The Ravens-Steelers rivalry is always electric, but Acrisure Stadium will be especially loud Sunday with first place in the AFC North on the line. The "Terrible Towels" will be out.
Heading into a hostile environment, we asked Ravens players their favorite road stadium in the NFL.
C Tyler Linderbaum
Linderbaum: Any place that we go in and win, that's my favorite place. I like going on the road and in divisional games and coming out with a win. You can't top that. That's definitely the best. I would say any of the divisional games is probably my favorite. Especially coming out with a win.
Is there anything special about going into Pittsburgh?
Linderbaum: Obviously, you can talk about the history. History with the team. But it's cool, each NFL team has a tradition that they do a certain time in the game. Certain chants that they do. Get to experience all that. The competitive spirit comes out. That's why we're all here. Just to experience that.
G Ben Cleveland
Cleveland: Pittsburgh's definitely fun. The environment in Pittsburgh is top-notch. The fans are usually pretty aggressive in Cleveland. But I think just as far as walking into a place and just knowing that you're just the most hated people there, Pittsburgh definitely takes the cake with that.
Is it more so the atmosphere than the actual stadium?
Cleveland: For sure. When you hear fans on the sidelines sitting here yelling and cussing at us during the game and all this, you learn how to tune it out. But there at the very beginning, whenever it's just getting cranked up and all that, you hear it a little bit more than you do halfway through the game. I think definitely it's kind of neat. Like I said, just hearing everybody talking and being mad for no reason whatsoever. Obviously, you get up and you can clear a stadium out by the fourth quarter real quick.
WR Tylan Wallace
Wallace: My rookie year, we played at Vegas' stadium. It was brand new. So that was really cool. One of the loudest I think was Kansas City. It got pretty loud in there. That was a good one to play in.
Is there anything that makes a stadium have a good atmosphere for you?
Wallace: I guess Vegas was more like showy. There was a lot going on before the game that was cool to see. Kansas City was just like really loud. So it was really cool to play at. We were making plays. It felt like a playoff game atmosphere.
What's it like playing in Pittsburgh?
Wallace: Oh yeah, it's good. It's good. It's always fun. Like I said, that's another one. Another playoff atmosphere that's really cool to play at. You know the fans are going to be wild, so that's going to be a good one, for sure.
S Ar'Darius Washington
Washington: Definitely the Kansas City Chiefs game, the first of the season. That was my first time playing at Arrowhead, so that was exciting. And honestly, Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh wasn't bad, either. That was like my rookie year or something like that. They had the towels going and everything like that. The song (Renegade) coming on. So that was pretty cool, actually. But I would say those two, so far.
When the song comes out in Pittsburgh, what emotions does that bring for you?
Washington: That gets me going. I know it's [for] the home team and everything like that, but that kind of gets me going.
OL Patrick Mekari
Mekari: Chiefs Stadium is cool. The atmosphere is good. Pittsburgh is cool. Vegas was a cool stadium. The grass felt good, too, which was nice. I don't like turf. Whatever's turf, I don't like it. M&T's the best, but those three are cool.
What makes a good stadium for you?
Mekari: The atmosphere is cool. The grass is nice, that's a big positive. Some stadiums just feel like more homey, more comfortable, and others feel different.
LB Malik Harrison
Harrison: It's definitely got to be Raiders. I know my first game my second year [was there], because first year I came in [during] COVID. The first game in Vegas, their first time having fans [was] that game, it was just crazy. That probably was the best one.
Was it the atmosphere or the stadium?
Harrison: It was both. It was the atmosphere and the stadium because that was a brand-new stadium, and it was the first time fans had come there. I'm running out of the tunnel and you got the club down there, so I'm just seeing celebrities right there and I'm 'Oh, that's sweet.' And then it was just loud, there were so many fans there.
FB Pat Ricard
Ricard: The atmosphere is probably Pittsburgh, just because I play for the Ravens. And it gets intense with the towels and everything. I really like Vegas' stadium. I just like how it's indoor with grass. And it feels like when you're playing that a football game is just happening around a party. Like there's a club in the end zone, they had celebrities on the screen.
WR Rashod Bateman
Bateman: San Francisco. Christmas day, the energy in there was good and we came out with a win. I like California and going out there, and playing a night game was fun. ... The atmosphere was good.
