The Baltimore Ravens have been reeling ever since their Sunday Night victory vs. the Cleveland Browns back on Nov. 28th, which at the time catapulted them to 1st place in both the AFC North and the entire conference. Since then, they’ve dropped five straight games, four of which have come by one or two points, and have fallen effectively out of the AFC playoff picture.
While Baltimore’s hopes of returning to the playoffs for the 4th straight season appear murky at best, there are still a few scenarios in which the Ravens could sneak into the playoffs as the 7th seed. For the Ravens to clinch a playoff spot, they’ll obviously need to end their three-game losing streak to the Pittsburgh Steelers in what promises to be a fiery, emotionally-driven game at M&T Bank Stadium as the Ravens will look to finally vanquish their most bitter foe, Ben Roethlisberger, once-and-for-all. Sunday could potentially be the last time Roethlisberger puts on the shoulder pads and eye black as he’s expected to call time on an 18-year NFL career spent entirely as a Steeler.
Hypothetically speaking, assuming the Ravens can end their season on a high note and beat the Steelers, which is an absolute must for Baltimore to remain relevant, a few other games have to fall their way in order to finesse their way into the playoffs. According to former Ravens blogger and current superfan, Sarah Ellison, the Ravens need the following results in order to secure a playoff bid if they do manage to beat the Steelers:
- Jaguars beat Colts.
- Patriots beat Dolphins.
- Raiders beat Chargers.
While it would be nothing short of a miracle if all these scenarios fell in Baltimore’s favor, in the 2nd full season in which COVID-19 has ravaged rosters and turned the league on its head, crazier things have happened that should give Ravens fans some form of hope, even if it is just a glimmer. As far as the Jags-Colts game goes, although Indy opens as hefty 15-point favorites, there is history on the side of the Jags pulling off the upset as they’re undefeated in their last six home games vs. the Colts dating back to 2014.
In reference to the Dolphins-Patriots showdown, while Miami has beaten New England in three of their last four meetings, including a 17-16 squeaker of a win in Week 1 of this season, the Pats are a vastly different team heading in the season’s final week than they were heading into the season’s inaugural week. Bill Belichick has firmly cemented himself into the Coach of the Year conversation for transforming the Patriots back into contenders (this time without a certain you-know-who), all while rookie quarterback Mac Jones has looked more and more comfortable running New England’s offense with each passing week.
While it has to be said that the Dolphins have had a remarkable season of their own, becoming the only team in NFL history to have a seven-game losing streak and a seven-game winning streak in the same season, I still like the Pats in this game. Bill Belichick’s men have grown throughout the season in a way all teams hope to as the playoffs loom right around the corner. I believe with the efficient QB play of Jones coupled with the Pats run game and stout pass-rush (Matt Judon, we miss you), New England should have enough to win this game and give Baltimore the boost it sorely needs.
In terms of the Raiders-Chargers game…look, admittedly this one is a toss-up and I have trouble separating the talent level between these two teams. Divisional games always have an extra layer that make them unpredictable and tough for fans to call. Justin Herbert and the Chargers handed Derek Carr and the Raiders their 1st loss of the season back in Week 4 in a 28-14 home drubbing at SoFi Stadium. In a game where the winner goes to the playoffs and the loser heads home, the stakes could not be much higher for these AFC West counterparts.
As former Raiders Head Coach and NFL icon, the late, great, John Madden once said, “winning’s the greatest deodorant, and conversely, when you have a bad record, everything stinks, and everything starts to unravel, and everything falls apart.”
A Raiders win over the Chargers would be a fruitful fragrant for the Ravens, and while I truthfully feel the Chargers are the better team here, the Raiders surprised many last week by going into Indy and edging the Colts in a game they weren’t favored to win. So, I guess the old adage of, “any given Sunday” rings especially true in the case of this game.
While I view it as unlikely the Ravens will make the playoffs this season as the hole they’ve dug for themselves heading into Week 18 will prove to be too deep, frankly, the Ravens’ play on the field, specifically in the last month of the season, hasn’t given any indication that Baltimore would be anything more than a 1st-round exit. Especially when we consider the teams they’d have to play on the road in a hostile environment in the playoffs.
However, playoffs or not, I believe the 2021-2022 Baltimore Ravens have a lot to be proud about and build upon heading into next season. Additionally, due to the gauntlet of injuries the Ravens have suffered this season, this has meant that Baltimore has been able to assess the depth they have at each position with a good amount of the starters missing large chunks of the season. The emergence of players like Anthony Averett, Tyler Huntley, and Patrick Mekari into larger starting roles has been a positive side effect of Baltimore having sustained a litany of injuries before and throughout the season. These players should offer tremendous depth to Baltimore’s roster heading into next season when many starters are expected to make a healthy return.
2021-2022 has been the season of “what if” for the Flock. What if the Ravens hadn’t suffered the absurd number of injuries they did? What if star QB Lamar Jackson would’ve been healthy enough to play the last month of the season? What if just one or two of Baltimore’s one-score losses would’ve gone their way? The hypotheticals are never-ending and mind-boggling. Before we set our eyes on getting healthy for next season, this year’s Ravens still have enough in the tank to influence the AFC playoff picture in some way.
What better way is there to end the NFL’s longest-ever season with potentially ending the rival Steelers playoff hopes and effectively ending Big Ben’s illustrious career?
See you Sunday for the regular season curtain call. While it isn’t the winner-take-all AFC North division crown battle we’d hoped for, there will be plenty of drama nonetheless.
