The Ravens need a win on Saturday to keep hopes of winning the AFC North alive, but the desire to beat the Steelers goes beyond the current playoff picture in the conference.
Pittsburgh’s 18-16 win over the Ravens in Week 11 was their eighth in their last nine games against their divisional rivals and it dropped the Ravens to 1-4 against the Steelers in games started by quarterback Lamar Jackson. That one-sided recent history wasn’t something Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey was aware of until after the loss, but he said on Tuesday that it “bothers me” and that “the focus has to be at a premium this week” in order to avoid making that record worse.
“The defensive meeting today was a little fiery, the team meeting was a little fiery, but it’s just going to build this week, and it’ll get talked about,” Humphrey said, via a transcript from the team. “I think some people got a taste of it. There were a couple of skirmishes in the last game, but this is big. This means a lot to a lot of people. It means a lot to me being here for a long time, and if you don’t understand, the message will be very clear as the week goes on.”
Other Ravens players said on Tuesday that they know what kind of approach the Steelers are going to take on Saturday and that it’s incumbent to not beat themselves on a day when every mistake will be magnified. If they can do that, everyone in Baltimore will feel better about where things stand regarding on of the team’s chief rivalries.
