National Football League

Behind the Scenes with FOX's NFL crew: Inside Steelers-Ravens, a rivalry of respect, contempt

Published Dec. 24, 2024 10:43 a.m. ET

By Richie Zyontz
FOX NFL Lead Producer

Editor's Note: Richie Zyontz has been an NFL producer for FOX since 1994 and is in his 23rd season as the lead producer. He has more than 40 years of experience covering the league and has produced seven Super Bowls. Throughout the 2024 NFL season, he is providing an inside look as FOX's new No. 1 NFL team, including NFL legend Tom Brady, makes its journey toward Super Bowl LIX. Read more behind-the-scenes stories from Richie Zyontz here.

The beauty of sports is that it can't be scripted. You never know what will ensue.

As we prepared for Saturday's divisional showdown between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens, our collective salivary glands were flowing with expectations.

Then a game broke out.

But allow me to digress.

For 30 years, FOX has historically been the home of the NFC, with occasional matchups across conferences.

So our crew has observed some great division rivalries up close. Bears and Packers. Cowboys and Eagles. Rams and 49ers, among others.

But Ravens and Steelers? Nary a one. Needless to say, we were all excited for Saturday's nationally televised tilt.

The tone and tenor of a rivalry often starts at the top with the head coaches. As evidenced in HBO's brilliant "Hard Knocks" documentary about the AFC North, Pittsburgh's Mike Tomlin and Baltimore's John Harbaugh are in firm control of their teams. They are the types of dynamic leaders that our quarterback Tom Brady admires — leaders of men, not merely chalkboard warriors drawing up plays in a classroom.

Longevity is rare in the coaching fraternity, but these two are remarkable exceptions.

Tomlin has coached the Steelers for 18 seasons, Harbaugh has led Baltimore for 17 seasons.

They have squared off as head coaches 37 times — in fact, only Chicago's George Halas and Green Bay's Curly Lambeau have faced each other more.

When your names appear on a graphic alongside such legendary figures, your place in history is secure.

Before the game, a quick midfield handshake and hug belied their competitive fire. Familiarity breeds contempt, and despite a mutual respect, that competitive contempt was somewhat revealed in our meeting with Harbaugh. He complained about Pittsburgh's perennial chippy style of play, intimating that Tomlin often gets his way with the officials. The tone of voice was less angry than irritated. Harbaugh exudes a calm intensity, with no wasted words, and honest to the core.

Mike Tomlin (left) and John Harbaugh: A mix of mutual respect and competitive contempt. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

His counterpart, Tomlin, is more performative, at times lighthearted, but always open and extremely quotable. He is a production crew's dream, and after doing Steelers games, we always wish we had the chance to see them more often.

Before a question is even asked, Tomlin will riff about the state of his team, providing as much information and strategy as any coach in football.

For two weeks, our crew had a graphic ready of Tomlinisms — interesting and unique utterances that Tomlin has offered up through the years.

Unfortunately, the timing never felt right to work into the broadcast, so it will go in our back pockets until the next opportunity.

And that gets us back to the original premise — you never know what to expect once the game starts. About three hours prior to kickoff, game referee Bill Vinovich stopped by our production truck to say hello. Officials are well aware of rivalries. While they don't call the game any differently, they are on alert to prevent the simmering bad blood from exploding.

Kyle Van Noy's hit on Russell Wilson was par for the course in a physical matchup between AFC North rivals. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

Vinovich said his crew spent a little extra time discussing this during their Friday meeting. And so did we. Our cameras were on alert from the early moments of pregame warmups to look for potential hot spots.

During the game, we knew every tackle pile up could escalate into fisticuffs. And while the contest was physical and tough, it was uneventful in that respect.

No scrums. No fights.

Tom Brady praises Lamar Jackson & Derrick Henry after Ravens' win.

Our first taste of Steelers vs. Ravens went down as smoothly as a Koco's Pub Crab Cake, as the undermanned Yinzers were overmatched against Derrick Henry, Lamar Jackson, and a fierce Baltimore pass rush.

Jackson is a force of nature, gifted with an enormous skill set that even Brady, the greatest quarterback of all time, marvels at.

One thing that is always quite cool to witness up close is the post-game dynamic between Tom and the winner of his "LFG" award. This week the honor went to Jackson, who beamed like a little kid as he referred to Tom as the GOAT. The few seconds of banter prior to taping always reveals the deep respect Brady has earned with his former peers.

And the trophy ain't bad either.

Tom Brady's LFG Player of the Game: Ravens' Lamar Jackson | Week 16 DIGITAL EXCLUSIVE

This week our crew gets to witness another intense rivalry as the Green Bay Packers travel to Minneapolis to face the Vikings in a game so important it was flexed into the late afternoon window (4:25 p.m. ET).

It's only 47 days until Super Bowl 59, and these two teams are very much in the picture.

Richie Zyontz has been an NFL producer for FOX since 1994 and is in his 23rd season as lead producer. He boasts more than 40 years of experience covering the NFL.