They say "third time's a charm," right? I certainly hope they're right about that, and if we beat the Steelers after two excruciating losses, the demons of their domination over us will be ripped off like a band-aid over a hairy leg! (What?)
Enough of the stupid attempts at analogies. The hated Steelers took care of business in a big way by thoroughly throttling the surprising San Diego Chargers. The Chargers played more like the team that was 4-8 than the one whose strong run got them into the playoffs at 8-8, and upset the Indianapolis Colts beofre coming to Pittsburgh. Count me among those Ravens fans that would have made the trip to sunny Southern California to see us beat them up on our way to Tampa. Oh well, we'll just have to pack the warm clothes instead to go into Heinz Field and spill their ketchup all over the gridiron (better analogy?). We lost two close, even questionable games to the Steelers, including the last one in Baltimore on a very unsettling call in the waning seconds of the game. However, they won and I'm one fan who will never blame the refs or one play on the outcome of 60 minutes of football. They seem to make the plays and for that I hate them, especially Ben Roethlisberger, who always escapes certain tackles and hits that smiling fool Hines Ward for the key first down when they need it most.
If When we do beat them in the most important game of the season, the other losses will melt away as we head to Tampa where the warmer weather waits and we have done pretty well in Florida this season, huh? The experts say it's pretty tough to beat a team three times in a season, but those are the same experts who have been picking against us all post season and probably will continue to do so next weekend as well. I'm sure the Steelers fans will be saying it's pretty hard to beat a team after they've already beaten you twice in a season. While I totally agree with this statement, it is a little more even than the wins and losses indicate. Both Pittsburgh victories were by a combined seven points and each was not decided until the last play or final minute. The Ravens have proved they can play and even beat the Steelers and now is the time to put up or shut up. Losing three in the same season would be a heartbreaker but would certainly prove who is the better team at this point and earn the right to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. However, when we redeem ourselves, then we will prove that our style of defense is incredibly difficult to practice for and continues to put this team in position to win for the so-called rookie QB to prove to the league that our claims of "unflappable" and "poised beyond his years" is actually true.
It will be a great week in Baltimore and we are all looking at Sunday evening as our "Super Bowl" since the winner of this game should easily wear the crown in Tampa three weeks from now.