OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- If the Baltimore Ravens want to be AFC North champions, they need Joe Flacco to get back on track at the place where he has won unlike any other quarterback.

Flacco is an impressive 5-3 at Heinz Field since the beginning of 2010; he has recorded the most victories there by an opposing quarterback against the Steelers during that span. The rest of the NFL is 12-37 (.244) during that time in Pittsburgh.

What is Flacco's secret to repeatedly beating his biggest rival on its own turf?

"When you dream of being in the NFL, you dream of going into hostile environments in high-pressure situations, where a lot is on the line and people are into it," Flacco said. "You do not picture playing in front of 10 people, like you do in high school for some of us. You picture going into a place and playing in front of 70,000 people that hate you. That is what makes it fun."

Playing away from home has been anything but fun for Flacco this season. He's the fifth-worst quarterback on the road this season, throwing five touchdowns and seven interceptions for a 75.7 passer rating. For the first time in his career, Flacco has lost four consecutive road games in the same season.

Joe Flacco gets a chance to improve on his 5-3 record in Pittsburgh when the Ravens meet the Steelers at Heinz Field on Sunday. Charles LeClaire/USA TODAY Sports

But something brings the best out of Flacco when he's throwing passes amid thousands of Terrible Towels. In 2010, Flacco's first victory at Heinz came when he hit T.J. Houshmandzadeh for a winning, 18-yard touchdown with 32 seconds left in the game. In 2011, he directed a 92-yard winning drive in Pittsburgh that ended with a 26-yard touchdown pass to Torrey Smith with eight seconds remaining.

More recently, Flacco knocked the Steelers out of the playoffs two seasons ago by throwing two touchdowns at Heinz Field, and he guided a fourth-quarter comeback there last season that led to an overtime victory.

"I do know that he’s had really good games in Pittsburgh," coach John Harbaugh said, "and we need another great game from him in Pittsburgh.”

Flacco has already set a career best for completions (374) this season, and he's 212 yards away from his first 4,000-yard passing campaign. But this has been one of his most trying seasons.

He has been criticized for poor decision-making (his 13 interceptions are tied for the seventh most in the NFL) and for the bad habit of throwing off his back foot. Ray Lewis even commented on Flacco's lack of passion for the game.

Winning in Pittsburgh A look at how Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco has fared at Heinz Field since 2010: Season Result Yards TD/Int 2010 W, 17-14 256 1/1 2010 L, 31-24* 125 1/1 2011 W, 23-20 300 1/0 2012 W, 13-10 164 0/0 2013 L, 19-16 215 1/0 2014 L, 43-23 303 2/1 2014 W, 30-17* 259 2/0 2015 W, 23-20 189 1/1 * -- Playoffs

"He’s not fake," safety Eric Weddle said. "He doesn’t sugarcoat anything. He plays like crap [or] he plays great; he’s going to tell you. When your leader does that and [is] the face of your franchise, everyone follows suit."

Flacco has the chance to lead the Ravens to a seventh playoff berth in nine seasons. But he nearly ended their season in Week 15 against the Philadelphia Eagles.

He threw an interception late in the fourth quarter, when the Ravens had a first down deep in Eagles territory. A 10-point lead would've turned into a loss if Philadelphia had been successful on a last-gasp, two-point conversion.

Flacco was asked about why he didn't check out of the pass and call a run play.

"I think the more aggressive you are in those situations, the more it is going to pay off at the end of the road," Flacco said. "Yes, you might come up and bite yourself in the butt every now and then, but it is our job to recover and go win the game anyway. Last time I checked, we played the Eagles last week, and we won the game.”

How Flacco plays in the fourth quarter Sunday could determine the Ravens' postseason fate. Since 2010, he has thrown five touchdowns and no interceptions in fourth quarters in Pittsburgh.

Seven of the Ravens' past eight regular-season trips to Heinz Field have been decided by three points.

"There are not too many feelings in this world that are better than winning an NFL football game," Flacco said. "That probably gets amplified a little bit when you get to silence a crowd."