With Kansas City and Philadelphia winning on Sunday to advance to Super Bowl LVII in Arizona, Iโve offered a dozen Ravens thoughts, each in 50 words or less:
1. You could forgive Ravens fans for dreaming of long-term dominance in the midst of that special 2019 regular season, but the Chiefs have now advanced to three of the last four Super Bowls and played in five straight AFC championship games. Patrick Mahomes remains king, and itโs not that close.
2. Credit the Eagles for having the conviction to reset with a new head coach and quarterback a few years after winning a Super Bowl rather than sticking with a Doug Pederson-Carson Wentz partnership that wasnโt working. Continuity is great, but sometimes being bold is the right move. What a season.
3. Cincinnati leaned into being the pro wrestling heel in a way similar to the trash-talking 2000 Ravens, who were hated everywhere outside the Baltimore area. The difference is the Bengals failed to back it up, which is why it was funny seeing Travis Kelce channel The Rock in Sundayโs postgame.
GIVE @TKELCE THE MIC.
(via @NFLonCBS) pic.twitter.com/K1fSPyaEkWโ NFL (@NFL) January 30, 2023
4. Kansas City offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy has interviewed for numerous head coach openings, which makes Baltimoreโs reported request to interview him for its own offensive coordinator gig so unusual. I suppose thereโd be no doubt about him running the offensive show under John Harbaugh compared to working for Andy Reid.
5. I donโt have many strong opinions about the offensive coordinator search โ thereโs always more than one โrightโ choice โ beyond preferring someone outside the organization with pass-game chops, but Georgia offensive coordinator and former NFL assistant Todd Monken is an intriguing name. Someone with recent experience at both levels sounds ideal.
6. Jason Kelce and Travis Kelce are the first brothers to play each other in a Super Bowl, which is awesome for two future Hall of Famers. You also may have heard that John and Jim Harbaugh coached against each other in a Super Bowl and Jerome Bettis is from Detroit.
7. Injuries are part of football, but San Francisco getting to the NFC championship game with Brock Purdy before succumbing to further quarterback attrition was just cruel. Imagine Baltimore being down to injured versions of Anthony Brown and Brett Hundley and wondering if J.K. Dobbins could throw passes for you.
8. Watching offensive line injuries catch up to the Bengals was a reminder that the Ravens are in a much better place there than theyโve been these last few years. Much still hinges on continued good health for Ronnie Stanley, who can finally have his first normal offseason since 2020.
With changes looming elsewhere, Ravens hope to keep offensive line largely intact: https://t.co/FIRCWnrDI8โ Luke Jones (@BaltimoreLuke) January 27, 2023
9. Brandon Williams played only nine snaps Sunday and hasnโt made a major impact since joining Kansas City, but good for the former Ravens nose tackle and Missouri native making it to the Super Bowl. A similar stint worked nicely for friend and former teammate Terrell Suggs a few years back.
10. Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones reinforced how dominant he is with the ability to wreck the game inside or make a play off the edge like he did late in Sundayโs victory. Youโd love to have an inside rusher like that against Joe Burrow, but such talents are so rare.
Chris Jones has nearly doubled his pressure rate from 6.9% in the first nine weeks of the season to 13.2% since Week 10.
: A look at the DT pressure leaders since Week 10#CINvsKC | #ChiefsKingdom pic.twitter.com/pzZxEHqXVvโ Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) January 30, 2023
11. Purdyโs fumble that was initially ruled an incomplete pass reminded me of Cory Reddingโs touchdown in the 2010 divisional round loss in Pittsburgh. That was one of the stranger plays in Ravensโ postseason history with everyone but Redding assuming it was an incompletion.
12. Reports say the 2023 NFL salary cap will be set at $224.8 million, which is up from $208.2 million for the 2022 season. According to OverTheCap.com, the Ravens are projected to have just under $27 million in cap space. But that doesnโt account for Lamar Jackson. No sweat, right?