PITTSBURGH —There's never been a lack of ferocity when the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens cross paths. Joey Porter Jr. grew up watching the rivalry, taught to hold a special disdain for the team that wears purple by his father.
"There's been a lot of good ones," Porter said Thursday of the games in the series. "There was a point where dudes (were) getting knocked down, like, every game. You know when the Steelers and Ravens play, somebody's not gonna make it throughout the whole game. I feel like whenever Ryan Clark was playing and those dudes (were) really putting lights out, that's when everything got really intense. … Who doesn't like those rivalries?"
Now the top cornerback for the same team his dad played on, Porter is out to add to the mystique.
Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. on the sideline during a game against the Cleveland Browns on Oct. 12, 2025. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
Sunday night's installment has the most at stake of any regular-season meeting between the two franchises. As Porter put it, the winner receives hats and t-shirts with "AFC North Champions" printed on them, then gets to host a Wild Card playoff game next week.
The loser might be out of a head coach, with longtime leaders Mike Tomlin and John Harbaugh both souring on their fanbases.
"This is an entertainment-type league," Porter said. "And that's entertainment."
Knowing how deep the rivalry runs and how much it means to both sides' fans gives Porter "an extra little boost to get the job done," he said. His play-through-the-whistle pass breakup late in the Steelers' first matchup was massive at the time, and he made sure Ravens fans knew it as teams filed to their locker rooms after the Steelers' 27-22 win.
"Ever since I was little," Porter said of how long it's been instilled in him to dislike Baltimore. "Probably whenever my dad had that rivalry. I never really liked those guys. It's either Steelers or nobody how I look at it. If you're on the opposite side, then obviously we can't be on the same side. So I feel like I've always had that rivalry with them. And now I have my own rivalry and my own beef and vendetta versus them that we've gotta sort out."
In recent memory, the lights haven't been brighter. The football world will be watching.
"Who wouldn't want that?" Porter said.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now : Steelers Joey Porter Jr. Pours Gas on Ravens Rivalry: 'I Never Really Liked Those Guys'
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