The Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers have no trouble opening up a can of whoop-ass. This is a classic smash mouth, all-out brawl between two of the toughest defenses in the league. Ravens versus Steelers has been a close and entertaining contest for the past decade, and this one is sure to bring more of the same. Dating back to last season, the last four games have been split by the two teams, each decided by a single field goal. There isn’t a more tightly contested match up in the playoffs.

The Steelers have home-field advantage, but the Ravens are notorious for winning on the road, with a 4-2 record in road playoff games since Joe Flacco has been their starting quarterback. Each team has won on the other’s home field this season.

These teams hate each other, so I fully expect to see a few players injured and for one or two scuffles to break out. In their previous meeting, Baltimore’s mammoth of a defensive tackle Haloti Ngata broke Steeler’s quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s nose. Big Ben stayed in the game and led his team to a comeback win over its division rival. These are two tough football teams that will play until the final whistle.

Honestly, this game could go either way, but in a high-pressure playoff atmosphere like this, I have to take the experienced quarterback in Roethlisberger. Big Ben wasn’t active in the Ravens’ victory back in Week Four while serving a four-game suspension, so expect him to be the difference maker in this one.

Prediction: Steelers over Ravens, 20-17