Steelers-With Ben-Rarely Lose To Ravens

PITTSBURGH (AP) ― Ben Roethlisberger is the great equalizer in the Steelers-Ravens rivalry.

Of the last eight games between the division rivals, the Steelers have won five — all with Roethlisberger at quarterback. The three he didn't play, they lost.

Detect a pattern?

Despite spraining his right foot against the Bills, Roethlisberger is expected to be in the lineup when the teams meet Sunday night in Baltimore for first place in the AFC North. Roethlisberger was suspended when the Ravens beat the Steelers 17-14 on a last-minute Joe Flacco to T.J. Houshmandzadeh touchdown pass Oct. 3 in Pittsburgh. He was out with a concussion during Pittsburgh's 20-17 overtime loss in Baltimore last season.

Roethlisberger is 7-2 as a starter against the Ravens, with both losses occurring in 2006. He is 162 of 287 for 2,104 yards, 16 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 10 career game against them, including his NFL debut as an injury replacement for Tommy Maddox in 2004.

No doubt the Steelers (8-3) want Roethlisberger ready to go for what could be their biggest game of the season. Win, and they're a game up on the Ravens (8-3) with four games to play. Lose, and they're effectively down two games because Baltimore would own a one-game lead and the tiebreaker should the teams finish with the same record.

The Ravens have won their last eight at home.

"You don't want to miss that one," wide receiver Hines Ward said. "This is going to be a heavyweight fight, champs for our division. It always is, every year, regardless if one team's struggling or the other team is having success. This is the one you circle."

The importance of having Roethlisberger when the Steelers play their biggest rival was illustrated in 2008. Then, the Steelers won three tight games against the Ravens by scores of 23-20 in overtime at home, 13-9 in Baltimore and 23-14 again in Pittsburgh in the AFC championship game.

During the 13-9 game, he drove the Steelers nearly the length of the field during a decisive 12-play drive that ended with his 4-yard touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes with 43 seconds remaining. He was 7 of 11 for 89 yards on that drive alone. He also found Holmes on a 65-yard touchdown pass play in the AFC championship game, which preceded the Steelers' win over Arizona in the Super Bowl.

Despite his sore foot, Roethlisberger led his 22nd career game-winning scoring drive in the fourth quarter or overtime as the Steelers beat Buffalo 19-16 in overtime on Sunday. Roethlisberger stayed in the game despite the sore foot.

"My foot was in the ground and someone was driving me backward, and my foot couldn't get out of the ground, so my knee just got bent sideways," Roethlisberger said of an injury that didn't prevent him for breaking off an 18-yard run for a first down.

While Roethlisberger remained in the game, the Steelers finished it without injured defensive ends Brett Keisel (hamstring, calf), who has played only a handful of snaps in six games, and Nick Eason (sprained medial collateral ligament in left knee). If Keisel isn't ready to go against Baltimore, the Steelers may have to start 2009 first-round draft pick Ziggy Hood and Steve McLendon, who wasn't on their roster for part of the season.

Cornerback Bryant McFadden (hamstring) also couldn't finish a game in which they Steelers drew 107 yards in penalties. They have 270 yards in penalties in their last two games after having 383 yards in their first nine games.

"When you eliminate those, you're going to go out and win games," linebacker LaMarr Woodley said. "The last two weeks, we've been kind of killing ourselves with penalties here and there and keeping teams alive. Once we cut that out, we'll be pretty good."

The Steelers should be better against the Ravens, if only because Roethlisberger's history suggests they will be.

"We're not playing good football, our best football, but I think from what we had to overcome and go through (in Buffalo), we can learn from it," Ward said. "I like the direction this team is headed, especially in the month of December."

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