The Pittsburgh Steelers play 17 games every season, but two of them mean more, as Willie Colon illustrated Thursday. The former Steelers offensive lineman recalled playing against the Baltimore Ravens on Lots To Say With Bobby Jones — and how those games transcended football.
“First of all, the rivalry is real. People think it’s all made up for TV. No. The rivalry was very real. And it was intense,” Colon said. “I know personally, I wouldn’t sleep well going into Ravens games. Your manhood was going to be challenged. And it was one of those games where you couldn’t blink, meaning you couldn’t show fear, and you couldn’t look like the guy that didn’t belong on the field. It always felt big. No matter where we were in the standings, it always felt big, and it always felt real.”
These two teams arguably have the most intense rivalry in the NFL. The Steelers always circle those games on their calendar, just like the Ravens do. Considering the complexion of the AFC North over the past couple of decades, it makes sense. The Cleveland Browns haven’t fought for the divisional crown much at all. The Cincinnati Bengals have been good at times, but not as consistently as both Pittsburgh and Baltimore have. Racing each other for the division every year is bound to raise the stakes, even beyond just being division rivals already.
Both teams had a chance at winning the division going into the final week last year, with the Ravens’ Week 17 win over the Steelers being a deciding factor in that race.
Despite the intensity, Colon enjoyed the Steelers-Ravens matchups.
“It was real, but I loved it,” Colon said. “It was one of my favorite games. I loved playing Baltimore. I loved playing in Baltimore, and I loved them coming home [Pittsburgh].”
Over the past few years, the Steelers have usually gotten the better of the Ravens. In 2024, that started to change, though. The Steelers clawed out a close victory in the first matchup thanks to an incredible performance from kicker Chris Boswell. However, the Steelers had to visit Baltimore as part of a grueling end to their 2024 season. The game was closer than the 34-17 final score suggests, but Baltimore was the better team. The Ravens made easy work of Pittsburgh a few weeks later in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs.
The Steelers will want revenge this year, but it won’t be easy. Baltimore is thought to be better than Pittsburgh, and the Steelers may have a tough test for second place in the division given the Bengals’ offensive firepower. However, things typically tend to come down to the wire in this division, so the Steelers-Ravens rivalry could have some serious implications this year.
The Steelers visit Baltimore in Week 14. They close the regular season at home against them in Week 18.
