Philadelphia and Baltimore are separated by 100.6 miles of Interstate 95, but if this ESPN simulator is correct, both teams will reunite in Las Vegas for a February showdown.
Analytics expert Seth Walder used ESPN‘s Football Power Index (FPI) to simulate the season 20,000 times.
Using simulation No. 3,818, Baltimore finishes 11-6 and reaches the Super Bowl, where they fall to the Eagles.
In Week 2, the Ravens took an early edge in the division race by winning an 18-12 defensive struggle against the Bengals that dropped Cincy to 0-2. By Week 8, the Bengals had fought back, taking a half-game lead over Baltimore. But that’s when Jackson really got hot and engineered a four-game winning streak — including a 19-17 victory over the Bengals — reminding us of the Jackson who was once league MVP.
In the end, the Bengals couldn’t catch them. The Ravens won the division as an 11-win No. 3 seed, while the Bengals finished one game back as the No. 6 seed. The rivals squared off a third time in the playoffs, with the result mirroring the first two. Jackson flourished and the Ravens sacked Joe Burrow five times in a 31-19 defeat to send Cincinnati home.
In the Super Bowl, the Eagles’ defense — fueled by second-year defensive tackle Jordan Davis’ run-stuffing and linebacker Haason Reddick’s pass rush — stifled the Ravens’ offense. The Eagles won 14-10, and redemption for Super Bowl LVII was complete.
The simulator has Dallas earning the No. 2 overall pick, while the Panthers and Commanders reach the postseason with first-year starters.
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