Steelers, Ravens ready to rumble

Associated Press

BALTIMORE

Whether they clash in the playoffs or early September, when the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens are on the same field, emotions run high and the collisions are violent.

That’s what makes it the best rivalry in the NFL.

The last time they met, a trip to the AFC Championship Game hung in the balance. The consequences won’t be nearly as significant in today’s opener because, after all, each team will still have 15 games left in the regular season.

Try telling that to Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs.

“The stakes are the same. The stakes are always the same,” Suggs said.

Part of the incentive to win is taking an early lead in the AFC North. Most of all, it’s about beating a fierce rival.

“It’s always a very physical game, it’s usually close and usually very low scoring,” Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said. “It’s two very, very good defenses going against each other, it’s in the division. So I think that adds a little something extra to it.”

The names change from year to year, but the intensity remains the same. Todd Heap, Derrick Mason, Le’Ron McClain, Willis McGahee and Kelly Gregg — all of whom played a significant role with Baltimore last season — are gone.

It makes no difference to Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, who has been a participant in this heated duel since 1996.

“I tell people all the time that there are no better games to play for your legacy,” Lewis said. “When people across the world hear Baltimore and Pittsburgh, everyone is going to have a front row seat because they know exactly what they’re going to get. The players and the people outside the league really care for you because of playing in those rivalries.”

Redskins-Cowboys? Packers-Bears? Anyone who’s been a part of Steelers-Ravens knows there is no comparison to this rivalry.

Steelers-Ravens. It’s a double chin-strap game for all the participants, and even that occasionally isn’t enough. In the AFC championship two years ago, McGahee was knocked senseless from a hit by Ryan Clark. Last year in Baltimore, Roethlisberger had his nose broken on the game’s third play.

“I keep telling our guys to stop all the Tweeting stuff, because I’m the one who feels the brunt of it — not our defensive guys,” Roethlisberger said. “I hate playing them, and I hate going down there to play them.

“But that’s not a knock on them. It’s because they’re so good. I guess if there’s a good thing about playing them first, it’s a chance to get that out of the way and move on to the rest of the season. I guess it’s almost like its own season when we play those guys.”

Roethlisberger has won seven straight starts against Baltimore, but it hasn’t been easy. Five of the last eight games between the teams have been decided by three points, another was 13-9, and Pittsburgh rallied behind Roethlisberger for a 31-24 win last January to end the Ravens’ season.