Mike Tomlin on Tuesday called the Steelers-Ravens rivalry the best in football.
While I haven't been able to witness first-hand many of the other good rivalries around the league, I have seen all 30 games between Baltimore and Pittsburgh.
They are all memorable, particularly since the Ravens became a factor around 1998.
In the past 24 meetings, 11 of the games have been decided by three or fewer points.
In the past 11 meetings, four have gone to overtime.
The Steelers are 5-2 against the Ravens under Tomlin, but the aggregate score of those games is 99-83, showing just how close the margin is.
© Tomlin said defensive tackle Chris Hoke (knee) and guard Trai Essex (ankle) could be available this week.
© And, of course, Charlie Batch will start at QB.
9 comments:
Steelers-Houston/Tenn is still a pretty good rivalry dating back to the 70s.
Not too much beat the Steelers and Raiders games of the 70s either.
Taking nothing away from Steelers-Ravens where the two teams genuinely detest each other.
The great thing about the Steelers-Ravens is the proximity of the two teams and the fact that they play each other twice a year.
Houston wasn't close to Pittsburgh geographically and the Raiders-Steelers weren't a guaranteed game.
I think Steelers-Ravens is the best on-field rivalry, but the best off-field rivalry might be Packers-Vikings. Those fans absolutely hate each other, plus now there's the whole Favre factor.
I have to say the Steelers-Ravens rivalry is one of the better rivalries in football but not because of some long standing history. It's because both teams see themselves as tough, hard nosed defensive minded football teams that can beat the other into submission. When you lose in this rivalry you've lost because you've been "out toughed" and neither team can accept that.
I can't wait until Sunday... Game On Baby!!!!
Everyone's missing the obvious point--"Steelers-Ravens" rivalry is really "Steelers-Browns" rivalry, because the Ravens ARE the Browns. Don't forget that that team up in Cleveland is an expansion team, and the one in Baltimore is really the one we've been struggling against for 40 odd years.
Dale, I realize Pgh and Houston wasn't a geographic rivalry, but they were in the same division and did also play twice a year. The teams continued to play twice a year as members of the AFC Central after Houston moved to TN. IIRC plenty of Steeler fans "hated" the Oilers and Jerry Glanville as much as they do the Ravens now.
It's true Pgh and Oak didn't play every year, but there was plenty of stuff that went on with Atkinson's hit on Lynn Swann, the Immaculate Reception, Steeler fans beating up Bob Moore, etc. It was crazy.
Steelers-Balt/Clev is right up there now for sure as those old rivalries have fallen by the wayside.
I don't consider the Ravens the Browns. The Browns are the Browns - albeit a poor stepsister. To me - and the NFL, for that matter - the Ravens are the Ravens. The Ravens are Ray Lewis. The Ravens are Terrell Suggs. The Ravens are Jonathan Ogden. The Ravens are Ed Reed. None of those guys played in Cleveland. Early in the series, it may have been a Cleveland thing. But the Ravens have done a good job of creating their own identity.
I wasn't dissing the Steelers-Houston or Steelers-Oakland rivalries. I got to cover the Steelers when they still played the Oilers in Houston - I'm getting old. The Oilers were still good at that time, but the rivalry had died down since the 70s and early 80s. The Steelers being bad in the 80s didn't help that.
Dale, well Clev was without a team for a year or so after Modell snuck the team off to Balt wasn't it? I think the fact that Balt was Clev is what started the current rivalry.
Anyway, some good times thinking about the old rivalries.
Dale, I agree with you that the Ravens have their own identity now, but Juanus' point still holds. When the team moved there was an intense rivalry that carried over. When Ray Lewis came in, he came into that rivalry already existing. Same for Ll the new guys who never played in Clev. As the Ravens got better the intensity of the rivalry heightened because more was at stake. The Steelers-Ravens rivalry didn't start at zero and build up, it was already at 6 or 7 and got amped up to 9.8.
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