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If the Ravens are able to beat the Steelers Sunday night and earn a sweep of their arch rivals, it would give them a huge edge over Pittsburgh in the AFC North race with four games to go.
A win on Sunday wouldn't just put the Ravens up by a game over the Steelers in the standings, it would represent a two-game cushion because Baltimore would have secured the head-to-head tiebreaker as well.
But before the Ravens can take that leg up in the battle for the division title, they'll have to accomplish something they've failed to accomplish in the John Harbaugh/Joe Flacco era - beat Ben Roethlisberger.
Yes, the Ravens have two wins over Pittsburgh in the six times that these bitter rivals have squared off over the last three seasons (including a loss in the AFC Championship game in 2008).
But both of those Baltimore victories have come with Roethlisberger out of uniform.
In Week 12 last season, as Roethlisberger stood on the sidelines at M&T Bank Stadium recovering from a concussion, the Ravens scored a 20-17 overtime win over Pittsburgh. The Steelers' quarterback that day was third-stringer Dennis Dixon, a rookie making his first career start.
In Week 4 of this season, as Roethlisberger sat on his sofa (or somewhere else not in Heinz Field) serving the final game of his four-game suspension, the Ravens earned a dramatic last-minute, come-from-behind 17-14 win. The Steelers' quarterback that day was third-stringer Charlie Batch, a 13-year veteran who was making just his second start since the 2007 season finale.
Every other time that the Ravens have seen the Steelers over the last three seasons, Roethlisberger has been under center for Pittsburgh, and he's left the field victorious.
That's not to say that Roethlisberger lit the world on fire in his games against Baltimore in that time frame, or that the Ravens have gotten shredded and had a ton of trouble defending him.
Here are Big Ben's numbers in his four wins over the Ravens in 2008 and 2009:
69-of-130 (53 percent) for 951 yards, 4 TDs, 2 INTs, 1 fumble lost
Not bad, but not exactly anything to write home about, either.
Still, despite his numbers not being overly impressive, time after time, Roethlisberger has found a way to pull out a clutch win over his team's top rival.
Be it with a clutch touchdown pass, a big play with his feet, or a clock-milking, game-clinching drive late in the fourth quarter, Big Ben has gotten the job done.
The Harbaugh-led Ravens have yet to prove that they can solve Roethlisberger. Facing the Steelers in primetime on Sunday night with a chance to take a major edge in the race for the division title, now would be as good a time as any for them to finally make that happen.
