Those Steelers-Ravens feelings don’t go away just because you change teams.
Dolphins wide receiver Mike Wallace, in his first season with Miami after four with Pittsburgh, this week said of the Ravens, Sunday’s opponent: “Most definitely, I know they’re my least favorite team.”
Reflecting on his time as part of the heated AFC North rivalry, Wallace said: “I think it was two great teams battling. [The Steelers] knew the road to the Super Bowl either goes through them or New England, and vice versa. So it was always, ‘We have to beat those guys.’”
Though Wallace can be a speedy deep threat, he didn’t really beat the Ravens. In nine games against them while with Pittsburgh, he had just one 100-yard game and one touchdown.
And in his four games with Miami this season, Wallace hasn’t had the impact that a major free-agent signing is supposed to have, totaling 15 catches for 176 yards. Wallace had one big game, against the Colts, with nine receptions for 115 yards. That leaves six catches in the other three games.
Wallace said a win over Baltimore would still mean a lot, even without the division rivalry.
“First of all, they’re the defending champs,” Wallace said. “So it would definitely be big for us to win this football game. If you think for one second, because they lost some players, that they’re not going to come out and try to whip our butts, you got it wrong. These guys are still the Baltimore Ravens. They still have the same mentality.”
