“32 Yards to tie, and the kick… LOOK OUT, NO! ITS NO GOOD!” – Jim Nantz- January 22nd, 2012.
It feels like just yesterday when we heard these words as Billy Cundiff missed a chip-in 32 yarder to tie the AFC Championship game. I know for me, it doesn’t seem like that was 6 months ago. I still haven’t gotten over it and I’m sure I probably never will.
But it’s July now, and it is time to shift focus to this year. A year that hopefully will be great redemption for Baltimore!
Getting to the Super Bowl this year however, will be a MUCH tougher task than last year. We will have to face 8 pro-bowl quarterbacks this year and not to mention the new Redskins star Robert Griffin III. Let’s take a look at four key games that we need to win to get another AFC North Championship, and hopefully a shiny Lombardi Trophy!
Week 1 vs. Cincinnati: What a game this will be! The atmosphere will certainly be the best of the season! A Monday Night, home-opener game is the perfect way to start any season. But a loss in this game could be deadly! If we don’t come out and win this game, it would put a tremendous amount of pressure in Week Two as we would have to stop Michael Vick and the Eagles on the road. Going 0-2 to start the year is not a good recipe for success!
Week 3 vs. New England: A statement game is what this is. A game to SHUT UP every New England fan out there who insists that they beat us big time in that game. The fact is that Joe Flacco won that game for us. He put the ball in Lee Evans’ hands and WON THAT GAME! For Flacco to have a huge game and tear up the New England defense again, would be sweet revenge. If we win this game, we can win any game on this schedule.
Week 11 @ Pittsburgh: At this time in the season, everybody starts to look at the playoff picture. By week 11 you can see who is in the running to win each division. As usual, I am sure that the Squealers make a run at a division title. But if at this point we have at least 6 wins, and we win this matchup, I see a very good chance of us winning the division. If we can run the ball down their throats and prove that they have weaknesses on that vaunted defense, we WILL win. This game is a must win simply because- who doesn’t love seeing Steelers fans leaving the stadium crying as they walk to their cars? Let’s make it happen yet again!
Week 16 vs. New York Giants: This matchup should have been the last game of last season. If we would have converted on a couple of key plays in New England, it would have been. I want this game bad. This could be the make or break game of the year. Hopefully, Suggs will be back in action so he can put Eli on his butt all day long and have him crying to his daddy after the game. Because it is a flex-scheduling game I would assume that it will get moved to a primetime slot. This would be a great early Christmas present to beat Eli and win the last home game of the year.
This schedule is one that will provide non-stop action. With less than 70 days before Opening Kickoff, it’s time to start getting ready!
This could be the most exciting year in a long time!
