PITTSBURGH - The pregame talk was unusually subdued for two teams that normally love nothing better than to chatter about each other. Maybe it's because the importance of this game speaks for itself.

For the first time since the former Cleveland Browns moved to Baltimore for the 1996 season, the Ravens meet their biggest rivals Sunday in a late-December game that truly matters. As Ravens coach Brian Billick said, every Ravens-Steelers game means something no matter the time or the setting, but what's at stake in this game is evident.

For the Ravens, it could mean their entire season. For the Steelers, it could mean their entire postseason.

That's why, even though the Steelers effectively secured a playoff spot weeks ago, running back Jerome Bettis said, "This is The Game. This is our biggest game of the season."

The Ravens (8-6) are one of four teams tied for the AFC's last wild-card spot and badly need to win after losing three of four. The Steelers (13-1) locked up the AFC North on Dec. 12, but can secure a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs by running their franchise-record winning streak to 13 games.

"And what better way to get that than by beating the Ravens?" wide receiver Hines Ward asked.

The Steelers have incentives beyond the obvious, most notably to beat the team that dealt them their only defeat, 30-13 on Sept. 19. Quarterback Tommy Maddox injured an elbow early in the third quarter with the Ravens up big, forcing rookie Ben Roethlisberger to take over. No other Steelers QB has taken a snap in the 12 games - and 12 victories - that have followed.

"It's a total different makeup of this team from the first time we played them to now," Ward said. "So we're looking forward to it."

Not surprisingly, so are the Ravens, who have beaten Pittsburgh two straight. Roethlisberger seemingly plays with an `S' on his chest, enjoying the best record of any NFL rookie quarterback ever, yet the Ravens think they've got the answer.

"We're Pittsburgh's Kryptonite," Terrell Suggs said. "Some teams just can't beat us: Pittsburgh, Denver, Jacksonville. I'm not afraid of their offense one bit."

The Steelers did win four in a row without scoring more than 19 points in any game from Nov. 21-Dec. 12, but Roethlisberger passed for a career-high 316 yards while leading his fourth final-quarter comeback victory in 12 starts Dec. 18 against the Giants.

Despite Suggs' words, the teams' pregame banter never became all that heated. Steelers receiver Plaxico Burress suggests neither team wants to give the other any more incentive.

"I would pretty much say it's a rivalry of hate," said Burress, who hopes to play after missing four games with a sore hamstring. "I don't think there are too many friends on either sideline. They don't like us and we don't like them. Their fans don't like us and our fans don't like them."

Not even Ravens coach Brian Billick could bait Steelers linebacker Joey Porter into accelerating his normally voluminous word count. Porter angered the Ravens by shoving a wobbly, defenseless Todd Heap during the Sept. 19 game, and Heap missed nine games with a badly sprained ankle.

Heap was already injured at the time.

"That was what it was. It was fairly self-evident what it was, and I don't know that our guys are particularly focused on it. The fact that Todd Heap missed the ensuing 10 weeks or so, I don't know that anybody has dwelled on that," Billick said, his words tinged with sarcasm.

Normally, Porter would respond with some pointed words, but was low-key this time - perhaps because Steelers coach Bill Cowher said Porter often becomes too distracted by events other than the game.

"I'm just concentrating on getting this game won because it's a game we definitely need to win," said Porter, one of the Steelers' AFC-high six Pro Bowl picks. "The sideshow stuff, that's way behind me. If they're still mad about the Todd Heap thing, that's something they can deal with."

What Steelers are dealing with is a worrisome and ever-growing list of injuries that threaten to leave them short-handed for the playoffs. Running back Duce Staley (hamstring) probably will miss his sixth game in eight weeks, and linebacker Clark Haggans (groin) also won't play. Cornerback Chad Scott (knee) has missed eight games and linebacker Kendrell Bell (groin) has played in only two games.

The Ravens aren't entirely healthy, either. Running back Jamal Lewis aggravated an ankle injury while running for 130 yards in a 20-10 loss to Indianapolis, though he is expected to play.