I doubt the title of this column will spark much controversy amongst the BSL readership. I’m not sure it would lead to much debate across the nation either. The Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers play in one of the toughest, roughest, most important rivalries in football, and have for over 20 years.

Pittsburgh won six of the first seven games against the Ravens, but since then the Steelers own a slim 24-23 edge, 30-24 overall including playoff games. While I’m talking about numbers, let’s look at a few more that help define how competitive this bi-annual series is:

  • 14 of the 54 games played have been decided or tied in the last two minutes of regulation, the Steelers have won 8 of them, the Ravens 6
  • 31 of the 54 games have been decided by 7 points or less, the Steelers hold a 17-14 edge in those games
  • 16 of the 54 games have been decided by 3 points or less, the Steelers have won 9 of them, the Ravens 7
  • The Steelers’ longest winning streak in the series is 5 games, during the Ravens formative years of 1996-98. Baltimore’s longest win streak is 4 games twice, from 2014-15 and 2018-20, ending in the COVID game, also known as the JV game.

That matches one of my three criteria for a good rivalry-it is competitive. My other two are that the teams play often, and that the games are important. Check and check. In the John Harbaugh era, the Ravens-Steelers game has been played on Sunday night five times, Monday night once, Thursday night twice (one of those Thanksgiving) and Christmas night. These selections by the networks recognize how competitive and important these games usually are.

One of the most important events of this series happened in the 2004 game in Baltimore. It was the Ravens’ home opener. Baltimore was coming off the franchise’s first AFC Central Division title, while Pittsburgh was looking to bounce back from a 6-10 season. The Ravens had moved out to a commanding 20-0 lead and the defense was smacking around Steeler QB Tommy Maddox. One time, though, he did not get up, and the Steelers had to call on their first-round draft pick to jump in to his first NFL action in a very hostile environment.

Inadvertently, the Ravens had ushered in the Ben Rothlesberger era. The kid showed some spunk and was leading a comeback (Pittsburgh had closed within 23-13) until Baltimore’s Chris McAlister sealed the game for good with a 51-yard pick-six. The Steelers went on to win the rest of their games before falling to New England in the AFC Championship game, while the Ravens were beset with injuries and inconsistency and missed the playoffs with a 9-7 record.

Players on both teams are often measured by their performance in these rivalry games. Terrell Suggs was known as a nemesis of Rothlesberger-NBC Sports Washington referred to this as “perhaps the most indelible individual rivalry wrapped inside the NFL’s most physical rivalry.” Personally, I will never forget T-Sizzle’s three sacks against Big Ben in the 2010 divisional playoff game where Suggs was playing with essentially one arm due to an injured shoulder.

Ravens QB Joe Flacco had some very rough games against Pittsburgh early in his career, but his touchdown pass to T.J. Houshmandzadeh with 32 seconds left that pulled out a 17-14 Baltimore win at Heinz Field served as a rite of passage for him. Flacco showed he could make the play down the stretch on the road to beat the Ravens’ biggest rival.

On the other side, WR Antonio Brown comes to mind as a player that made many big plays against Baltimore, none bigger than on Christmas night in 2016. It was the penultimate week of the season-the Steelers could clinch the AFC North with a win, while the Ravens would move into first place with a win and have a chance to clinch the following week.

Pittsburgh led 7-6 at halftime, but the Ravens took control in the third quarter and moved out to a 20-10 lead early in the fourth. Pittsburgh came back with two Le’Veon Bell touchdowns (tell me you ever really thought he would wind up wearing black and purple) to go ahead 24-20. Baltimore answered with a 10-yard Kyle Juscyzk touchdown run (the only rushing TD he scored in four years with the Ravens) to lead 27-24 with only 1:18 left.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but Ben Rothlesberger marched Pittsburgh down the field with seven pass completions, leaving them on the Baltimore 4-yard line with 14 seconds left and no timeouts. For his eighth completion of the drive, he hit Antonio Brown for his 10th catch of the game near the one-yard line. He was quickly surrounded by three Raven defenders, but he fought through them to get close enough to reach the ball over the goal line for the game-winning touchdown. Without that effort, the clock would have likely run out before Pittsburgh could get off another play and enabled the Ravens to hold on for the win.

There have been so many great games between these teams, so many great players that have played in them, and seasons turned, or ended, by the results. The 2008 AFC Championship was one of the roughest football games I have ever seen, highlighted by the play where Pittsburgh DB Ryan Clark hit Baltimore RB Willis McGahee so hard that Clark got up woozy, and McGahee was taken to the hospital. Seldom, however, do players from either team get in cheap shots or dirty hits. Don’t @ me, I said seldom, not never-any competition as intense and emotional as Ravens-Steelers will at times expose a player’s or coach’s dark side.

The hard, competitive, and mostly clean play has led to mutual respect between the participants. Rothlesberger told the Baltimore Sun in 2017, “We’ve battled it out, and as long as I have been here, there is always respect involved with it.”  Ray Lewis told CBSSports.com last year, “As much as I didn’t like them as a competitor, the amount of respect for them that I have is amazing.”

The word “hate” gets used quite a bit when describing an intense rivalry like this one (few qualify for this level, in my opinion), sometimes from the players but more often from the fans of both teams. I’m sure most Ravens fans took particular pleasure in watching the Steelers get whipped 41-10 by the Bengals this week, while I’m also sure most Steelers fans enjoyed watching the Ravens recent Thursday night debacle in Miami.

When one tries to take an objective look at the Pittsburgh and Baltimore franchises, however, I believe it is hard to hate either one of them. There is much to respect in the way both teams are run in the front office, play on the field, and attract passionate fan bases. Personally, I have probably used the “H” word to describe my feelings for the Steelers in the past, although the fact that one of my best friends is a Pittsburgh native and passionate fan has helped me restrain myself. Our “no gloating rule” has gone a long way to preserve our friendship.

The truth is, the more I study about football, the more I respect both the Steelers and Ravens organizations. They are imperfect, sure, but indisputably two of the ones most worth emulating. That’s what makes it so special for the winners of these games, and why losing hurts so much. If you want to be the best, and these two teams clearly do, then you must beat the team that is in your way.

Once again, next week’s game has a lot on the line, and these teams will be obstructing each other’s goal of winning the division, and ultimately the Super Bowl. I don’t know who will win, but I do know the trainer’s rooms will be particularly busy afterwards.

Fascinating Factoid of the Week

The Ravens’ record in regular season overtime games is 15-15-1, but they are 5-1 in overtime against Pittsburgh (all decided on field goals), leaving them 10-14-1 against the rest of the league. The only other team the Ravens have played more than two OT games against is Cleveland. The Browns are 3-0 in those games, also all won on field goals.

In my last column, I promised a look back at last year’s wild 42-37 Ravens’ win at Cleveland. That’s coming up next week.

Until then, you can follow me on Twitter @jimjfootball and remember; it’s okay to look back as long as you live forward!

Jim Johnson
Jim Johnson

Jim Johnson spent most of his life in Maryland, growing up with the Orioles, the Colts, Terps, and later Ravens. He started his sports writing career as “The Courtmaster,” covering the Terps and ACC hoops and was a frequent guest on Bob Haynie’s old WNST show and other sports talk across the region. He is currently in his second run at BSL. After previously covering Maryland and Big Ten Football, he now writes about the NFL, primarily the action in the AFC North. Jim covers both current and historic stories, seeking perspective and having fun in the process.

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