Steelers Great Ben Roethlisberger Detailed How Ray Lewis And Terrell Suggs Saved Him On The Field

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been a part of many fierce and ferocious rivalries throughout the team's history. There has been the obvious rivalry with the Dallas Cowboys as the two sides have met in three Super Bowls, and there are also the intense rivalries within the AFC North. Currently, Pittsburgh's biggest rivalry is with the Baltimore Ravens, who the Steelers just lost to in the Wild Card Round. This rivalry is one of the best in the entire NFL, but it was at its height when Ben Roethlisberger and Ray Lewis were playing in the game.

Lewis is one of the best inside linebackers in the history of the NFL, and he was a big reason why the rivalry between Pittsburgh and Baltimore is what it is. He was the leader of an intense defense, and he had guys like Terrell Suggs and Ed Reed by his side. The rivalry between the Steelers and Ravens is full of hatred, but it is a respectful hatred. Roethlisberger dove into the respect the two sides had for one another during the most recent episode of Footbahlin With Ben Roethlisberger.

"I remember, there were times where I might be under a pile," Roethlisberger said. "You know you got a bunch of guys on you, and my leg, or something might be a little twisted. And this is a true story, he would do this, and so would Suggs, you know sometimes under a pile, you'd be like, 'Ah, my leg.' Some guys would like keep twisting, those guys would be like, 'No, hey, get off.'"

This isn't something you would expect from a rivalry. Roethlisberger could have gotten seriously hurt had a defender kept twisting his leg under a pile, but Lewis and Suggs always tried to protect Roethlisberger after the whistle. They would help him up after big hits, which shows the amount of respect there was between the two sides in the rivalry.

Roethlisberger speculated that players on the Ravens defense would do this because they always wanted to play the Steelers when they were at their best. The former quarterback shared this is how he felt about playing Baltimore as well. Playing the Ravens without Lewis or Suggs in the game just didn't feel the same for Roethlisberger. 

The quarterback could have suffered a significant injury under one of these piles, but Lewis would never let that happen. Between the whistles, it was pure hatred, but afterwards, it was nothing but respect.

Roethlisberger always performed well when going against the Ravens, even beating them in the AFC Championship Game during the 2008 season on the way to winning Super Bowl XLIII. Throughout his career, the quarterback was 17-10 against Baltimore, and it is clear the two sides brought the best out of one another as he threw 43 touchdowns when playing the Ravens.

Steelers And Ravens Even Had Positional Rivalries

All eyes were on Troy Polamalu and Reed when the Ravens played the Steelers. They were the two best safeties in the NFL for a decade, and there was always a strong debate about which player was better. The same was true at outside linebacker between Suggs and James Harrison. Both players were known for their hard-hitting ability and their talent of getting to the quarterback. They each claimed the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year Award once during their careers.

This historic rivalry and the players that headlined it have to be included when telling the story of the NFL. A big reason the league began to focus additionally on player safety is because of some of the hits that were laid out when Baltimore matched up with Pittsburgh.