The Pittsburgh Steelers managed to make a late season push that resulted in a chance to make some noise in the playoffs. Unfortunately, that opportunity was cut short by a loss in the Wild Card Round to the Buffalo Bills. One team who remains in the postseason however, is likely glad the Steelers are no longer in the playoffs. That would be the division rival Baltimore Ravens.
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Steelers rookie cornerback Joey Porter Jr. intercepts a pass against the Baltimore Ravens in a Week 5 victory at Acrisure Stadium.
It is well known the Steelers' success over the Ravens throughout the years, as they are currently leading the head-to-head series 35-25. The recent success is even more impressive, as since 2020, the Steelers are currently 7-1 against their division rival, and this is something that even the players seem to be well aware of.
One former offensive lineman who happened to be one of the few players that have wore both team's jerseys in his career had some interesting comments on the matchup. That would be none other than Alejandro Villanueva, who spent seven seasons with the Steelers before the final year of his career being spent in Baltimore.
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It was odd for everyone seeing Alejandro Villanueva in a Baltimore Ravens uniform, after spending seven years with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Villanueva joined another former Steelers' offensive lineman Ramon Foster on his podcast, The Ramon Foster Show, and ended up diving into how the rivalry was treated from both sides, as well as the mindset each team had. He ended up revealing the Steelers were definitely inside the heads of the Ravens, and some 'insecurity' was being shown on the Ravens side when they had to face off against the Steelers.
"The feeling was very surreal, it was very weird," said Villanueva on talking about playing against the Steelers with the Ravens. "I really wanted to win so bad. But, there is something, I noticed the insecurity in the Ravens' facility when it was time to play the Steelers."
With such a heated rivalry, and specifically one that had such a back and forth history throughout the 2010s leading up to the year Villanueva spent in Baltimore, it is a little eerie to hear that the Ravens had insecurity when the Steelers were next up. It always seems to be the exact opposite in the Steelers locker room with Mike Tomlin, that the team will frequently seem more alert and up to the challenge during Ravens week. That mentality is likely a huge point that gave the Steelers the edge over them in the last few years.
Steelers Treated Villanueva With A Little More Respect Than They Would've Most Others In The Rivalry
While the mentality leading up to the game was different, Villanueva brought up that once he got into the game, it didn't seem to be as heated of a rivalry directly towards him. This makes sense as he was on the friendly side of the rivalry the previous seven seasons, and still maintained friendships with many of this former teammates that still wore the Black and Gold.
Villanueva was asked who he got the most trash talk from after joining the enemy, and he unsurprisingly got very little from the Steelers players.
"What is TJ [Watt] going to say during the game? First of all, he plays on the other side," Villanueva said about going against TJ Watt and any trash talk he may have dished out. "You want to come with the real bulls, come out here to the left side. I had to go against Alex Highsmith, who is the nicest, kindest, most amazing human being on the planet. He isn't going to talk smack. Chris Wormley was a Raven, oh and Cam [Heyward]? What is Cam going to say, he is the nicest guy."
If Villanueva was on the right side, which he was originally signed by the Ravens to play, he may have gotten a little bit more trash talk from Watt than the rest of the crew. Watt has never appeared to be one to shy away from a little trash talk on the field, especially when he is making some splash plays.
Matt Freed / Post-Gazette
TJ Watt (90) celebrates an interception against the Bengals on opening day of the 2022 season.
While Villanueva did join the Ravens for one season, he will always be a Steeler in the eyes of Steeler Nation. Seeing that he was behind enemy lines and that the Ravens didn't have a similar mentality to the Steelers, speaks to how Tomlin leads the locker room, at least when it comes to 'not living in their fears.'
What do you think about Villanueva's comments that the Ravens are insecure when it comes to facing the Steelers? Let us know in the comments below!
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