Is there really a better rivalry?

Of course Ravens and Steelers fans would think their teams’ match-up has become one of the league’s best rivalries, but it means more when the rest of the NFL’s fan base agrees.

When asked in a poll at NFL.com, fans across the nation said the Ravens-Steelers rivalry was the best, even beating out the Packers-Bears historic past and the trash-talking Jets-Pats showdowns.

Much like the changing NFL, this rivalry seems to have turned away from being a defense oriented slug-fest and instead has become a pass happy display of quarterback play. The numbers don’t lie. In the Week 9 matchup from 2011, the Steelers called 18 running plays out 58 from scrimmage, while Joe Flacco and Ravens dropped back 50 times and ran it 27.

Of course the decisive play was Flacco‘s late game heroics as he hit a streaking Torrey Smith for the game winning touchdown and a chance to secure bragging rights in the feud after a series sweep.

Those bragging rights will be back in the limelight of the rivalry and when the two teams face off again in 2012.