OTL: Ravens Will Host One of These Four Teams in Two Weeks

Happy Monday, Flock! While it’s unfortunately not another Victory Monday, thanks to the Ravens’ backups falling in a miserable slop-fest to the Steelers on Saturday, it is still a Monday for good vibes. The Ravens don’t know who they’ll be playing in the Divisional Round, but since the playoff field is now set, we know it will be one of: Houston, Cleveland, Miami, or Pittsburgh.

The #NFLPlayoffs are set! pic.twitter.com/ZqfPEYLpI7

— NFL (@NFL) January 8, 2024

If the Steelers, who got in on the heels of their win over the Ravens’ JV squad and the Jacksonville Jaguars completing their epic collapse (remember when they were in the hunt for the #1 seed?), travel to Buffalo. If they can manage to beat the Bills – which seems extremely unlikely – then they’ll come to Baltimore no matter who wins the other two games.

Assuming the Bills win, the Ravens would play the Dolphins if they are able to travel to Kansas City and emerge victorious.

That also seems less than likely, especially with gametime temperatures expected to be well below freezing Saturday night.

That leaves us with the winner of the Houston-Cleveland tilt, a potential match-up with you-know-who.

Listen. The NFL scriptwriters have already showed their hand. On the NFC side, first, we have long-time Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford taking on his former team in their first home playoff game since 1993. On top of that, the guy he was traded for, former Rams QB Jared Goff, who took LA to a Super Bowl with Sean McVay, now plays for the Lions. Maximum drama.

There is also former Packers coach Mike McCarthy, now in Dallas, hosting Green Bay. More storybook stuff.

So, is there any doubt at all that Joe Flacco is coming back to Baltimore for a playoff game? I’ll be placing my bets next weekend with that result in mind.

Turning our gaze from forward to backward, this was a cool moment yesterday: NFL Red Zone put together their top five plays of the season (that were seen on RZ – so no prime time games qualified), and the Ravens had two of them.

The #RedZone showed their top 5 scoring plays of the seasons to end this season’s programming and the #Ravens collected 2 of the 5 selected from 1,000+ plays. And they are… pic.twitter.com/0YwXtwS2hE

— Tony Lombardi (@RSRLombardi) January 8, 2024

While Saturday’s game was mostly disappointing and boring, the important thing is that the Ravens came out of it with no significant injuries. Watching teams that were battling for their playoff lives lose even more important players this weekend (like T.J. Watt, for instance) reminded us what was really at stake, with the top seed already secured.

One bright spot though, was the play of rookie linebacker Trenton Simpson. He flashed on our televisions, and his PFF grade reflects what we thought we saw.

Trenton Simpson vs. the Steelers:

80.4 PFF grade
1 sack
2 receptions allowed, 1 yard
2 tackles for loss / no gain

📸 @Ravens pic.twitter.com/8AXkFPUw5o

— PFF BAL Ravens (@PFF_Ravens) January 8, 2024

Is the third-rounder from Clemson going to be the next to benefit from playing next to Roquan Smith, as so many did from playing beside Ray Lewis? Jadeveon Clowney, for one, is impressed with EDC’s drafting prowess.

Jadeveon Clowney with high praise for GM Eric DeCosta when asked about Trenton Simpson.

"I said man, damn, this GM don't miss with his draft picks do he. He got some dogs out here."

Clowney says he thinks Simpson played great #RavensFlock pic.twitter.com/aeC7Qd3pDY

— Rocco DiSangro (@RoccoDiSangro) January 7, 2024

Simpson looks to have a bright future in Baltimore. For now though, we just need (hopefully) three more games of him being a monster on special teams.