In the AFC Championship game, the Baltimore Ravens lost devastatingly to the Kansas City Chiefs. Baltimore was widely regarded as the best team in the NFL in 2023, but none of that matters after their year’s disappointing end.
Head coach John Harbaugh and the team know what’s at stake this season, especially with quarterback Lamar Jackson entering another year of his prime. When ranking NFL head coaches ahead of 2024, Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports put Harbaugh at No. 4 on his list, saying that there is some pressure to get over the Super Bowl hump in the Jackson-era.
“His 2012 Super Bowl title seems like a lifetime ago, if only because the Lamar Jackson-era Ravens have reached just one AFC Championship. Is there some pressure to get over the hump with the current setup? Sure. Yet has any coach not named Andy Reid proven so adaptable in terms of both offensive and defensive scheming and philosophy? From transitioning to Jackson from the Joe Flacco days to shepherding multiple top-level coordinators, he’s one of the NFL’s most consistent CEOs.”
Harbaugh’s AFC Championship appearance was the first time the team had advanced that far in the playoffs since they won the Super Bowl back in 2012-2013. Anything other than at least a Super Bowl appearance will likely be considered a bust of a year in 2024, so expectations are already sky-high for the veteran head coach.