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As the Baltimore Ravens face the New York Giants this Sunday, they are entering the month of December, where they have shown to be a very effective team that no other squad wants to face. With people already locking in their predictions for the upcoming Ravens game, head coach John Harbaugh would talk about why the team starts to heat up come December and even January.
Since 2022, Baltimore has been 7-2 in December, with one of those losses being the close game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Dec. 1, where they were defeated 24-19. Harbaugh would say to the question posted by ESPN's Jamison Henley that “everything is geared toward and should be geared toward this time of year.”
“We're just trying to play our best football,” Harbaugh said. “That's probably in the past, but everything is geared toward and should be geared toward this time of year – you have to get yourself in a position to play meaningful games in December. I mean that's the goal. Who's going to win in December, who's going to win in January, who's going to have an opportunity in February?
“That remains to be seen,” Harbaugh continued. “It can be teams that can have the best season and then not get all the way to the end, but you can still have a great season. You can have an OK season, make your way into the playoffs, and you can finish it out because you get hot and you play well. It's a long season in this league for a reason, and we're going to try to play our best football here at the end of the season in December and January.”
Ravens' Lamar Jackson the source of energy after the bye week
A major part of that success from these crucial months has to be accredited to the performances of Ravens star quarterback Lamar Jackson, who is in the midst of another productive season. Now, as Baltimore is coming off of a much-needed bye week, Harbaugh would speak about how Jackson has energized the team in practice off the break.
“Lamar [Jackson]'s always like that. Lamar likes to practice; he loves football, Lamar is a phenomenal leader in his way,” Harbaugh said via the team's transcripts. “All the guys realize leadership starts with competence. You have to be good and great at what you do to really be genuinely respected as a leader, probably in any field, right? Lamar's a great player and he's a great teammate, and he demands perfection and excellence out of himself. That's what it starts with, and then it carries over to the rest of the guys. I mean, the guys respect him, and I wouldn't just stop at Lamar. You can name the guys; you can start with Mark Andrews and Tyler Lindenbaum, just off the top of my head, guys on offense [as well as] Derrick Henry. There are a lot of guys that do a great job with that.”
At any rate, the Ravens are 8-5, which puts them second to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC North as they face the Giants on Sunday.
