The Steelers have a short week to prepare for what is always one of their most challenging games of the season when they play the Baltimore Ravens Thursday night at Heinz Field.
"We've got a hostile opponent," said receiver Antonio Brown. "We know what the Baltimore Ravens bring. Short week, so we've got to get our minds focused on that."
It's always a gritty, nasty battle when the two teams meet, and there isn't a lot of time to get ready for the fight.
"It's always tough, especially losing some of the people we lost this week and coming off a tough fought game in St. Louis," said tackle Kelvin Beachum. "We know we have to come home and find a way to get a win.
"It's a short week, but we have to find a way to get a win whether it's Thursday night, Sunday, Monday, whatever."
Familiarity with the Ravens might breed contempt, but it also makes preparing without a lot of time a little bit easier.
"It's not as tough this week because we are familiar with these guys," said tackle Marcus Gilbert, shortly before going in to watch film on the Ravens with his fellow linemen. "It will just be about honing in and checking out their personnel and seeing if anything is new. We have seen their defense before. We will check these guys out and see what they are about."
The biggest challenge might be for quarterback Mike Vick, who is stepping in for Ben Roethlisberger who suffered an MCL sprain to his left knee and there is no timetable for his return. Vick, though, is a veteran and is up for the challenge.
"It's a short week, but we're all professionals," said Vick. "We know what a short week entails. We know what we have to do. You just have to grind. I certainly look forward to that, staying in my normal routine and get with the quarterback coach and offensive coordinator and even talk with Ben and other guys and try and figure out how we're going to get this done."
