OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Baltimore Ravens enter the most difficult part of the schedule coming off their most dominant performance of the season.

Coach John Harbaugh hopes the boost in morale derived from a 55-20 rout of Oakland will carry into Sunday night’s showdown against Pittsburgh — and beyond that.

“I think confidence is borne of success,” Harbaugh said Monday. “When you do things well, it’s a positive thing. It doesn’t guarantee anything, just like if you’re struggling the week before it doesn’t guarantee that you can’t do something. Every week does stand on its own, but playing well is a good thing. We’d like to build on that.”

Before facing the Raiders on Sunday, the Ravens were sporadic on offense and victimized by inconsistent defensive play. Both units excelled against Oakland, and special teams contributed two touchdowns to the highest-scoring output in franchise history.

Baltimore’s previous five wins were by 1, 7, 3, 2 and 10 points. This one was 27-10 at halftime, the Ravens’ largest margin at the break this season.

“We always want to play well and play like that and try to get after teams,’ guard Marshal Yanda said. “It was important for us to play well and kind of get this thing rolling a little bit.”

Baltimore (7-2) stands alone atop the AFC North, but the final seven weeks offer a steep challenge.

“When the schedule first came out, we knew it was going to be an important stretch for us, and here it is,” he said. “Fortunately, we’ve been good enough to put ourselves in position to make it meaningful, Now it’s our job to make the most of it.”