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The Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers have long been defined by their defenses, so it’s natural that the two AFC North powers have embraced a back-and-forth rivalry characterized by their physicality and down-to-the-wire finishes.It’s a quarterback, however, who’s swung the pendulum in Pittsburgh’s favor. The Steelers have won the last six installments of one of the NFL’s fiercest rivalries when Ben Roethlisberger has played, a trend they’ll hope to continue when the Ravens travel to Heinz Field for Saturday’s AFC Divisional showdown.

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It’s been referred to as Armageddon, World War III and “personal between the two cities,” and those are only the labels placed on the rivalry by Baltimore linebacker Terrell Suggs since a 30-7 wild-card victory at Kansas City on Sunday. Pittsburgh and Baltimore both finished 12-4 in the regular season and scored 27 points apiece in their two meetings, each winning by a field goal on the other’s home field. Five of the seven meetings over the past 28 months have been decided by three points, one by four and the other nine — that courtesy of Troy Polamalu’s late interception return in the 2009 AFC championship game that sent the Steelers to their seventh Super Bowl.

The fifth-seeded Ravens didn’t have much trouble against the Chiefs, forcing five turnovers, while the Steelers watched wild-card weekend at home after securing the No. 2 seed. That luxury, again, came largely thanks to Polamalu, whose fourth-quarter strip of Joe Flacco in Week 13 set up a late Roethlisberger touchdown pass to secure a 13-10 comeback win in Baltimore. Sunday’s win was Baltimore’s fourth away from home in the postseason since Flacco took over as a rookie in 2008, and the Ravens have reason to be confident Saturday despite Pittsburgh being rested. From 1990-2004, home teams were 49-11 in the divisional round. Since 2005, they’re just 10-10.