Observed and heard in the locker room after the Baltimore Ravens' 26-6 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers:

Keeping focused: Ravens coach John Harbaugh believes his team proved something by beating their division rival by 20 points only three days after releasing running back Ray Rice. "I think adversity can bring you together, and our guys are made of the right stuff," Harbaugh said. "I'm proud of them for that." He added, "I thought our guys handled it tremendously, with class, with character and they responded."

Rare blowout: In a rivalry where 10 of the past 10 games have been decided by a field goal or less, Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco acknowledged it was unfamiliar territory to beat the Steelers by 20 points. It marked the Ravens' largest margin of victory over Pittsburgh in three years. "We have only played a couple where they haven't been tight all the way," Flacco said. "Even this one, not until the very end did you feel very comfortable. At any point, they could have put a touchdown on the board and gotten right back into this thing.

Bouncing back: Running back Bernard Pierce went from being benched last Sunday to being the Ravens' leading rusher Thursday night. He ran for a 96 yards (the third-highest of his career) on 22 carries. "What a difference from last week," Pierce said. "I knew I was going to get called on tonight, and I was really focused to correct mistakes I made from last week."