If the Steelers run the table the next few weeks and make the playoffs, there is one thing for certain.

Mike Tomlin's words following Sunday's loss to the Ravens will be up there with "Remember the Alamo," or some of Vince Lombardi's.

"We will not go gently; we will unleash hell here in December, because we have to. We won't go in a shell; we will go in attack mode because that is what is required," Tomlin said with a stern look on his face.

If it sounded like something inspired from the movie "Gladiator," it was, as Tomlin watched it the night before the game and was a little fired up.

"Truth be known, it was kind of Russell Crowe-inspired," he said. "Man I watched, 'Gladiator' the night before the game in the hotel. that's one of my favorite movies. But I've got a great deal of respect for this group, I like the way they fight. I know they won't blink. I know that they won't let go of the rope, I know that we're going to fight."

So much for the Super Bowl hangover theory.

"Everyone thinks they've been in a funk because they're World Champs and they've lost three in a row, but that's a really good football team," Raiders coach Tom Cable said. "And in this level it's two or three plays a game that changes games. Maybe that's more the issue. They haven't made those plays in the last few weeks, but they're still very good on both sides of the ball."

The Steelers are 28-11 (.718 winning percentage) in December since 2000, which bodes well. They also have back-to-back games against the Raiders and Cleveland dead ahead.

"We're just worried about one game at a time now," tailback Willie Parker said. "Right now we're just worried about the Oakland Raiders coming to our house. It's December football right now and we'll see where that takes us at the end of December."

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who missed the Ravens game with post-concussion symptoms, agreed with Parker.

"We know we have to take it one game at a time," Roethlisberger said. "I'm not really concerned with the playoff picture, it's just taking care of our business and it starts this weekend. Big game with Oakland coming here and us playing at home is always big for us. Now we're just focused on winning this one game and focusing on where the cards will fall."

Maybe the lack of worrying stems from this little fact. Back in 2005, they were in a similar situation. They needed to win their last four games to make the playoffs. They wound up winning the Super Bowl.

"(In 2005), we were 7-2, lost three in a row, went to 7-5; this year we were 6-2, lost three in a row and went to 6-5," nose tackle Chris Hoke said. "Quite similar situations, so we know it can be done. We know we can get back on track and start winning these next five games and get on a roll. It's a very similar group; we've got the same group of core guys."

Meaning despite some distractions, such as Hines Ward's comments on Roethlisberger being taken out of context last weekend, players aren't taking what happened last year for granted.

They also remember what happened in 2006, after they won the Super Bowl. That year the team started the season at 2-6 and limped in with an 8-8 slate in Bill Cowher's final year at the helm.

"We know we have a target on our backs. It doesn't matter if we are Super Bowl champs or not. And now it is a big one," kicker Jeff Reed said. "So we just have to go out there and prove ourselves worthy."

The question now is how to do that in a league full of parity.

"We just need to get a taste of winning back," Ward said. "I think the course of losing three games in a row; we just need to get back on a winning track. Winning solves everything."