Outside linebacker Terrell Suggs was asked if it's flattering to be the face of the Ravens-Steelers rivalry for Baltimore.

"I guess it kind of describes it -- nasty," Suggs said with a laugh.

For well over a decade, the Ravens and Steelers have battled over bragging rights, division titles and even trips to the Super Bowl. On Sunday night, Baltimore (7-5) and Pittsburgh (10-2) play yet another December game that's chock full of playoff implications.

Through the journey of broken bones and dreams, this bitter feud has been defined by the personal clashes. It began with Ray Lewis against Jerome Bettis and Joey Porter. Later, it was Hines Ward facing off against Ed Reed.

For the most recent generation, it has been Suggs and Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

"Sizz [Suggs] bleeds purple, Ben bleeds gold and black," said wide receiver Mike Wallace, who has been part of this rivalry as a member of the Ravens and the Steelers. "For those teams, those guys are ‘those players.’ Sizz is a Raven. Ben is a Steeler. It is so deep -- the rivalry for those guys -- they bleed those colors. It is bigger for them, obviously, than anyone else."

No quarterback has beaten Suggs more times in his career than Roethlisberger, who has 13 victories against him, including last-minute (and division-clinching) touchdown throws to Santonio Holmes in 2008 and Antonio Brown last year.

No player has sacked Roethlisberger more times than Suggs, who has wrestled down Big Ben on 16.5 occasions (including the postseason). That has not gone unnoticed by Suggs, who said after sacking Roethlisberger three times in the 2011 opener: "Big Ben is a great quarterback. God can have his soul, but his ass belongs to me."

Suggs once said there's the Super Bowl and then there's Ravens-Steelers. He always has believed the football world stops to watch those games.

"You never forget your greatest foe," Suggs said this week. "What would [Michael] Jordan be without the Pistons and the Knicks? Ali and Frazier. Sports is built on great rivalries like this. It brings the best out of you, so that is why I love this game so much."

Suggs loves this game so much that he has played in it with torn biceps and a sprained shoulder over the years. Roethlisberger has the same passion for this rivalry, continuing to play in a 2010 game after Haloti Ngata broke his nose. After stopping the bleeding, Roethlisberger threw for 253 yards and the winning touchdown in the fourth quarter.

"It’s a special spot in my heart," Roethlisberger said of the rivalry with the Ravens. "I know it’s always a physical game; my body doesn’t always like it."

How Sunday night's game between these rivals turns out will depend largely on Roethlisberger and Suggs, who are more than two of the oldest players on their teams. They remain two of the best.

At the age of 35, Roethlisberger has thrown for 3,238 yards, the ninth most in the league this season. He has led three winning drives in Pittsburgh's past four games, including Monday night's 23-20 victory at Cincinnati.

The Ravens players and coaches chuckled in October when Roethlisberger said, "Maybe I don't have it anymore" after being intercepted five times against the Jaguars.

"That was the setup!" Baltimore defensive coordinator Dean Pees said. "The guy is playing just like he always plays. If you read the analytics that I had in front of me this week about him extending plays, and I picked up the analytics from eight years ago and read it, you could just overlap them and it would be the same. He is one of the top quarterbacks, if not the top quarterback in the league, at extending plays and making positive plays out of extended plays. Nothing has changed."

At the same age of 35, Suggs has been rejuvenated this season because it has been one of his healthiest years. Suggs ranks sixth in the NFL with 10.5 sacks in addition to four forced fumbles.

Roethlisberger isn't surprised by how Suggs continues to wreak havoc on offenses.

"He is a freak," Roethlisberger said. "He is one of the best I have ever played against."

On Sunday night, the Ravens and Steelers battle again in a rivalry that has been built by the hard hits, the significance of the games, the close margins and a mutual admiration that Roethlisberger believes has always been there.

"Whether it was Ray, Ed, Suggs, Ngata, whoever you were going against, it just felt like there was always a respect," Roethlisberger said. "I think there was a hatred, but it was a hatred on the football field. Like I said, whether it was Jerome and Joey, it was always just a kind of hatred for the Ravens, and I know they kind of hated us, but it was a respectful hatred. You battled it out on the football field, and when the whistle blew and the game was over, it was like, ‘Man, that was physical, that was nasty, but a lot of respect. See you next year.'"