(My Sportsbook) - The Baltimore Ravens host the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night in the final contest of the 2003 regular season.

The Steelers were eliminated from playoff contention before last week's game, but coach Bill Cowher challenged his squad to win its final two games in an effort to close the season strong. Cowher's crew delivered a 40-24 win over the Chargers last week to move halfway to the coach's late-season goal.

"We think it is important to finish strong," Cowher said. "This is our last opportunity to win two in a row, something that we haven't been able to do all year long."

Pittsburgh's players would also like to play the spoiler role against playoff- minded Baltimore in Week 17.

"It's a case of two teams that really don't like one another," said Pro Bowl receiver Hines Ward, who's leading the AFC in touchdown receptions. "What better way, if we aren't going to the playoffs, than to take Baltimore down with us? It will be fun and exciting."

The AFC North winner will be decided in Week 17. Baltimore, which leads Cincinnati by one game, can win the division with a win or tie against Pittsburgh, or a Cincinnati loss or tie versus Cleveland. The Ravens would be eliminated from playoff contention with a Week 17 loss and a Cincinnati win.

In August Baltimore coach Brian Billick predicted the Ravens would win the division with a season-ending victory over the Steelers.

"The division's going to have a different feel to it, but I'm excited for Pittsburgh to have to come back here the last game on a Sunday night and lose the [AFC North] to us," Billick said before the season opener.

Of course, Billick was anticipating beating the Steelers and not the Bengals for the title, but it will look line a line drive in the box score if his team wins. Linebacker Ray Lewis missed the final 11 games of the 2002 season, including a loss to Pittsburgh in Week 17 that eliminated the Ravens from the playoffs. He said the team expected this to be a playoff game all season.

"We knew that the beginning of the season, there's two things that are going to happen," Lewis said. "There was going to be a division championship played at the end of the season, in Baltimore. Most people picked Pittsburgh, once again. It's us."

SERIES HISTORY: The Steelers have an 11-4 advantage in the regular-season series and have won five straight against the Ravens.

The teams opened the 2003 season in Pittsburgh. The Steelers rolled to a 34-15 win on September 7. Quarterback Tommy Maddox had three touchdown passes in the game. The last meeting in Baltimore was on October 27, 2002. Pittsburgh won that affair 31-18, as Maddox passed for two scores in the game.

Cowher is 12-4 lifetime against the Ravens. Billick is 3-6 against the Steelers.

STEELERS OFFENSE VS. RAVENS DEFENSE

The Steelers threw the ball all over the field against Baltimore in the season opener. Ward and Plaxico Burress combined for 15 catches, 207 yards and a pair of touchdowns (both to Ward). The Steelers jumped out to a 27-0 lead in the game and were forced to throw more than they intended to.

Billick knows his defense must do a much better job against the pass on Sunday night.

"In order to beat Pittsburgh, we have to defend the pass better than we have, plain and simple," Billick said. "Any time that you play the style of play that we do, we can't let them jump up. It was a manageable game until the big play going into the half [in Week 1] that separated them. It seems like a lifetime ago with the opener. Yeah, we can't let them get cranked up in their passing game and create any kind of separation that could arbitrarily push us out of our profile."

The Steelers' offensive line has been plagued by injuries all season. Marvel Smith was put on injured reserve this week. The superb left tackle was only able to play four games this year forcing constant and ineffective juggling across the line.

However, Pittsburgh has managed to run the ball well in recent games. In the Steelers' past three outings, the running game has been effective in controlling the clock after building a lead. Pittsburgh has run an average of 36 times a game over the last three for 136 yards a game, almost 30 yards over its season average.

This week, Pittsburgh's best hope is to spread the Ravens out and throw the ball early and often. Baltimore rookie Terrell Suggs has a dozen sacks but is not ready for the every-down role he's been forced into because of Adalius Thomas' season-ending injury.

OLB Peter Boulware missed practice time this week because of an ankle injury. The Ravens expect him to play, but he will not be 100 percent. The Steelers will force Baltimore's active 'backers away from the line of scrimmage by using three- and four-receiver sets.

Jerome Bettis needs just 14 yards to pass Jim Brown (12,312 yards) and move into sixth place on the all-time rushing list. Brown accumulated his yardage in 118 games. If Bettis moves ahead of Brown on Sunday it will be his 165th game.

RAVENS OFFENSE VS. STEELERS DEFENSE

The main reason the Ravens are on the brink of a playoff berth is Jamal Lewis. Lewis rushed for 205 yards in a 35-0 win over the Browns last week. He set a record for yardage against an opponent in a season by rushing for 500 yards against the Browns in 2003.

Lewis is 48 yards away from becoming the fifth back in league history to have a 2,000-yard season. The Tennessee product is 154 yards from eclipsing Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record.

There has been no secret to the Ravens' offense. They began the year wanting to ride Lewis to the playoffs and stuck with the plan. Billick wanted 1,800 yards from Lewis and those lofty expectations have been surpassed.

Lewis should reach 2,000 yards in Week 17, but breaking Dickerson's record may be trickier. If the Bengals lose, Lewis will likely rest for a good portion of the game. He will be featured all night, though, if the Ravens are in a must- win situation to make the playoffs.

Forty-eight more rushing yards would propel Lewis into an elite class of rushers. The 2,000-yard club currently has four members -- O.J. Simpson (1973), Dickerson (1984), Barry Sanders (1997) and Terrell Davis (1998).

The Steelers have actually had success against Lewis. In the opener he carried 15 times for 69 yards. He has not had a 100-yard day against the Steelers. Cowher said there is an easy answer as to why Lewis hasn't thrived against his defense: they've kept the ball out of his hands.

"Getting off to a good lead," Cowher said of the best way to slow Lewis down this week. "If you can do that and keep the ball out of the offense's hands, that's the only reason that I think we have been able to slow him down.

"Jamal Lewis is a very special back, for a guy his size to have his speed, quickness and durability. He has been there every week for them. He is a special back, a premier back. Even though we have been able to keep him under 100 yards, it hasn't been because he didn't run well. It is because of the situation of the game and our ability to control the ball and get a lead. His average is still pretty good. He is a very special back, though."

In five career games against the Ravens, Lewis has averaged 4.5 yards per carry, but he's only rushed the ball 66 times in those games.

Billick said Lewis' season has been twice as good because defenses have played with eight in the box to stifle Lewis.

"What I don't think that people respect or appreciate is the nature of the yards that Jamal has gotten -- people that are not as familiar with us, not realizing how many eight-man fronts we have faced," Billick said. "Everybody talks about eight in the box, but nobody -- I can't put numbers on it -- but nobody has faced it like Jamal. None of the great backs have carried the offensive load for their team the way Jamal has. I think that makes it a lot more spectacular [than previous 2,000-yard seasons]."