"Baltimore is definitely a tough place to play," Woodley said. "We haven't won there in years."

Six to be exact, but the Steelers can be optimistic they will snap a five-game losing streak in Baltimore -- and clinch a division title in the process -- since they have shaken the road blues that plagued them last season.

The Steelers are 5-1 away from Heinz Field after going 3-5 on the road in 2007 and 1-5 in games outside of Pittsburgh and the state of Ohio.

Coach Mike Tomlin said the Steelers have not done anything different this season as far as routine or preparation for road games. The players have bought into something Tomlin has been preaching since before the start of the season.

"Great teams are capable of winning in hostile environments," Tomlin said. "I did point out and acknowledge to the group that last year's Super Bowl champions, the (New York) Giants, were 7-1 on the road."

The Giants were indeed every bit their nickname on the road. In addition to their 7-1 road record during the regular season, they won three playoff games in hostile environments and then stunned the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl at a neutral site.

"We talk about it all the time," Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward said of what the Giants accomplished last season. "I think by talking about it, by bringing it up all the time, it's on the players' minds, the importance of winning road games."

If that is one criterion that separates great teams from merely good ones, the Steelers are well on their way to meeting it.

In addition to their gaudy road record, the Steelers have been largely dominant away from Heinz Field. Since an early-season 15-6 loss to the Eagles in Philadelphia, the Steelers have won four consecutive road games and done so by an average of just over 18 points.

"You've got to be able to win on the road," Ward said, "because playing at home should be easy."

Playing in Baltimore has been anything but easy for the Steelers, which is one reason why Sunday's AFC North showdown will provide their toughest road test yet.

The Steelers have lost two overtime games in Baltimore since 2002, but they were beaten soundly in 2004 and were throttled by the Ravens, 27-0, in 2006.

No play better told the story of how badly the Ravens beat up the Steelers than the Bart Scott blindside hit that rocked quarterback Ben Roethlisberger -- one of Baltimore's nine sacks in the lopsided game.

The Ravens don't figure to be any more forgiving Sunday.

They will rely on a unit that is No. 2 in the NFL in total defense -- the Steelers are No. 1 in that category -- in the game that will either leave them tied atop the AFC North or out of the division race.

The Steelers would wrap up the AFC North with a victory.

Of the anticipated defensive struggle between the bitter rivals, Tomlin said, "The big thing is that we come out with one more point than they do. Hopefully it's not 3-2, but I'll take it if it is and be happy."