The Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens, alongside the Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans, just finished off a taxing stretch of three games in 11 days that concluded on Christmas Day.

The results among that group of teams varied quite a bit, as Baltimore and Kansas City went a perfect 3-0 while Houston and Pittsburgh went 1-2 and 0-3, respectively.

While meeting with reporters after defeating the Texans on Wednesday, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh first offered effusive praise for how his team handled their recent schedule with little time for rest.

“[I’m] proud of our guys,” Harbaugh said via Baltimore’s official website. “These guys took these three games in 11 days and smashed it, obliterated it, tore it up and made into a bunch of smithereens laying around everywhere. I’m proud of the guys [and] how they did it.”

What Harbaugh said later on was what caught the attention of many, however. Remaining on the topic of his team’s performance over their last three contests, he stated that he believed the Ravens handled things better than any of the other three squads who were subject to the same sort of schedule, though he did credit Kansas City while omitting Pittsburgh and Houston.

“The fact that they did it – they did it in this short stretch – I think our team probably handled it the best, arguably. I guess the Chiefs did a good job too, so there you go.”

Some have taken his comments as a veiled shot at the Steelers, though he’s not totally incorrect in his assessment. Pittsburgh, who owned a two-game lead over Baltimore in the AFC North entering Week 15, has dropped three contests in a row while the Ravens took full advantage of their opportunity with a trio of consecutive wins and are well on their way to clinching the division.

The Steelers will look to bounce back against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 18.

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When you play for such a long time as a quarterback in the NFL, you’re bound to take your fair share of sacks.

Russell Wilson knows that fact all too well, as he passed former Pittsburgh Steelers great Ben Roethlisberger and became the third-most sacked player in league history following the team’s loss at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs on Christmas.

As pointed out by Steelers Depot’s Matthew Marczi, Wilson has taken 29 sacks through his 10 starts for Pittsburgh this season, including five against Kansas City. His career total now sits at 556, which is two ahead of Roethlisberger’s mark of 554.

Defenses have averaged 42.77 sacks per year against Wilson, which is an absurd pace that all but guarantees he will close out his tenure in the league as the most sacked quarterback of all-time.

For instance, Pro Football Reference lists Fran Tarkenton atop that leaderboard with 570 takedowns despite the fact that sacks were not tracked until 1982 while his playing days ended in 1978.

His average per campaign was 31.67, far lower than Wilson’s number, and had he not missed the first six games of the year with a calf injury, there’s an outside chance he would’ve already surpassed Tarkenton.

Tom Brady is formally viewed as the most sacked quarterback with 565 due to Tarkenton’s record not being considered official. Aaron Rodgers sits at No. 2 with 564, meaning he’d jump up to the top of the list all by himself if he drops down two or more times in the backfield during Week 18 for the New York Jets.

Roethlisberger briefly held the title in the final year of his career in 2021, though that glory only lasted for so long as Brady surpassed him the following season.

Wilson’s sack rate is unusually high due to the fact that he’s always been adept at extending plays and scrambling, though it’s set a precedent that may never again be touched.

The next closest active player in that regard is Matthew Stafford, who’s been taken down 502 times while playing for three more years than Wilson.

Baker Mayfield has a chance to skyrocket up the rankings somewhere down the line given that he’s averaged 35.29 sacks per campaign over his seven-year career, though we’re a far way off from him even sniffing Wilson’s figure.

Wilson hasn’t let the constant pressure derail his Hall of Fame-worthy career, though it’s certainly an interesting footnote.

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