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The Pittsburgh Steelers are officially your 2025 AFC North champions following a Week 18 victory over the Baltimore Ravens. But one Steel City legend took exception with the fan energy from the matchup on Sunday Night Football.
Making an appearance on the Not Just Football with Cam Heyward podcast, Hall of Fame running back Jerome Bettis explained that the energy was off for the Steelers–Ravens rivalry game.
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“I thought the crowd was a bit iffy in Pittsburgh,” Bettis said. “And I say that in a little bit of a disappointment because our crowd has been phenomenal for decades. And this was one of those games where I truly felt that a lot of the crowd didn’t feel good about us winning the game. A lot of people went into that game like, ‘I’m here, but I’m here to see us go down.’ And you could feel the energy wasn’t a true Pittsburgh Steelers–Ravens, end-of-the-season, winner-take-all game. The energy should’ve been at a fever pitch, and it wasn’t that.”
Bettis definitely isn’t wrong, as fan negativity and backlash reached new heights as the Steelers hung on for dear life toward the latter half of the season.
Luckily, fans have a home playoff game to look forward to on January 12 — the first postseason matchup in Pittsburgh in five years — as the Steelers look for their first playoff win in almost a decade when they host the Houston Texans in a wild-card matchup.
For up-to-date Steelers coverage, including Pittsburgh’s wild-card playoff matchup against the Houston Texans, follow us on X @TheSteelersWire and give our Facebook page a like.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Steelers' Jerome Bettis criticizes fan energy vs. Ravens in Week 18
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