So, does anybody care to fathom a guess where the Pittsburgh Steelers stand on the Baltimore Ravens reaching the Super Bowl?

Probably like most fans, it’s somewhere in the middle.

There is one faction that would love to see Baltimore lose because they are the Steelers’ most-hated rival, but also a group that believes it shows how strong the AFC North can be.

Of course, some may not want to see the San Francisco 49ers tie the Steelers for most Lombardi Trophies with six — with a win putting the Niners at 6-0, as opposed to Pittsburgh’s 6-2 mark — but one thing some Steelers fans are thinking is, “That should have been us.”

The fact that Pittsburgh lost to Baltimore 13-10 with a gimpy backup quarterback in Byron Leftwich, then surprised the Ravens two weeks later with a 23-20 win behind third-stringer Charlie Batch might have some Steelers fans believing they were just as deserving as Baltimore to reach the Super Bowl.

That may have been realistic once the defense turned itself around after stumbling out of the gate.

A big win in New York against the Giants, followed by a lackluster win against the Kansas City Chiefs moved Pittsburgh to 6-3, but starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was lost for a month.

When Roethlisberger did return, he was a shadow of his former self and not the MVP candidate he was being touted as before the injury.

The Steelers lost three in a row down the stretch with Roethlisberger, including a pair of late-game interceptions to seal their fate, before a meaningless win over the Browns.

Instead, the Bengals slipped into the No. 6 seed and had to go to Houston. The Bengals were beaten and the guess here is Pittsburgh would have, too.

Roethlisberger was not back to midseason form and the defense, which finished as No. 1 overall, still did not have the penchant for the big play.

The team had 10 interceptions and 10 fumbles recovered. That’s 20 turnovers in 16 games.

The Ravens finished with 25, but have been solid in the postseason with six sacks, five interceptions — one for a TD — and three forced fumbles in three games.

Had the Steelers slipped past the Texans, they would have gone to Denver (again) only this time to face an on-fire Peyton Manning, not one they saw in Week 1 and definitely not Tim Tebow like last season’s playoff contest.

And, they would have had to play (again) without safety Ryan Clark.

Had they been successful there, it would have been on to New England, one place the Steelers have not fared well in the Tom Brady era.

The point is, the Steelers had too much to overcome and it would not have turned out well in the postseason. But in the parity of the NFL, the Steelers have a great shot to return to the playoffs next year.

Having your rival — no, not Cleveland — in the Super Bowl, if anything, should fuel the Steelers’ fire next season.

Sam Tallarico is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.