Sweeping your rival during a down season is enough reason for Sunday glee. Wrecking their pristine path to the playoff is the cherry on top.
"It's the Steelers. We just wanted to beat them," Baltimore Ravens defensive tackle Brandon Williams said, via the team's official website. "It's even sweeter that we may have ruined their playoff chances. That's the biggest icing on the cake, and we also just happened to sweep them."
It's just the third time in the Ravens' 20-year history they've swept the Pittsburgh Steelers. They won 20-17 on Sunday with Ryan Mallett under center, no less.
"I know what (the rivalry is) about now," Mallett said. "I like it. What Steve Smith (Sr.) said, 'big boy football,' right? Alright."
Mallett played his best game as a pro, picking apart the Steelers' secondary for 274 yards on 28 completions with zero turnovers.
Inexplicably, Mallett outplayed Ben Roethlisberger, who threw for 215 yards and two interceptions. After the game, Big Ben took blame for the loss. Pittsburgh now needs to win in Week 17 and hope for a Jets loss.
"If we can't get in there, then you can't get in either," corner Lardarius Webb said.
