There’s an unwritten rule in football, and every sport for that matter. It speaks to handling one’s own business. Controlling one’s own destiny is like ownership. Think about the Baltimore Ravens for a few.

After a 1-5 start, they had lost control of their season early, but they got the break they needed, two of them actually. They caught fire, and the Pittsburgh Steelers struggled.

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That eventually set up a showdown between two bitter rivals with identical records. Both teams entered at 6-6. Baltimore led the AFC North by virtue of owning a better divisional record.

The winner of this head-to-head clash would be in the driver’s seat for a divisional crown with four games remaining on the schedule. There isn’t a Ravens fan who doesn’t know what happened next. Baltimore didn’t get the job done, and now the Steelers control their playoff destiny.

John Harbaugh compliments his defense as the Ravens take a step in the right direction.

The AFC North race is far from over. The Ravens took a nice step in the right direction this past Sunday. They avenged a loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in blowout fashion.

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Twenty-four points were all that was needed as Zach Orr’s unit pitched a shutout. During his postgame press conference, head coach John Harbaugh didn’t ignore the accomplishment. He made sure to compliment his defense for the job they had done.

“Probably, I just think the poise. Marlon [Humphrey] made a good point in the break before the game; he said, ‘Make it about the next play.’ He said, ‘When you’re a defensive back, you have to play that way. You have to have a short memory.’ And he kind of implored the whole team to make it about the next play, and I thought we did that. If you look at our offense, I feel like our offense did that.”

That, however, is only step one. Baltimore must continue handling its own business by controlling what it can control. They have to win out, but they need another Steelers loss sometime between now and the regular-season finale.

Could the Detroit Lions be of some assistance? If they can topple the Steelers on December 21st, that would set up a showdown for all the marbles in Week 18, but again, that’s only true if the Ravens take care of business and win their next two games. If they do, it will be because the defense continues its recent success, but Todd Monken’s unit will have to find some traction as well.

“Our offense, [in the] first quarter, we were just trying to find our way a little bit, and you have to be patient. You don’t want to be impatient and do something that’s going to hurt your team, and they didn’t. They were patient. ‘Be patient,’ – that was the verse from James 5:7, ‘Be patient, therefore brethren, until the coming of the Lord.’ I think it applied to the game; there was a certain patience that we played with and kept playing winning football. It paid off for us.”

The Ravens play the New England Patriots and the Green Bay Packers in Weeks 16 and 17. We’re about to learn a lot about Baltimore over the next two weeks.

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This article originally appeared on Ravens Wire: John Harbaugh breaks down the Ravens’ recent defensive masterclass