BALTIMORE — Four days after opening the season by losing to a division foe at home, the Baltimore Ravens face their most-hated rival in a pivotal game Thursday night.
The matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers couldn’t come soon enough for the Ravens, who finally get to play a football game in the wake of the media firestorm involving Ray Rice.
Following Sunday’s 23-16 defeat against Cincinnati, Baltimore had not yet launched its short work-week when a video surfaced showing Rice hitting his then-fiancee in an elevator last February. The incident previously led the NFL to suspend the running back for two games, but the graphic video prompted the Ravens to release Rice and the NFL to suspend him indefinitely.
From that point, coach John Harbaugh and his players were bombarded with more questions about Rice than the importance of avoiding an 0-2 start with two home losses against AFC North opponents.
“It’s been a trying time,” wide receiver Steve Smith said. “You have to compartmentalize to some part, because if you don’t, this is a game that is physical and you can get hurt if your mind is not clear and focused on what you have to do.”
Under different circumstances, the Ravens (0-1) and Steelers (1-0) would be asked about the intensity of a rivalry in which 10 of the last 12 games have been decided by three points or fewer. Maybe everyone would be talking about Pittsburgh’s second-half collapse against Cleveland last week.
Instead, the topic of conversation was a running back who wasn’t supposed to play in this game anyway.
The first question posed to Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in a conference call involved his thoughts on Ray Rice. He dutifully answered before quickly shifting gears.
“We pray for him and his family,” Roethlisberger told the Baltimore media. “The biggest focus is the game on Thursday. … That is what we can control.”
TOMLIN SIDESTEP: When these teams last met in November, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin was looking at the scoreboard when he strayed onto the field while Baltimore’s Jacoby Jones was returning a kick.
Jones altered his path and was tackled before reaching the end zone.
Tomlin, who was subsequently fined $100,000 by the NFL, said this week: “Tell Jacoby he’s safe.”
Said Jones: “I’m actually going up to holler at him right before the game and go, ‘Hey, what you got for me this time?””