There is and never has been love lost between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens. Throughout the 21st century, both franchises have been very successful, specifically under the leaderships of Mike Tomlin and John Harbaugh. Even before the two current head coaches began, however, both teams' coaching staffs had a ton of pedigree. The hard-fought battles over the years have earned the rivalry the title of one of the NFL's fiercest, and every game seems to hold some sort of significance. In Week 11, the two organizations will duel it out in the Steel City with first place in the AFC North on the line.
The hype is at an all-time high leading into the matchup, as both Pittsburgh and Baltimore have seven wins. The Ravens have yet to have a bye, which is why the Steelers sit in first place in the division, having an advantage in the loss column. Plenty will tune in at 1pm on Sunday to witness the rivalry in action, and there will be some nostalgia for fans that remember the hard-hitting days of individuals like Troy Polamalu and Ed Reed, among many others.
One of the Ravens' best defenders, Nnamdi Madubuike, sat down with Ryan Mink and Garrett Downing of The Lounge podcast and spoke about all things football, including the big game against the Steelers. The hosts asked the defensive lineman if he had been watching film from the intense battles in the early 2000s. Madubuike mentioned that Defensive Coordinator Zach Orr already had that covered.
"You know, [Zach Orr] already put the highlights up already in the defensive meeting," Madubuike explained. "Film like that, you know, those are cool film, but if you play like that now, you're going to get a letter. The mentality is there, but the just way they play is like you maybe have to back off."
It's pretty crazy to think that the present-day leader of Baltimore's defense is still showing old film to his players ahead of the big rivalry contest. The NFL has changed plenty, however, since individuals like Haloti Ngata were breaking noses of guys such as Ben Roethlisberger.
The Steelers and Ravens have always been able to produce incredible matchups and while Pittsburgh has won seven of the last eight games, each one has been decided by seven points or less. It's very rare that these contests get out of hand, which is why even more emphasis is put on accepting the culture of hard-fought, painful battles.
Coaches around the league will use different methods to get their players pumped up for meaningful games and it appears as if Orr has already found his form of motivation. Watching highlights of old-school Steelers versus Ravens game will get the average fan ready to run through a brick wall, nonetheless, the guys who are suiting up on Sunday for it.
There is plenty on the line in Week 11 and while the NFL has become much more strict with certain styles of play, it'd be rather shocking if someone didn't come out of the game with some kind of letter from the league fining him. The rivalry has been built on nasty, smash-mouth football, and there's no reason to think that won't be the case in Pittsburgh on Sunday.
Steelers Unfortunately Got Short End Of Scheduling Stick
Pittsburgh has to focus on a massive Week 11 showdown against the Ravens, but then will quickly have to refocus for another AFC North matchup against the Cleveland Browns on Thursday Night Football. It's bad enough that the games against Baltimore cause players from both franchises to be a little more sore than normal, and the Steelers have the unfortunate task of playing on a short week right after/
