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The Baltimore Ravens are not in their accustomed position at the top of the AFC North as they face the most critical portion of their schedule. They are coming off a painful 18-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers (8-2) and they are 1 1/2 games behind their rivals.
It looks like the Ravens (7-4) are in trouble as they prepare for the final seven games of the regular season. The smart money may be on the Steelers (+160) to win the division title, but the Ravens (+160) have the skill and the explosive offense to win out and earn the AFC North title.
Start off with the quarterback-running back combination of Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry. To say the Ravens (430.1 yards and 30.4 points per game) are in good shape with this duo is to sell them woefully short. Jackson ranks with Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs and Josh Allen of the Bills as the best quarterbacks in the game.
Henry leads a running back class that includes Saquon Barkley of the Eagles and Josh Jacobs of the Packers as the best at their position in the league.
Defensive coordinators that face the Ravens have much more than a headache on their hands when facing the Ravens. Trying to slow down either Jackson or Henry would be an issue requiring strong aspirin for the ensuing headache. But being forced to stop both of them might require the whole bottle.
Ravens closing stretch features winnable games
The Ravens backers in Maryland will look at the upcoming schedule that includes games against the Chargers, Eagles and the Giants and have complete faith that their team will come through. The supporters of professional football in Baltimore may be the most enthusiastic fans in the NFL, dating back to the days when the Baltimore Colts had John Unitas under center and that team battled the Green Bay Packers, Vince Lombardi and Bart Starr for NFL superiority.
The 2024 version of the Ravens are 3-point favorites over the Chargers for the game at SoFi Stadium Monday night in Los Angeles, and while John Harbaugh faces an intense matchup against his brother Jim Harbaugh's team, the Ravens are more seasoned and simply more explosive than their hosts.
The Eagles have been playing some of the best football in the NFL, but Jalen Hurts will have to play his best game to keep the Birds competitive on the road. Barkley's motivation to get the best of Henry in the individual running back matchup may be more important to the Philadelphia running back than actually winning the game.
The Ravens get their bye in Week 14 before facing the moribund Giants. That game should be a runaway for Baltimore.
After that game, the Ravens get their revenge game at home against the Steelers followed by closing encounters with the Texans and Browns. John Harbaugh is not going to panic because his team is in a chase position with the Steelers at the top of the division. He knows that his team can move into the top spot by the end of the season.
Steelers simply don't have enough firepower with Russell Wilson at QB1
The biggest issue for the Steelers at this point is is their low-functioning offense. The Steelers rank 19th in yards with an average of 324.0 per game and that translates to 23.3 points per game. The fact that they have accomplished as much as they have with Wilson and Justin Fields at quarterback is a testimony to their defense and head coach Mike Tomlin's ability to lead his team.
The Steelers have taken advantage of their schedule to this point in the season, but the finishing four games are likely to result in their undoing. Pittsburgh faces the Eagles, Ravens, Chiefs and Bengals in the final four weeks and they will have a tough time matching up in all of those games. It would be something of a shock if they were able to win more than one of those games. Actually, a win in any of those games could be difficult to find.
The only game that they are likely to be favored is the season finale at home against the Bengals. However, Cincinnati will need that game if they can rally down the stretch to put themselves in playoff contention. The QB-WR combination of Joe Burrow throwing to Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins will be very tough for the Steelers defense to contain.
Ravens can't misfire any longer
Baltimore has inexplicably lost games to the Raiders, Browns and Steelers in addition to their season-opening defeat to the Chiefs. All of those losses have been by 7 points or less.
Jackson and his teammates can't afford any more missteps along the way. The margin of error has been used up and now their concentration level must be at a peak level.
If they can avoid self-inflicted mistakes, they have a chance to rise to the top of the division at the conclusion of Week 18. If not, they will surrender the division title to the Steelers.
