Ravens Defense Reaching Stride at Perfect Time, Fuels Win over Steelers

The Baltimore Ravens are headed to Gillette Stadium to take on the New England Patriots in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs.

Fueled by a fantastic defensive performance and the welcomed return of "playoff" Joe Flacco, the Ravens look like a team hitting their stride at just the right time.

That 30-17 win over their division rivals—the Pittsburgh Steelers—was big on all fronts. Not only did it push the team into the next round, but it also marked the first time in franchise history the Ravens were able to take down their nemesis in the postseason.

Without having to worry about the Steelers' dual-threat running back Le'Veon Bell, defensive coordinator Dean Pees called a near flawless game and his players responded beautifully.

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Terrell Suggs and Elvis Dumervil turned their productive 2014 seasons into a monstrous playoff debut together. By ESPN's count, Dumervil was credited with two sacks, while Suggs finished his night with six total tackles and a game-clinching, remarkable interception.

There isn't a number total right now for the amount of pressure each of these men brought off the edge, but watching the game, they were both constantly muddying up the pocket and making life miserable for Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

For Suggs, this isn't anything new. As Turron Davenport of The Baltimore Times mentioned, he has quite the history when it comes to getting after the Steelers:

Suggs and Dumervil were both great. There's no questioning that. And those are two names that are going to have to stay hot if the Ravens are to beat the Patriots.

However, those weren't the only two members of the roster who deserve a ton of credit.

The Ravens sacked Big Ben a total of five times and flew to the football on every snap. Rookie inside linebacker C.J. Mosley and veteran Daryl Smith fueled that surge in production.

Smith led the team in tackles with 10 and stripped Steelers tight end Heath Miller in the waning moments of the game to end any sort of ill-conceived comeback attempt.

Bleacher Report's Cian Fahey tweeted out his thoughts on teams who passed on Mosley during the 2014 draft:

"

C.J. Mosley, Pro Bowler, DPOY candidate. Ryan Shazier, injured, benched. Irony as Steelers supposedly passed on CJM for durability ?s.

— Cian Fahey (@Cianaf) January 4, 2015"

His impressive debut campaign continued on Saturday evening. Combining the nine total tackles he racked up with the fact he's also responsible for managing this defense, it's apparent that Mosley has been a gift for this club.

Watching the Ravens come in to Pittsburgh and hold the Steelers to 68 yards on the ground felt right. With the defense clicking and Flacco not turning the football over, this team is starting to resemble the 2011-12 version that went on to hoist the Lombardi Trophy.

Like the crew we saw in Pittsburgh, that Super Bowl squad was fueled by spectacular defensive play and a will to win.

Can they do it again? B/R's Alessandro Miglio scribed a great piece prior to the game, talking about the team's chances of making another run to the big game.

In it, he went on to say:

"

The path to the Super Bowl becomes familiar should the Ravens get past their hated rivals in the Wild Card matchup—this time a trip to New England comes first by a likely rematch in Denver. The Broncos seem beatable these days, and Baltimore has played the Patriots tough in the playoffs for years.

"

The adage "defense wins championships" is a good one. And to a certain extent, it's true. Though we can't just toss a team's offense out of the window, a strong defensive effort can put said offense in a great position to put up points.

Pees' defense managed to do that on Saturday by setting up two fourth-quarter drives that resulted in 10 points.

It's just another notch on head coach John Harbaugh's already sparkling belt. By conquering the Steelers, Harbaugh has now posted a 10-4 playoff record— a record that puts him in pretty good company, per ESPN's Darren Rovell.

Coach Harbaugh knows that his defense is the key to conquering the Patriots and moving on to the AFC title game. According to Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun, the head coach praised his edge-rushers at the end of the game:

We can't crown them yet, but if their defense can keep it up, the Baltimore Ravens look like a team ready to play in Arizona this February.

Unless noted otherwise, all game scores and information come courtesy of ESPN.com.