OWINGS MILLS, Md. — What could possibly make the Pittsburgh Steelers feel better than beating the Baltimore Ravens twice in a season?

An encore in the playoffs.

The Steelers defeated the Ravens in overtime at home in September, then rallied in December for a 13-9 win in Baltimore. That would usually be good enough to earn bragging rights in this contentious rivalry, but the Ravens get another shot at Pittsburgh in the AFC championship game Sunday.

And this time, Baltimore intends to get it right.

"This is a separate game. They don't add up the points and start from there, like the CFL did one year," Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan said, referring to a Canadian Football League gimmick in the early 1960s. "This is a one-game deal, and we have to be the best team that day."

The winner goes to the Super Bowl. The loser goes home.

"Hopefully for us," Baltimore receiver Derrick Mason said, "the third time is the charm."

Or will it be three strikes and they're out?

NFL lore suggests it's difficult to beat a team three times in a single season, but history indicates otherwise. Since the merger in 1970, a team attempting to complete a three-game sweep has been successful 11 of 18 times.

Advantage, Steelers.

But it's not as if Pittsburgh overwhelmed the Ravens in either game. The first one couldn't be decided in regulation, and the second one turned when a ruling on the field was reversed by a replay, providing the Steelers with a victory and the AFC North title.

"As soon as the game is over, you're over it," Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis insisted. "You don't dwell on it too much in this business. You take the good with the bad, and you move on. After you've made your corrections, you make sure it doesn't happen again."

Many of the plays that worked in that last game won't be effective in this one. Game film has been studied and changes have been made. Even the Steelers realize that gauging the results of the first two games and applying them to this one could be a big mistake.

"You definitely have to throw those out the window," offensive tackle Max Starks said.

"I've always been one to take the approach that each individual performance stands on its own," Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin said. "Whether or not we win this game will be based on how we prepare and how we play this game, and not really what's happened in the past."

The Ravens can only hope Tomlin knows what he's talking about. This is the fifth time that two teams have met in a conference championship game after a 2-0 sweep during the season. Three of the four previous times, the team that won the first two games completed the sweep.

"We've come up empty twice against them now, and we're ready to go get them again," Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco said. "It should be a lot of fun."

That's a unique way to describe a meeting between two teams that don't particularly care for each other.

"Hate is a strong word," Ravens safety Ed Reed said. "It's more of a respect thing. They know we play hard, and we know they play hard. It would be something if one of those guys or one of us said we didn't respect them, because it would be a lie. At the end of the day, I believe that both teams are true fans of football."

The stakes have never been higher, so the players are keeping the banter to a minimum.

"Talk isn't important to us. We're just all about showing up on Sunday and playing football," Pittsburgh center Justin Hartwig said. "There is no need to talk."

All that's left is to get on the field and see if Pittsburgh can pull off a sweep.

"It's a one-game season," Ravens offensive coordinator Cam Cameron. "We'd like to think we're going to be even better this week."