There's no time to mourn the Ravens' latest brutal loss, this time to the Bengals.
The Ravens will soon be back on the road as they'll take off for Pittsburgh on short rest to play Thursday Night Football.
"We have a quick turnaround so we have to put our tissues away and go out there and get ready to practice," wide receiver Steve Smith Sr. said Sunday. "We'll be out there practicing tomorrow."
The Ravens are in a hole at 0-3, they're coming off a physical game and now they'll have just three days of practice before taking off for Pittsburgh.
Maybe that's the perfect time to face their chief rivals, who sit at 2-1 and in second place in the AFC North. There's no better motivation to turn things around.
"This is a must-win for sure," outside linebacker Elvis Dumervil said. "We won't quit, and you can guarantee that Pittsburgh, they'll get our best shot."
"Any time you lose, you want to get back out there and try to fight and win," running back Justin Forsett added. "We have to get some guys healed up and hopefully this week we'll get that 'W.'"
Head Coach John Harbaugh has adjusted the schedule to give his team the most time off their feet immediately after Sunday's game. Practice will run from about 6 to 8 p.m. on Monday, then 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday.
"The biggest challenge is, as always, it's a quick game," quarterback Joe Flacco said. "It's a quick week getting your bodies ready, and they have to deal with that too. We also have to get our minds in check and make sure that we want to go out there and win a football game."
The Ravens secondary, which got torched for a second straight week, will not have to face Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who suffered a sprained MCL and bone bruise Sunday in St. Louis. He is expected to miss four to six weeks.
Baltimore's players heard the news quickly after the game.
"Ben, he's a great quarterback. He extends plays; he does a lot for their ball club, for their offense. So, if he's down, it should handicap them a little bit," cornerback Lardarius Webb said.
"I don't know if that's a good thing," Forsett added. "They have some good players over there. You never want to see a guy go down. It's about us now. It's not about any other team. We have to go out there and make plays for ourselves, no matter who is playing."
The Ravens know one thing for sure. When they face off against Pittsburgh, it will be a slugfest – even if both teams are banged up and have tired bodies after a short week.
"That's going to be a physical, bullish kind of game – high-spirited, physical," Smith said. "The first time I ever played them on Thursday night here last year, I was sore. It was the sorest I've ever been in a long time. So I'm anticipating that."
