PITTSBURGH -- Back when linebacker Terrell Suggs was wearing anti-Steelers T-shirts during training camp, he probably wouldn't have believed the Ravens would be chasing the Cincinnati Bengals in late November. No doubt the Steelers didn't expect to be, either.
The first of two Steelers-Ravens games during the final six weeks of the NFL season won't be for first place in the AFC North, but it could serve as a last chance for one of last season's conference finalists.
If the Ravens (5-5) lose Sunday night in Baltimore, the playoffs probably aren't a realistic goal. If the Steelers (6-4) lose to their biggest rivals and extend their losing streak to three, their chances of catching the division-leading Bengals (7-3) would diminish greatly.
Their stunning 27-24 overtime loss to the Chiefs left the Steelers in a "miserable" mood, safety Ryan Clark said. He can only imagine how they'd feel if they lost to the Ravens, too.
"This game is important to us for one reason, because it's the next one, and also because we are coming off two losses," Clark said Wednesday. "To come off a week where you lose to Kansas City, a team you expect to beat and everybody in your division loses, you don't gain on Cincinnati, you don't get a game up on Baltimore, you keep yourself in that same place, it's disappointing."
Any Baltimore-Pittsburgh matchup is a big one for the rivals, but the ramifications of a loss for either team is changing the perspective for this game, if not the importance. After all, it's difficult to do much trash talking when a team has lost five of seven (Ravens) or its last two (Steelers).
Defensive back Corey Ivy signed with the Steelers on Tuesday to improve their sagging special teams, which have allowed four kickoff return touchdowns in five games. He also can provide some insight on what the Ravens are thinking, even if it might seem obvious.
"It's definitely circled on everybody's calendar when you play Pittsburgh," Ivy said. "These games right now really count because it's getting into the playoffs, it could really teeter right now either way."
Both teams are built around similar styles and philosophies -- hit hard, play nasty, run the ball, but also be able to hit the deep pass -- and their games often are among the NFL's most physical all season.
"You can feel it when you watch the game, the speed of the game and all the hitting that's going on out there," Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall said.
Last season, Suggs suggested during a radio interview that the Ravens put bounties on wide receiver Hines Ward and Mendenhall before the teams met during the fourth week. Mendenhall's rookie season was ended when a big hit by Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis fractured his left shoulder blade.
This will be the first time Mendenhall has opposed the Ravens since -- and, no, he probably won't be sending any text messages to Ravens running back Ray Rice. Mendenhall's text to Rice that he expected a big game prompted the Ravens' agitation with him last season.
Now, Mendenhall said his incentive isn't getting back at the team that injured him, but gaining a victory the Steelers badly need. They are only 1-2 in the AFC North after sweeping all six division games last season.
"It's definitely important with the position we are in right now, trying to make the playoffs," he said. "And just that it's a tough opponent and a division opponent means it's a tough game. We feel like we need to win."
Still, Clark said this would be an important game for the Steelers no matter who they were playing, if only because losing to Kansas City lessened their margin for error.
The Steelers were in a similar position in 2005, at 7-5, but won their final eight -- four during the season -- to win the Super Bowl. They might not need such a surge now to reach the postseason, given that only four AFC teams are more than two games above .500, but they can't afford many more losses.
With both teams needing to win so badly, all the ancillary activity that often occurs before a Steelers-Ravens game might be lessened.
"I think it only gets nasty sometimes when there are things people say afterward or when they use words like bounties and when people wear T-shirts to camp," Clark said. "I think sometimes that takes away from just how physical and how impressive these games are. I think if we just went out and played football and this big stink wasn't made of the rivalry or the game being nasty, it would be good clean football."