Dec 26, 2015 4 min read

BALTIMORE – Less than a year ago, the Baltimore Ravens went into Heinz Field and defeated the Steelers in the opening round of the AFC playoffs, taking advantage of Pittsburgh being without All-Pro running back Le’Veon Bell.

That’s why the Steelers don’t feel badly about their bitter rival’s current plight.

After all, with a spot in the postseason possibly on the line again today for the Steelers (9-5), they can’t afford to show any mercy to the Ravens (4-10).

“Injuries are as much a part of the game as blocking and tackling,” said Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. “People either don’t care about your injuries, or they’re glad you have them.”

Baltimore has a league-high 19 players on injured reserve, including quarterback Joe Flacco, outside linebacker Terrell Suggs, wide receiver Steve Smith and running back Justin Forsett.

The Steelers had injury issues of their own. When these two teams met earlier this season, a 23-20 overtime victory by Baltimore in Pittsburgh, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was sidelined with a sprained knee.

The Steelers went 2-2 without Roethlisberger. On the other hand, the Ravens have completely fallen apart with their injuries.

“We are playing hard. Our guys practice hard every day,” said Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh, who is having his first losing season. “We have to play better football. That’s the bottom line. We have to play winning football. We haven’t been able to do that.”

The Steelers have played winning football, especially since Roethlisberger returned from his knee injury. The Steelers have won five of their last six games, scoring 30 or more points in each of those contests.

“We’re hot right now,” said offensive tackle Marcus Gilbert. “We want to keep this rolling and take it into the playoffs.”

After running through a gauntlet of potential playoff teams in the past four weeks – Seattle, Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Denver – and going 3-1 in those games, a letdown against a Baltimore team that is in the running for a top-5 draft pick is a possibility.

The Steelers can clinch a playoff spot with a win today and a victory by New England over the New York Jets.

“It’s huge,” said Pro Bowl guard David DeCastro. “You try not to look outside, but it’s hard not to. We’ve got to win the game, and that’s all that matters.”

Despite their issues – the Ravens haven’t scored more than 14 points in each of their last three games – they won’t go lightly, not when it can possibly spoil the Steelers’ playoff chances.

“It’s rivalry week, so we don’t care what our record is,” Baltimore linebacker Elvis Dumervil said. “We definitely want this one.”

Because of that, Harbaugh is not revealing who his starting quarterback will be. Matt Schaub and Jimmy Clausen have started two games each in place of Flacco, who is out with a torn knee ligament, and Ryan Mallett, who was signed last week, also is in the mix.

“We will have one out there playing,” Harbaugh said.

The only quarterback on the field who will really matter is Roethlisberger, who leads the NFL in yards per game with 337.

“Certainly,” Harbaugh said when asked if Pittsburgh’s offense is the most explosive in the league. “They’ve done a great job of setting up their scheme that way. It’s not that they can’t do the other things. They run the ball. They throw the controlled pass as well as anybody. Big Ben has been on fire lately with his accuracy. They have numerous playmakers out there and their coaches do a great job with those guys. I would say the answer to that is a resounding yes.”

The Steelers lead the series against the Ravens, 21-18. Tomlin is 9-9 against Baltimore. … The Steelers have won 10 consecutive December games. … Roethlisberger has six games with 350 or more passing yards this season … Baltimore has scored the game-winning points on the final play in each of its four of its victories.