Ever since a despicable performance against an overly hyped Philadelphia Eagles team in Week 2, the Baltimore Ravens have been criticized as an overrated team that gets lucky too often.
Despite only losing one of their next nine games, many analysts and fans alike were skeptical of how good this team was and whether or not their 9-2 record was truly indicative of their actual abilities.
The Ravens had the perfect chance to shut up all the critics and prove that they were for real by beating the rival Pittsburgh Steelers for the second time in three weeks. Unfortunately, they let this golden opportunity slip away and now have allowed the Steelers to get back on track in the divisional race.
After the loss, the Ravens sit at 9-3 and even more people are starting to question their integrity heading down the final stretch of the season. At this point, all the Ravens need to do to make the playoffs is win one more game, which seems more than likely. Even with this certainty that will put them in the playoffs for a fifth consecutive year, the big looming question is, do they even have a shot at the Super Bowl?
Recently, I’ve noticed many fans being all doom and gloom, thinking that the Ravens’ chances for a Lombardi this year are zilch.
However, you may feel a little more positive about their chances if you look into the history books.
The way the Ravens’ season is starting to unravel is similar to the past two Super Bowl champions: the Green Bay Packers and the New York Giants. Both were put in the rear-view mirror at some point in the season and were never considered Super Bowl contenders until they were actually there.
Finishing their seasons at 9-7, both the Packers and the Giants missed the chance for a first round bye and played during the wildcard round. Green Bay took out the top three NFC seeds and the Giants took out the top two before they each made it to the Super Bowl. These were all huge upsets coming from teams who weren’t expected to accomplish much at all during the playoffs and they each went on to win the Super Bowl.
The point here is that no matter how good you appear to be or how high you’re ranked, as long as you qualify for the race, you’ve got a shot at finishing up top.
While many think the Ravens won’t make it to the Super Bowl without a first round bye in the playoffs, the real truth is that as long as they’re in the playoffs, they have as good of a chance as anybody.
If NFL football has taught us anything, it’s that games are never won on paper and anything can happen on Sunday.
