Ravens vs. Steelers Preview: Three's Company

There's nothing quite like a rivalry game in the playoffs, especially when that rivalry is as heated as the one between the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers.

Saturday night marks the first playoff game between the bitter AFC North foes in a decade, and there's certainly no love lost between them. After splitting the regular-season series, this one is for all the marbles.

"We're playing the Steelers, so we know it's always tough," running back Derrick Henry told reporters this week. "During the season, those AFC North matchups are four-quarter battles, so that's what we anticipate. We don't take the opponent lightly, but we know it's an AFC North division opponent rivalry. We know it's going to be a four-quarter battle."

Entering this game, these two teams are headed in opposite directions. Baltimore has won its past four games in dominating fashion, while Pittsburgh has lost its past four, with three of them not being close. In that time, the Ravens defeated the Steelers 34-17 at home on Dec. 21, which was a big turning point in the AFC North race.

During Pittsburgh's losing steak, the offense has been largely ineffective. The Steelers have averaged just 14.3 points per game over their past four games, and they've finished with less than 200 net passing yards in each of those games. That doesn't mean the Ravens' defense will have an easy job, however.

"Any offense is an NFL offense, so they can make anything happen," edge rusher Odafe Oweh said. "They try to make a lot of big chunk plays; we just have to stop those. I like our defensive line against what they do, so we're just going to go out there and compete."

Defensively, the Steelers still boast a sturdy unit led by T.J. Watt, and they've still given Lamar Jackson more trouble than any other team throughout his career. Scoring 34 points in the previous meeting is a big confidence booster, but the playoffs are an entirely different animal.

"I was always confident, but that game doesn't even matter anymore," Jackson said. "It's win or go home right now, so I'm locked in with the same mindset I had before that last game."

The Steelers boast a 3-1 playoff record against the Ravens, though the latter did win the latest game back in 2014. Additionally, this is the first-ever playoff meeting in Baltimore, and best believe M&T Bank Stadium will be rocking on Saturday night.

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