BALTIMORE — Few in the NFL have a game face as menacing as Steelers coach Mike Tomlin. It’s as if he is back in middle school and the bully took his lunch money, or another student said something bad about his mom.

It’s time to fight. The scowl has become part of his persona.

“That’s his natural face,” said his older brother, Eddie Tomlin, a former starting cornerback at Maryland in the late 1980s. “It’s not necessarily welcoming to begin with, but it is his regular face. It’s not like he is pissed or something; he’s pretty flatlined even if he’s very pleased. It’s like all the men in our family being accused of being mean people just because of how we look when there is nothing going on.

“But honestly, he is not pissed for the most part. He just looks like that a lot.”

Former Steelers safety Ryan Clark concurs.

“That’s just the way God made his face,” said Clark, who played for Pittsburgh from 2006 through 2013 and is now an ESPN analyst. “He’s fun, he laughs, he jokes, has a good time. He has all the ranges of emotions.”

Tomlin is the X factor in the Ravens’ wild-card playoff game against Pittsburgh on Saturday night at M&T Bank Stadium.

This doesn’t appear to be much of a game on paper — or statistically. The Ravens came from two games behind in the regular-season standings to defend their AFC North title. They have won four straight, while Pittsburgh has lost four in a row. The last time the two teams met on Dec. 21, Baltimore physically dominated the Steelers in a 34-17 victory.

But it’s the scowl and the attitude behind it that should concern the Ravens.

Tomlin, 52, has a 21-16 record against Baltimore, and the Steelers have won eight of the past 10 matchups. Tomlin’s defenses have had success against Ravens star quarterback Lamar Jackson, who is 2-4 in the postseason in seven years.

Pittsburgh is the only team that Jackson has thrown more interceptions (nine) than touchdown passes (eight) against. How and why has Tomlin had so much success versus Baltimore?

“Man, I can’t tell you that,” Eddie said, laughing. “I just can’t.”

I have a history with Eddie, the CEO and owner of Newsome Park Strategies, a medical device company based in Tidewater, Va. I covered him for The Baltimore Sun when he played cornerback for Joe Krivak, the Terps’ late coach, from 1988 to 1991. Back then, Maryland was trying to recover from the death of basketball star Len Bias, who died June 19, 1986, from cardiac arrhythmia because of cocaine use.

Of course, no one knows Mike better. They were the only siblings raised together by Leslie and Julia Copeland in Hampton, Va., and attended Denbigh High, which has produced many great athletes.

Pittsburgh won’t come into this game thinking about a losing streak. Mike emphasized that earlier this week, declaring that the Steelers have learned from recent failures.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid is good at the X’s and O’s, while Mike can play the head games. It’s vintage Mike.

“You don’t straighten the season out, man,” Eddie said. “You go out and you play your best football next week. It’s a tournament, and you shoot all your bullets in the tournament. You certainly don’t bring the last four weeks into the stadium on Saturday. I’m sure he has gotten that message across.”

Mike has spoken about the familiarity of the two teams, but Eddie said his brother is also good at delivering messages to his team while at the podium. Mike has the classic delivery with the short, choppy words and those faces that looked like he just sucked up some lemon juice.

But Eddie says it’s a style learned from his uncle Mike, and often his younger brother sounds a lot like a rapper. You can tell there is a lot of brotherly love. Eddie said he never allowed anyone to pick on Mike when they were younger.

The two talk several times a week — unless the Steelers lose. Then he has to call his brother on late Saturday nights.

“He has a wit about him that I find funny,” Eddie said. “I guess reporters up there [Pittsburgh] don’t like it, but it is what it is. He always has something quick and clean to say about everything. It’s a gift, man. Yet, at the same time, he is delivering a message to his team and he knows they are listening.

“He has always been direct, straight and blunt. That’s how he is able to connect with players. These guys have been treated like the pretty girl since they were able to distinguish themselves athletically, and here he is telling them the truth and what they need to do to get better. He has been able to connect with them, and now his program seems to be on autopilot.”

Despite the impressive overall record (183-107) and Super Bowl title in two appearances, Mike is 8-10 in the postseason and has lost four straight.

The Steelers come into Baltimore with a small-ball passing offense led by quarterback Russell Wilson. They have a big-play tight end in Pat Freiermuth and a deep threat on the outside in George Pickens, who is full of drama as he follows in the footsteps of Antonio Brown and Diontae Johnson.

Defensively, the Steelers are sound, especially with T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, Cameron Heyward and Larry Ogunjobi up front. It will be interesting to see if the Steelers come up with some new wrinkles, such as using backup quarterback Justin Fields in certain situations.

The Ravens, meanwhile, are on a roll, even though they struggled early offensively against the Browns on Saturday. They could be without slot receiver Zay Flowers (knee) but have plenty of other playmakers — Jackson, running back Derrick Henry and tight end Mark Andrews.

Defensively, the Ravens have improved over the past month but won’t play a team with a strong passing game until later in the postseason. Pittsburgh’s style is to keep games close and then have its playmakers make plays in the final four minutes. It hasn’t worked in recent weeks, but it did against the Ravens on Nov. 17, an 18-16 Steelers win.

“I’d be very surprised if the Steelers win,” Clark said. “I think the Baltimore Ravens are a top-four team in the league. I put them in the same category as the Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles.”

If the Steelers pull the upset Saturday night, there will be dark days in Baltimore. If that happens, you can trace it back to the scowl of Mike. He finds magic against the Ravens.

“I think the Zay Flowers injury is a big deal. If he doesn’t play, it’s a different football team, a different offense,” Clark said. “But if the Pittsburgh Steelers find a way to win, it will be [Tomlin’s] greatest coaching effort in his tenure at Pittsburgh.”

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