Steelers–Ravens rivalry

The rivalry between the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers is one of the most intense in the National Football League. Both teams are members of the AFC North division, and play at least twice a year in what are often battles for divisional supremacy. Both teams are known for fielding tough, hard-hitting defensive squads, giving their games an extra element of physical intensity.

The two teams have met in the postseason three times, all resulting in Steelers wins. They are the only two teams in the AFC North to have won the Super Bowl, and possess a combined 7–2 record in the game.

HistoryEdit

In 1996, NFL football returned to Baltimore, 12 years after the original Baltimore Colts moved to Indianapolis. In a strange twist of fate, Art Modell relocated his Central Division team to Baltimore. The inter-divisional rivalry carried over with both teams remaining in what was then the AFC's Central Division. Since the formation of the AFC North in 2002, the Steelers and Ravens have dominated the division, with the Steelers winning or tying for six divisional titles (as of 2011) and the Ravens taking three however, the Ravens did clinch a playoff spot in 2009 as a wild-card as the Steelers barely missed the playoffs.) Sports Illustrated has ranked the rivalry #2 on a list of "Top 10 New NFL Rivalries." ^[1]

It is currently the top rivalry for both teams. In Baltimore, it has the added element of a small number of former Colts fans in the area becoming Steeler fans after the Colts moved, then retaining their affiliation with the Steelers after the Ravens moved to Baltimore and assumed the Cleveland Browns' spot in the AFC Central with the Steelers. In Pittsburgh, it is considered the spiritual successor to the Browns–Steelers rivalry due to the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy as well as the "reactivated" Cleveland Browns having a 4–21 record against the Steelers since returning to the league in 1999.^[3] Due to its physical nature, it has received comparisons to the rivalry the Steelers had with the Oakland Raiders in the 1970's, when those two teams were among the most physical teams in the league.^[4] The two teams are so similar in style that they have received comparisons to each other in a similar matter to that of the Mirror, Mirror episode of Star Trek: The Original Series.^[5]

Since the Steelers introduced their throwback uniform as their alternate uniform in 2007, they have used one of their two annual allotted games with the uniform against the Ravens at home three times, signifying the significance of the rivalry. The Ravens have typically worn their regular uniforms at home against the Steelers instead of their all-black third uniform.

Some memorable moments in the rivalry have included Ravens Linebacker Terrell Suggs being quoted as saying that a "bounty" was put out on the head of Steelers Wide Receiver Hines Ward. The bounty controversy was cleared up when Suggs insisted his words were just meant as a joke. The NFL investigated and Suggs was cleared of any wrong doing.

The rivalry reached a new height of intensity during the 2008 NFL season, when the Steelers and Ravens played three times, the last match being the AFC Championship. The Steelers won all three games, by close margins. The margins were so close that in the regular season just under two yards would have shifted from a Steelers sweep to a Ravens sweep. In week 15, the Steelers won with a controversial score late in the game. In the playoff game, a personal foul by the special teams player Daren Stone cost the Ravens 25 yards. The last play was an interception that was returned for a touchdown by Troy Polamalu. In that same game the Steelers' Ryan Clark delivered a controversial hit on the Ravens' Willis McGahee that left Clark briefly out cold and forced McGahee to spend the night in a Pittsburgh hospital.

The Rivalry continued in the 2009 season. Both the Steelers and the Ravens went 9–7, but Baltimore won a wild-card slot due to a better division record . Baltimore won the Wild-Card game by defeating the New England Patriots 33–14, but lost to the Indianapolis Colts the following game.

In 2010, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin called the Steelers–Ravens rivalry the best rivalry in football during a press conference and on the ESPN show Pardon the Interruption. Ravens head coach John Harbaugh later agreed with this assessment. On opening day of the 2011 season, the Ravens forced 7 turnovers and routed the Steelers 35–7 at M&T Bank Stadium.^[6] During Week 9 of the season, the Steelers were on the verse of winning their game against the Ravens. The Steelers were ready to potentially increase their lead with a 47-yard field goal kick by Shaun Suisham, but a 5-yard delay of game penalty put them out of field goal range and they were instead forced to punt the ball to the Ravens. In the end, Joe Flacco threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Torrey Smith in the endzone with just 8 seconds remaining, giving them the game.

A notable battleground for the rivalry is the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania market area. Harrisburg is officially a secondary market for the Ravens, and so WHP-TV must show all Ravens road games (if played on Sunday afternoon). The Steelers also have a significant fanbase in the area, so when the Ravens are at home, the Steelers are shown instead.

Game resultsEdit

The following is a list of results from all of the meetings between the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers from their first meeting on September 8, 1996 to the present:

1990s (Steelers 6–2)Edit

2000s (Steelers 13–9)Edit

2010s (Ravens 3–2)Edit

See alsoEdit

• AFC-north.com

ReferencesEdit

Further readingEdit

• Hick, Damon (September 19, 2011). "Adapt Or Die: Infusing new blood into the league's fiercest rivalry, the Ravens demolished the Steelers and changed the balance of power in the AFC. Evolution? In the NFL, you'd better believe". Sports Illustrated. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1190450/index.htm. Retrieved 2011-11-23.