Baltimore Ravens playoff scenarios

Week 17 rooting guide: Creating the Ravens’ dream playoff scenario

Fans chose the Pittsburgh Steelers as the dream team to face first in the playoffs, so we make it happen in this week’s rooting guide.

I posed a question to you all on Twitter last week. Out of all the Baltimore Ravens’ playoff scenarios in Week 17, which of four possible opponents did fans want to see first in the postseason? With an unsurprising yet overwhelming majority, Ravens fans chose the Pittsburgh Steelers.

With that selection in mind, I’m doing this week’s rooting guide focused on creating a matchup against Pittsburgh in the Wild-Card round of the AFC playoffs. While there are a few different scenarios where that can occur, I chose ones that feature Baltimore beating the Cincinnati Bengals first and then looked at the other games needed to find the most likely path toward that matchup. I’ve also written up every other Ravens playoff scenario earlier in the week, so check that out if you’d rather see Baltimore play another team in the wild card.

If the Ravens are going to take on the Steelers in the playoffs, this is what is most likely going to happen:

NFL power rankings: Ravens just keep on rising after Week 16 win

The Baltimore Ravens are hot right now and by extending their winning streak in Week 16, they’re rising up the NFL power rankings

The Baltimore Ravens dispatched the New York Giants on Sunday, winning 27-13 in a game that wasn’t nearly as close as the score might seem. By not only beating the Giants but seeing some other AFC teams lose, the Ravens are now in control of their own playoff destiny and go into Week 17 with a very clear mission. After busting off four consecutive wins, Baltimore finds themselves quick risers up the NFL power rankings.

Mark Schofield of Touchdown Wire put together his latest NFL power rankings list and once again has the Ravens jumping up. Entering Week 17, Baltimore now sits at No. 8, leaping forward two spots from last week’s rankings. The timing of the Ravens’ rise to power didn’t escape Schofield either.

The Ravens picked the right time to come together, as their win over the New York Giants puts them in the driver’s seat for one of the Wild Card spots in the AFC.

All Baltimore needs to do is beat the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 17 to lock themselves into the playoffs. What seed they actually claim and who their opponent in the Wild Card round of the playoffs will all depend on what goes on around them, however.

As Schofield noted, the “Ravens seem like that proverbial team ‘getting hot at the right time’.” It’s an astute observation and one that really shouldn’t be discounted just because of how Baltimore looked earlier in the season.

The offense has finally found its rhythm, with the run game gashing opponents for 200-plus yards regularly and quarterback Lamar Jackson playing far more efficient and smart football through the air. The defense has a few more question marks than they did earlier in the season thanks to injuries but they should be getting healthy again over the next two weeks to return several starters. If someone was writing the perfect football conclusion, this is what it would look like.

As I noted last week when Baltimore beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Ravens are playing playoff-caliber football right now and answering their biggest questions at a time when much of the AFC is showing signs of weakness. After putting together some gutsy performances this season against physical teams, Baltimore might just have what it takes to go on a roll here at the end of the season and head into the playoffs as the one team no one wants to face.

Time will tell if the Ravens can pick up their first playoff win but everything is going about as well as can be expected after 16 weeks.

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Ravens’ Week 16 rooting guide: Who Baltimore wants to win/lose

The Baltimore Ravens need to not only win but get a little help to move up into the playoff seeding in Week 16. Here’s who to root for.

The Baltimore Ravens are stuck in an unenviable position at the end of the regular season. They not only need to win their final two games to earn a playoff berth, but they also need a little help from around the league as well.

The Ravens have games against the 5-9 New York Giants (Week 16) and 3-10-1 Cincinnati Bengals (Week 17) remaining. That’s not the hardest schedule, though both teams should have enough left in the tank to be potential trap games if Baltimore isn’t careful. But with some scoreboard watching to do to secure a playoff spot, it can be a little convoluted to follow along.

We’ve done all the math to help you figure out which teams you need to be cheering for and which ones should earn your biggest jeers. With just two weeks remaining, it’s crunch time for the Ravens, so let’s get right to it.