It’s safe to say that things have not gone according to plan for the Baltimore Ravens. After an absurd amount of injuries, the team currently sits at 8-8 after 17 weeks of action. However, despite the mediocre record, the Ravens can make the playoffs with a win in Week 18, plus some help throughout the league.
[pickup_prop id=”16914″]
Baltimore Ravens Path to the Playoffs
Step 1: Beat the Pittsburgh Steelers
First and foremost, the Ravens need to actually take care of their own business. The Pittsburgh Steelers will travel to Baltimore in what will likely be the final game of Ben Roethlisberger’s career. If the Steelers win Monday’s battle against the Cleveland Browns, then they will also be playing for a minor shot at the postseason. That being said, even if they’re out of contention, they’ll still probably give their all as a final send-off to Roethlisberger.
Hopefully, Lamar Jackson will be able to go for the season finale. The quarterback returned to practice last week, but early reports indicate that he was not close to looking like himself. Tyler Huntley is a fine backup that can probably win the game regardless, but there is no question that a healthy Jackson gives the team the best chance of winning. As of this posting, the game is currently scheduled for 1:00, so the Ravens won’t know the results of the other games. As far as the team is concerned, they should be playing for their postseason lives.
Lamar Jackson (right ankle injury) returned to practice Wednesday but moved with a pronounced limp pic.twitter.com/KRWeGm6GCg
— Jamison Hensley (@jamisonhensley) December 29, 2021
Step 2: New England Patriots Over Miami Dolphins
The Ravens should feel good about this one. The New England Patriots are coming off a dominant 50-10 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars and haven’t had a hard time taking care of lesser competition. The Miami Dolphins went on a midseason winning streak against some terrible teams before finally showing their true colors against the Tennessee Titans.
Weird things happen when New England travels to Miami, but the Patriots should be heavy favorites in this one. In addition to being the better team, they also have something to play for. If they win and Buffalo loses, the Patriots will win the AFC East and earn a home game in the first round of the playoffs. Even if Buffalo wins, New England will probably want the highest playoff seed possible. Miami, meanwhile, is officially out of the playoff hunt and has nothing to play for, other than pride.
It's against a very shallow Jaguars team, but #Patriots rookie QB Mac Jones is back on track today.
He's 12/14 for 107 yards with two touchdowns in the first half. pic.twitter.com/zgC451Q19Y
— Doug Kyed (@DougKyed) January 2, 2022
Step 3: Browns Lose Once
The Cleveland Browns are out of the playoff picture, but that doesn’t mean they can’t still help the Ravens. Thanks to some tiebreakers, the team needs to lose at least one of their next two matchups if the Ravens want to make the playoffs.
The Browns face the Steelers on Monday Night Football before closing out the year against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Browns will probably lose one of those games, but the Steelers give the Ravens the best chance here. Pittsburgh is still playing for something, whereas the Bengals have already clinched the AFC North. They could rest their starters in Week 18, which would obviously increase Cleveland’s odds of winning. However, if Joe Burrow and company suit up in the regular season finale, then the Browns will have a hard time coming away with the victory.
https://twitter.com/pdemontmollin/status/1477646800584687619?s=20
Step 4: Las Vegas Raiders Over Los Angeles Chargers
This one isn’t looking as good. On paper, the Chargers are the much better team. Justin Herbert has fully established himself as one of the best young quarterbacks in the league and the offense has tons of weapons. While the defense leaves something to be desired, the Raiders defense isn’t much better.
Despite all this, the Raiders and Chargers somehow enter the game with identical 9-7 records. Vegas has done this on the back of absurd luck in one-score games (6-2), and that sort of thing isn’t sustainable over a long sample. That being said, perhaps the Raiders can stay lucky and pull off the upset against the Chargers.
Derek Carr to Hunter Renfrow
CLUTCH! pic.twitter.com/JlAdVsU8ht
— The GOAT House (@GoatHouseNFL) January 2, 2022
Step 5: Jacksonville Jaguars Over Indianapolis Colts
Oh boy. While the first four could happen, this one feels all but impossible. The Jacksonville Jaguars are the worst team in football by a comfortable margin, and the Indianapolis Colts still need a Week 18 win to secure a spot in the playoffs.
Trevor Lawrence has not played up to his pre-draft billing, but you can’t really blame him for that. The Jaguars have perhaps the worst coaching staff in football, and their offensive weapons and blocking make it impossible for any young quarterback to succeed. Put it this way: if Laquon Treadwell is your best receiver, something has gone horribly wrong.
This is, by far, the biggest hurdle to Baltimore making the postseason. The Ravens will need A LOT of things to go their way to make the playoffs, but as long as there’s a chance, this team should still give it their all heading into Week 18.
Main photo:
Embed from Getty Images
