PITTSBURGH -- They may have been only the second-best overall team Sunday on the lush, manicured turf of Heinz Field and -- cover your ears with your hands here, Ray Lewis -- only the second most dominant defensive unit as well.

	Jerome Bettis had a decent day, rushing for 91 yards on 23 carries. However, the Ravens kept Bettis out of the end zone.

But that the Baltimore Ravens found another unique way to win, this time by locating an apparently nearsighted kicker in a Pittsburgh Steelers uniform, was the latest testimony to the Super Bowl champions' grittiness.

With, let's face it, a dose of good fortune thrown into the formula.

"The one constant," acknowledged Ravens free safety Rod Woodson, "is that we manage to keep ourselves in games even when we're not playing our best. The truth is, we played a really good team here today. They've got some of the same qualities we have. But still, we were the team that won in the end. And that's not just (happenstance)."

Give the Ravens their due in this regard: If they were lucky on Sunday, hanging on to a 13-10 victory in large part because Steelers kicker Kris Brown blew four field-goal attempts, they were also characteristically plucky.

While outplayed at times, the Ravens rarely are outhustled, almost never out-hit, and on this day, not outscored. Much of the credit has to go to a defense that absorbed more than its share of shots, particularly from the Pittsburgh tandem of quarterback Kordell Stewart and tailback Jerome Bettis, but allowed the Steelers into the end zone just one time.

That score, a 21-yard touchdown catch by Plaxico Burress, came when Ravens cornerback Duane Starks inexplicably allowed the Steelers wide receiver to run right past him on a deep corner route late in the first half. In general, the Baltimore secondary did little to dispel a growing leaguewide notion it is the weakest link on the team, and the pass rush still is not up to par. However, the defense didn't break under the strain of 36 snaps on the Ravens' side of the 50-yard line.

With the game on the line, the Ravens backed their secondary off, keeping the Steelers from attempting to get the ball into the end zone and forcing Stewart to work exclusively underneath in the final two-minute drill.

Said defensive tackle Tony Siragusa, whose alma mater, the University of Pittsburgh, upset Virginia Tech at Heinz Field one day earlier: "Nobody adds up all the so-called 'ugly' wins at the end of the year, do they? They just count the wins. And we're on the plus side of the ledger again."

Indeed, the Ravens' mini-surge is a modest, two-game winning skein built on a pair of fourth-quarter victories. A shaky and tentative-looking bunch just a few weeks ago, the Ravens are 5-3 now. And in the Baltimore locker room, it did not go unnoticed that was the team's record at the halfway point in 2000. The Ravens concluded last year by winning seven of eight in the second half of the season.

	“	The one constant is that we manage to keep ourselves in games even when we're not playing our best. The truth is, we played a really good team here today. They've got some of the same qualities we have. But still, we were the team that won in the end. And that's not just (happenstance). ”
		— Rod Woodson, Ravens safety

To be sure, there are some similarities, not the least of which is that the Ravens' offense is still inconsistent, no matter who is playing quarterback. Starter Elvis Grbac was sidelined for a second straight week, and Randall Cunningham was typically inconsistent Sunday. The running game that fuels both the offense and defense is non-existent.

Baltimore averaged a microscopic 1.6 yards per run, with no run longer than seven yards, and the reshuffled offensive line appeared confused at times. The longest play for the passing game was 26 yards, Cunningham was sacked three times, and rarely did the ball go vertically up the field.

But the Ravens are -- slowly, surely and, for opponents, ominously -- beginning to regain that old feeling. Midway through the 2000 season, they were on a two-game losing skein. This year, the arrow is pointing up, suggested tight end Shannon Sharpe.

Uncharacteristically respectful of the Steelers' defense as he knotted his tie and began the trek to a waiting bus, Sharpe nonetheless couldn't help note that the AFC Central is again up for grabs. And when it comes to grabbing and then holding on for everything you are worth, Sharpe insisted, no one is better than the Ravens.

"I'm sure people are going to be asking, 'So are you guys back?' and (stuff) like that," Sharpe said. "Hey, we were never gone, OK?"

Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.