If the Ravens defeat the Steelers, how much can we read into it?

The Baltimore Ravens are 8-3 vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers since the start of the 2011 season. The Ravens have won five out of the last six meetings including an active three game winning streak against the black and yellow.

When everything that could go wrong, went wrong for the Ravens during the 2015 season, this team still managed to sweep the Steelers even without Joe Flacco at quarterback. The Ravens are currently 3-4 on the season with an active four game losing streak and the Steelers might just be the cure to fix the Ravens woes.

But if the Ravens do win, does that mean that the Ravens fixed some issues over the course of the bye week? Or does it mean that the Ravens realize that it is Steeler week and the team shows up for battle in arguably the best rivalry in the league?

I’ll tell you, if the Ravens do win this game and win it big, there will be questions on the outside as to, “where did these Ravens come from?” And then the follow up question will be, “why do the Ravens show up against the Steelers these days and not anybody else?” And that to me, would be an interesting question to ask because there might be some validity to it.

If we are looking at a Ravens team that decides to show up when it feels like, then that is not only a players problem, but a coaching problem as well. The goal is always to do well in your division, that goes for every team. But the Ravens are an established franchise with two Super Bowl trophies in the last 16 years and 15 playoff wins which is second most in the NFL since 1996.

So as great as it is to beat the Steelers almost every year, the goal isn’t to be beat the Steelers. The goal is to win the division and put yourself in the best position to host an AFC championship game for the right to go to the Super Bowl.

The next few games after the Ravens face the Steelers will be against the Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys and the Cincinnati Bengals in order. If the Ravens do win this week, how the Ravens react in the following three games will tell a story about the mindset within the organization.