Scott Brown, Pittsburgh Tribune Review, Nov 3, 2011 12:26 PM ET

The Steelers were more aggressive in coverage and they exploited a secondary that, it turns out, has earned its No. 32 NFL ranking in pass defense.

Their 25-17 win against the New England gave them the top seed in the AFC playoffs if the postseason started in November. But in finally solving Tom Brady, their Rubik's Cube of quarterbacks, the Steelers didn't do anything that Coach Mike Tomlin would call "mystical."

Execution and solid fundamentals provided the foundation for the Steelers' most impressive win of the season Sunday. Another element loomed large, too.

"Just fighting," defensive end Brett Keisel said "Fighting for 60 minutes."

The Steelers will need to do that when the Ravens visit Heinz Field on Sunday night for a nationally televised game. And the defensive approach they took against the Patriots may not be the ideal course this weekend in a game that could be more like a sanctioned street fight.

The problem for the Steelers is they are better suited to using at least one extra defensive back, as they did in slowing down Brady.

That is how well their secondary is playing. The Steelers are still No. 1 in the league in pass defense (171.9 passing yards allowed per game). It is also indicative of how injuries are mounting elsewhere.

The Steelers may have to mix-and-match again at linebacker, even if LaMarr Woodley is able to return from a hamstring injury that knocked him out of the Patriots' game.

Woodley playing against the Ravens is hardly a sure thing given how troublesome those kinds of injuries can be for players that rely on short, explosive bursts like the AFC leader in sacks.

So much, however, is riding on the Steelers' shutting down running back Ray Rice and playing a more physical brand of football than the Ravens.

A Steelers win would keep them a game up on the Ravens and would balance their earlier loss in Baltimore and eliminating a significant playoff tiebreaker.

The question the Steelers will have to answer this week is how they can put their best defensive personnel on the field Sunday night and still be physical enough to give the Ravens a little payback for what happened in Baltimore.