It’s hard to believe the huge rivalry that exists between the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers today has only been around since 1998.
From that year onward, the hateful words exchanged between fans have grown increasingly more prevalent and the physical play between the two teams has become monumental.
In the 2001 season when Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward blindsided Rod Woodson, the Ravens were in an uproar about how dirty the play was. From then on, tempers have flared, and the rivalry is bigger than ever before.
The Ravens and the Steelers have met 34 times, and the rock-solid team from Pittsburgh leads the series 21-13. The Steelers were able to snag six victories in the first seven games they played against the Ravens but recently the rivalry has evened out.
The burning question though, is can the Ravens sweep the Steelers like they did in 2006? It was the one and only time they ever swept the Steelers, and it was also the last time the Ravens have captured the AFC North. If the Ravens do have enough stamina to defeat the Steelers, they would have a half-game lead over them.
But can the Ravens pull it off? Looking at their performance on Oct. 30, in a game against the Arizona Cardinals, the Ravens were sloppy. They did come back from a 21-point hole in order to win the game 30-27, but they played poorly.
Mike Preston, a sports writer for the Baltimore Sun, wrote, “The Ravens staged their greatest comeback in franchise history, rallying from a 21-point deficit to defeat Arizona Sunday, but that was about the only good thing you could say. They won.
That’s it. They beat one of the worst teams in the league and had to rally from three touchdowns down. Go ahead, jump up and down. Break dance if you want. Lift your champagne glass, but there is not much to celebrate.”
The Steelers, however, are a different story. With four consecutive wins, they are looking to seal their fifth with a victory against the Ravens. It is true they lost to the Ravens 35-7 in the first game of the season, but they have got back into their groove and been a dominant force in the league ever since.
On Sunday, the Steelers went up against the force of Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. While most fans were biting their nails, Ben Roethlisberger, kept his cool and threw play after play to defeat the Patriots. It was a victory worth celebrating.
Dejan Kovacevic, a sports writer for the Pittsburgh Tribune, wrote, “They chased Tom Brady as if endorsement deals were hanging from his neck. They made Wes Walker eat grass within a millisecond of catching the football. They rode big tight end Rob Gronkowski like a bucking bronco. And apparently caught defensive genius Bill Belichick wholly unprepared for, of all gimmicky schemes, the underneath routes of tight end Heath Miller. The Steelers, finally, after eight games, are Steelers again.”
With the way the two teams have been playing, one horribly and the other exceptionally, I predict the Steelers will go on to dominate the Ravens in a hard hitting game Sunday, 17-10.
Steelers wide receiver Mike Wallace said it best after their win against the Patriots, “I don’t care about nothing else but beating the Baltimore Ravens next week.”
