The Ravens already knew they needed a win over the Cleveland Browns in Week 17 to keep their playoff hopes alive, but one of their two remaining possibilities for help was thrown out on Monday night.
Baltimore would have clinched a playoff spot with a win on Sunday and Cincinnati losing its final two games, but the Bengals defeated the Denver Broncos on Monday night to officially clinch a playoff spot. They will play the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field on Sunday night with the winner taking the AFC North crown.
Head coach John Harbaugh and the Ravens are still in the hunt, however, as they can punch their ticket to the postseason with a win and a Kansas City victory over the San Diego Chargers. At 9-6, the Ravens currently hold the same record as the Chargers, but San Diego’s Week 13 win in Baltimore serves as the tiebreaker.
Harbaugh’s younger brother Jim was unable to lead San Francisco to a win over the Chargers on Saturday, so the seventh-year head coach will now turn to his NFL mentor Andy Reid and the Chiefs for the necessary help to get into the playoffs. Harbaugh served as the special teams coordinator under Reid for eight years in Philadelphia before becoming the head man in Baltimore in 2008.
“Our emphasis is completely and squarely on the Cleveland Browns,” Harbaugh said. “That’s what we’re going to be doing. I’m sure they’ll flash the score up there; I’m sure we’ll see it. It’ll be a matter of [looking up], ‘OK, what’s the score?’ But we’re not going to be immersed in any other game. That’s a recipe for disaster.”
After the Orioles were swept by the Royals in the American League Championship Series in October, perhaps it’s in the stars for Kansas City to do Baltimore a favor by beating the Chargers on Sunday.
Otherwise, the Ravens will face the reality of having missed the playoffs for the second straight year.
Luke Jones
Luke Jones is the Ravens and Orioles beat reporter for WNST BaltimorePositive.com and is a PFWA member. His mind is consumed with useless sports knowledge, pro wrestling promos, and movie quotes, but he often forgets where he put his phone. Luke's favorite sports memories include being one of the thousands of kids who waited for Cal Ripken's autograph after Orioles games in the summer of 1995, attending the Super Bowl XXXV victory parade with his dad in the pouring rain, and watching the Terps advance to the Final Four at the Carrier Dome in 2002. Follow him on social media @BaltimoreLuke or email him at Luke@wnst.net.
8
Paid Advertisement
Podcast Audio Vault
88Paid Advertisement
Share the Post:
8Paid Advertisement
Right Now in Baltimore
Leivovich: On the swamp and racket of The Big Game and bad government
"It's the best book ever written about the modern National Football League," so says Nestor about Big Game. And that's why we love having its author Mark Leibovich back on when his New England Patriots proudly return to Baltimore for some playoff knockout style football. Now with The Atlantic, the longtime political insider for The New York Times is also heavily immersed in Trumplandia and weighs in on the ongoing Epstein saga and the usual D.C. shenanigans.
Gordy pushes the beat to another Grammy nomination
Two-time Grammy Award winning percussionist and Marylander M.B. Gordy returns from Los Angeles to tell Nestor about the beat of his latest – and fourth – Grammy nomination with "Seven Seasons" in the Classical Compendium category.
Hail, hail Halethorpe! A Honey of a spot to shoot pool, watch the game and taste fresh flavor
This stands as a warning to anyone who invites Nestor by their place for the Maryland Crab Cake Tour: you're an invite and a taste away because he's en route to meet more great local folks who want to promote their business. Owner Soo Mi Kang of Honey's in Halethorpe invited us over and must've known that offering "Crabby Toast" would invoke the legend of Charles Markwood Eckman. Competitive billiards, great food and the game is always on at this old-school joint on the south side.
888Paid Advertisement
