HEINZ FIELD Steelers still have slim hope for bye; Ravens are desperate

Pittsburgh needs the Titans to lose in order to get a week off.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The Pittsburgh Steelers are playing at Heinz Field today for a slim chance for a week off.
Although the Baltimore Ravens probably are playing only for next year, today's game against the Steelers has some playoff implications for them.
No matter how a lengthy list of postseason scenarios plays out, some probable and others implausible at best, what eventually may matter the most is the Ravens (7-8) and Steelers (9-5-1) are playing each other.
Usually, that is more than enough to ensure no game between them is entirely without importance, even if the winner gains nothing more than the satisfaction of not losing to the other.
"Let's face it: They don't like us, and we don't like them," Steelers running back Jerome Bettis said. "If there's one game they want to win, it's this one."
The Steelers (9-5-1) wrapped up their seventh division title in 11 seasons under coach Bill Cowher by beating Tampa Bay 17-7 Monday.
If the Tennessee Titans lose to the expansion Texans at Houston this afternoon, the Steelers would get a first-round bye if they defeat the Ravens.
At stake
A bye would ensure them a weekend off and at least one home playoff game past the wild-card round. Otherwise, they'll open the playoffs at home Saturday or next Sunday.
"A bye week is big for every team," wide receiver Plaxico Burress said. "Everybody's physically worn out and tired. We would like to have a bye week."
Or would they?
The way the Steelers are playing -- with convincing, defense-driven victories over Carolina and Tampa Bay since their mysterious 24-6 loss to Houston -- several players said it might not be the worst thing for them to keep playing.
"Timing is everything, and right now we're starting to peak at the right moment offensively and defensively," wide receiver Hines Ward said. "Going into the playoffs and jelling the way we are, we're going to be a tough team to beat."
However, the Steelers might want to take the advice of someone who knows -- namely, Ravens coach Brian Billick -- and do whatever they can to get the bye.
The Ravens won the Super Bowl only two years ago as a wild-card team. But, at the time, there was a two-week break between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl.
Now, the games are on consecutive Sundays, meaning a team that plays during the wild-card weekend must win four games in four weeks, as many as three away from home, to win the Super Bowl.
"I think to ultimately win the Super Bowl, it [a bye] is almost vital," Billick said.
The Steelers already are coming off an unaccustomed break, a Wednesday off before a Sunday game.
Cowher gave his players their usual two days off following a win, even though it meant skipping what usually is one of the key practices of the week.
Billick didn't take that as a slight against his team or a sign of overconfidence.
"No, I think on a short week, when you play on a Monday night ... that was probably the prudent thing to do," he said.
The Ravens only wish they had a next week to play, wild-card round or not, but their playoff hopes all but evaporated with a 14-13 loss to Cleveland last week.
Now, the Ravens' only chance is to win in Pittsburgh for the fourth straight season and hope five AFC teams with 8-7 records all lose.
"I know the moons have to go into alignment, the Dow has to go above 10,000 and a lot of things have to happen," Billick said.
And if they don't?
"You have to go out there and play not to get your rear end kicked," Ravens quarterback Jeff Blake said.
Talkfest
Of course, a lot of things usually happen when the Ravens and Steelers play, including plenty of back-and-forth talking. That was largely missing before this game, mostly because the division title won't be at stake, as it would have if the Ravens won and the Steelers lost last weekend.
"But they have an opportunity to go 8-8 and, with all the [rebuilding] they've done, it's a big year for them," Bettis said. "They want to finish up a good year and go into the offseason with something positive by beating us."
The Steelers want to avoid the dropoff in play that sometimes results when a division title has been won but the playoffs haven't started. If they are forced to play at home next weekend, they want to be performing at their level of the last couple of weeks.
"You have no margin for error in the playoffs, so you want to fix everything you can in the last game of the season," Burress said.