Garden and other chains, helped lift the market after leaping 14.9%. It delivered profit for the latest quarter that edged past analysts’ expectations. The operator of LongHorn Steakhouses also gave a forecast for revenue for this fiscal year that topped analysts’.
Accenture rose 6.4% after the professional services company topped expectations for profit in the latest quarter. CEO Julie Sweet said it saw growth around the world, and the company raised its forecast for revenue this fiscal year.
Amazon shares added 1.6%, even as workers at seven of its facilities went on strike Thursday in the middle of the online retail giant’s busiest time of the year. Amazon says it doesn’t expect an impact on its operations during what the workers’ union calls the largest strike against the company in U.S. history.
They helped offset a tumble for Micron Technology, which fell 16.8% despite reporting stronger profit than expected. The computer memory company’s revenue fell short of Wall Street’s forecasts, and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said it expects demand from consumers to remain weaker in the near term. It gave a forecast for revenue in the current quarter that was well short of what analysts were thinking.
Lamb Weston, which makes French fries and other potato products, dropped 22.5% after falling short of analysts’ expectations for profit and revenue in the latest quarter. It also cut its financial targets for the fiscal year, saying demand for frozen potatoes is continuing to soften, particularly outside North America. The company replaced its chief executive.
In the bond market, yields were mixed a day after shooting higher on expectations that the Fed would deliver fewer cuts to rates in 2025. Reports on the U.S. economy came in mixed.
One showed the overall economy grew at a 3.1% annualized rate during the summer, faster than earlier thought. The economy has remained remarkably resilient even though the Fed held its main interest rate at a two-decade high for a while before beginning to cut them in September.
A separate report showed fewer U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week, an indication that the job market also remains solid. But a third report said manufacturing in the mid-Atlantic region is unexpectedly contracting again despite economists’ expectations for growth.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.59% from 4.52% late Wednesday and from less than 4.20% earlier this month.
But the two-year yield, which more closely tracks expectations for action by the Fed in the near term, eased back to 4.32% from 4.35%.
The rise in longer-term yields has put pressure on the housing market by keeping mortgage rates higher. Homebuilder Lennar fell 6% after it reported weaker profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected.
CEO Stuart Miller said that “the housing market that appeared to be improving as the Fed cut short-term interest rates, proved to be far more challenging as mortgage rates rose” through the quarter.
“Even while demand remained strong, and the chronic supply shortage continued to drive the market, our results were driven by affordability limitations from higher interest rates,” he said.
A report on Thursday may have offered some encouragement for the housing industry. It showed a pickup in sales of previously occupied homes.
In stock markets abroad, London’s FTSE 100 fell 1.1% after the Bank of England paused its cuts to rates and kept its main interest rate unchanged on Thursday. The move comes as inflation there moved further above the central bank’s 2% target rate, while the British economy is flatlining at best.
The Bank of Japan also kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged, and Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.7%. Indexes likewise sank across much of the rest of Asia and Europe.
AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.
Specialist Anthony Matesic works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange as the rate decision of the Federal Reserve is announced, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
People walk on Wall Street in New York's Financial District on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)
A board above the floor of the New York Stock Exchange shows the closing number for the Dow Jones industrial average, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
TV cameraman films near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, center, and South Korean won and the Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (KOSDAQ) at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A currency trader walks by the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
