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Steelers, Ravens clash for third time with title on line

Jan 13, 2009 - 11:01 PM BALTIMORE (13-5) AT PITTSBURGH (13-4), 6:30 p.m. EST

PITTSBURGH (Ticker) -- The Baltimore Ravens know how to get the Pittsburgh Steelers down. They just haven't been able to keep them down.

The Ravens will get a third crack at the Steelers this season when they visit Pittsburgh on Sunday in the AFC championship game.

The sixth seed in the postseason, Baltimore will have to reverse a pair of narrow regular-season losses against the Steelers - two games that were decided by a total of seven points.

"What else would you expect; us and the Ravens," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. "It would be a big game if it was a scrimmage. It just happens to be the AFC championship game."

In both matchups this season, the Ravens have been unable to hold onto leads against their bitter AFC North rival.

The Steelers rallied from a 10-point deficit to eke out a 23-20 overtime win at home in Week Four, and went 92 yards for the winning touchdown with 43 seconds to play at Baltimore in Week 14 - a victory that clinched the division crown.

The tight losses have the Ravens itching for a measure of revenge - particularly with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.

"It's two teams that try to impose their will on each other," Ravens linebacker Bart Scott said. "Whenever you have two teams that are evenly matched, it always, both sides are going to pay the price on the body. And that's how we choose to play football. Those styles make fights, and we have two fighters.

"Nobody's running, ducking or hiding from each other. We're going to stand in the middle of the ring and say, 'Here I am.' We'll see who comes out on top."

It promises to be another bone-crunching encounter between two of the league's top defense. The top-ranked Steelers, who led the league with 51 sacks during the regular season, held the Ravens to a season-low 202 yards in December.

Baltimore also struggled on offense in last weekend's 13-10 victory over Tennessee in the divisional round. The Ravens managed just nine first downs and 211 yards but capitalized on three turnovers to advance to the conference title game.

"That was a knock-down, drag-out battle," Ravens first-year coach John Harbaugh said. "I think in the end, our guys found a way to win."

After leading the league with 26 interceptions, Baltimore's third-rated defense has forced eight turnovers in its postseason wins over Miami and Tennessee.

"That's what our game is solely based on: try and make turnovers and give our offense a short field," Ravens cornerback Samari Rolle said. "It was hard today, but when the opportunities were there we made them."

Capitalizing on the flurry of miscues has allowed Baltimore to survive a pair of lackluster postseason efforts by quarterback Joe Flacco, who became the first rookie in league history to win two playoff games.

Flacco has completed fewer than 50 percent of his passes (20-of-45, 296 yards) in the postseason with one touchdown but, most importantly, zero turnovers.

Things don't figure to improve much against Pittsburgh's ferocious defense, which has allowed just one opponent to amass 300 total yards in a game this season.

The Steelers also got their running game untracked in a 35-24 victory over the San Diego Chargers last weekend. Willie Parker rushed for 146 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries. It was just his fifth 100-yard effort of the season and second straight.

Parker will be testing a Baltimore defense that has gone 36 straight games without allowing an opposing back to reach 100 yards.

"They're stingy. The thing about the Ravens is that they are going to fight like we are going to fight," Parker said. "It's going to be a tough, brutal matchup. We just have to go out and make plays like we did tonight and try to keep our defense off the field."

Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger also show no ill-effects of a concussion suffered in the regular-season finale. He finished 17-of-26 for 181 yards, one TD and no interceptions against San Diego.

Although he orchestrated the two comeback wins over the Ravens this season, Roethlisberger expects it to be another grind-it-out-to-the-finish matchup on Sunday.

"It's going to be a battle to play a team three times in one year, especially a divisional opponent, the rivalry that we have," he said. "It's going to be a battle. It's going to be one for the ages."