Their primary objective against the Baltimore Ravens was merely to keep several key starters healthy, a goal that was assured before the opening kickoff of Pittsburgh's 27-21 loss today.

Musa Smith ran for 83 yards and a touchdown in his first NFL start, helping the Ravens (5-11) earn their first victory since Oct. 14 and end a nine-game losing streak.

The Steelers (10-6) had already clinched the AFC North title and were locked into a wild-card game at home next weekend. They could have earned the third seed by defeating Baltimore, coupled with a loss by San Diego, but Pittsburgh downplayed that scenario in the days leading up to the regular-season finale.

It wasn't just idle talk. If this game meant anything to the Steelers, they probably would have played quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, wide receiver Hines Ward, safety Troy Polamalu and cornerback/kick returner Allen Rossum. All were on the inactive list, nursing minor injuries.

Pittsburgh will open the playoffs Saturday night against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Playing for the first time since replacing Roethlisberger in a 38-7 rout of Baltimore on Nov. 5, Charlie Batch went 16-for-31 for 218 yards and two interceptions. Fifty-nine of those yards came on a touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes with 7:13 remaining.

That made it 27-14, and after a successful onside kick, Batch threw a fourth-down TD pass to Cedrick Wilson with 3:36 left.

But the late surge wasn't enough to overcome a 20-point deficit.

Najeh Davenport, elevated to the starter's role last week after Willie Parker went down with a season-ending broken leg, ran for 27 yards on 12 carries before leaving in the third quarter.

The Pittsburgh defense wasn't sharp, but neither unit showed much emotion in the rain while losing in Baltimore for a fifth consecutive season. The Steelers should be far more inspired, and healthy, on Saturday against the Jaguars.

The Ravens, meanwhile, will enter the offseason without the burden of a franchise-record losing streak that included five defeats by at least 14 points.

Plagued by turnovers all season, Baltimore took advantage of one to go up 7-0.

Starting in place of Rossum, Willie Reid fumbled the opening kickoff and Devard Darling recovered at the Pittsburgh 35. Eight plays later, Smith scored from 2.

One week earlier, Smith was third on the depth chart. But Willis McGahee fractured two ribs last week in a loss to Seattle, and backup Mike Anderson was out with a hamstring injury.

Pittsburgh's first possession ended when Batch threw an incomplete pass on a fourth-down play from the Baltimore 32, and the Ravens moved 57 yards before Matt Stover kicked a field goal to make it 10-0.

On the ensuing kickoff, Reid lost the ball after slipping on the wet turf. It was ruled a fumble, but a replay reversed the call.

A 32-yard touchdown run by fourth-string running back Cory Ross made it 17-0. Davenport scored from the 1 with 10 minutes left in the second quarter, but Stover kicked a field goal just before halftime to make it 20-7.

A 15-yard pass from rookie Troy Smith to Darling upped the margin to 20 points in the third quarter.