Tag: Ravens

Ravens HC John Harbaugh rejoicing in the fact that Baltimore makes playoffs

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh rejoiced in the fact that his team made the playoffs

The Baltimore Ravens won 34-17 over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 16, moving their record to 10-5 and placing them in a tie for the AFC North lead. While Pittsburgh still holds the tiebreaker over Baltimore due to its division record, the Ravens have a clear path to surpassing the Steelers and guaranteeing at least one home playoff game.

After the game, Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh gushed over his team’s performance and accomplishment of making the playoffs. He said it was huge that the team could get into the big dance. He also mentioned that the final goal is to win a championship and listed other goals the team has or has not achieved.

“It’s huge; it’s huge. We rejoice. I rejoice in the fact that we made the playoffs because it’s tough to do. It’s really hard to do; look around the league [to see] how hard it is to do. I’m so proud of these guys, and we have goals. The first goal is to win the next game we say. So, everything we do all year is to win the next game. The second goal is to make the playoffs. The third goal is to win the division – the AFC North. The final goal is to win the championship – the Super Bowl world championship. We [achieved] two of them tonight – we won the next game, and we made the playoffs.”

The Ravens still have a tough stretch ahead of them. They will face the Houston Texans on Christmas Day before rounding out their season with the Cleveland Browns. However, Baltimore keeps checking accomplishments off its checklist, which bodes well for a potential deep run.

Chiefs will wear a festive uniform patch for the NFL Holiday Remix games

Kansas City #Chiefs will wear a festive uniform patch for the NFL Holiday Remix games | @EdEastonJr

The Kansas City Chiefs are part of a new tradition of having teams play on Christmas Day. The Saturday before, they will receive their unique uniform patch.

To celebrate the occasion, the four competing teams in the NFL Holiday Remix—the Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans, Kansas City Chiefs, and Pittsburgh Steelers—will wear a festive, holiday-inspired uniform patch during their games on Saturday, Dec. 21, and again on Christmas Day. The patch features the NFL shield backed by two candy canes.

“The NFL on Christmas has become a holiday staple with families coming together to celebrate and watch NFL games,” said Tim Ellis, NFL executive vice president of marketing. “This year, we look forward to the start of a new holiday tradition with Netflix, which will be seen around the world. These holiday-inspired uniform patches are a great touch to mark this special occasion.”

The Chiefs’ matchup with the Steelers on Wednesday begins the first of a three-season partnership with Netflix to broadcast NFL games on Christmas Day. Play-by-play announcer Ian Eagle, analysts Nate Burleson and JJ Watt, and sideline reporters Melanie Collins and Stacey Dales will be on the call.

NFL playoff picture: What are Chargers’ chances of making postseason after loss to Buccaneers?

Find out how the loss to the Buccaneers affected the Chargers’ chances of playing beyond the regular season.

The Chargers lost to the Buccaneers on Sunday. They fell to 8-6, as did their percentage of making the playoffs.

According to NFL.com, Los Angeles has an 88% chance of making the playoffs. With the Bolts’ loss, they dropped to the seventh seed, and the Broncos moved into the sixth seed.

Here’s a look at the division standings entering Week 16:

1. Chiefs (13-1) *clinched division*

2. Broncos (9-5)

3. Chargers (8-6)

4. Raiders (2-11)

And a look at the playoff picture:

*There are (7) available Playoff spots

1. Chiefs (13-1)

2. Bills (11-3)

3. Steelers (10-4)

4. Texans (9-5)

5. Ravens (9-5)

6. Broncos (9-5)

7. Chargers (8-6)

8. Colts (6-8)

9. Dolphins (6-8)

10. Bengals (6-8)

AFC playoff matchups if the season ended today:

  • No. 2 Bills vs. No. 7 Chargers
  • No. 3 Steelers vs. No. 6 Broncos
  • No. 4 Texans vs. No. 5 Ravens

Which Week 15 results would help the Dolphins most? A rooting guide

Winning is Houston is the top priority, but there’s a few other teams in Week 15 that Dolphins fans should also be cheering on.

The Miami Dolphins can’t afford a misstep after digging themselves into a hole in the first half of the 2024 season. But after four wins in their last five games, the Dolphins could get back to .500 on Sunday if they manage to beat the Houston Texans.

That’d put the Dolphins very much in the mix for a wild card berth with three weeks left. They still need help, though.

Three 8-5 teams currently occupy the trio of AFC wild card entries into the NFL playoffs, and the 6-7 Indianapolis Colts own a tiebreaker over the 6-7 Dolphins thanks to their head-to-head victory back in Week 7.

Getting a win at NRG Stadium on Sunday is paramount for Miami. But here’s what else Dolphins fans should be rooting for in Week 15:

Giants win vs. Ravens (1 p.m. ET)

To catch the Ravens, the Dolphins would need two more wins than Baltimore in the last four weeks. Baltimore would be in serious jeopardy of not doing enough if it can’t go through the easiest opponent left on its schedule.

If the two-win Giants somehow ended an eight-game losing streak by getting a home win against the Ravens, it’d leave the door pretty wide open for Miami. The Ravens would likely need to win at least two — or maybe all three — of its remaining games against the Steelers, Texans, and Browns to hold off the Dolphins.

A Giants win is a long shot, but it’d be a dream come true for Miami.

Buccaneers win vs. Chargers (4:25 p.m. ET)

The likeliest path to the playoffs for the Dolphins is to track down one of the two AFC West teams ahead of them in the standings. The Broncos and Chargers meet in Week 16, meaning that (barring a tie) Miami has an inevitable chance to make up a game on one of them.

So a Chargers loss to the Buccaneers could even mean the Dolphins climb into a wild card spot as early as next week.

Colts win vs. Broncos (4:25 p.m. ET)

The good news for the Dolphins is that (again, barring a tie) one of these teams will lose. The bad news is one will win.

While Miami probably needs Indianapolis to lose at least once down the stretch, the priority for now is catching one of the eight-win contenders.

And even if the Colts rattle off four consecutive wins to end the season — which isn’t outlandish considering they play the Titans, Giants, and Jaguars to close out the year — it might not be a nightmare scenario. That’d move Indianapolis to 10-7, which may be enough to take the AFC South title from the Texans, especially if the Dolphins hand Houston its sixth loss on Sunday.

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Ravens HC John Harbaugh shares thoughts on team’s brutal three-game stretch

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh shared his thoughts on the team’s brutal three-game stretch

The Baltimore Ravens will return from their bye week with a big Weeroadme against the New York Giants in Week 15. A break was a nice opportunity for Baltimore to reset, especially after a rough three-week stretch that saw them lose two games heartbreakingly.

The Ravens will now enter a grueling stretch of their schedule, which includes three games in eleven days. When asked about the stretch, head coach John Harbaugh echoed that the team is taking things one day and one game at a time.

“Really, the message is one day at a time and one game at a time, one play at a time, one series at a time; that is the final message. The process is the message. We’ve mapped it all out, like we talked about earlier in the week. We have a plan, as far as all the different practices and reps, loading and all that to be ready to be at our best, physically, in all three games, but that’s up to us, as coaches. The [message to the] players and really the coaches, in terms of the scheming and the teaching, is we have our biggest challenge Sunday, and we have to be at our best on Sunday, and then tomorrow will worry about itself.”

The Ravens are currently 8-5 and can’t afford to lose many more games if they want to earn a high seed in the NFL playoff race. After the Giants, Baltimore will play the Pittsburgh Steelers and Houston Texans. Those two teams will give the Ravens a run for their money, especially on short weeks.

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Steelers climb 1 spot in new power rankings

The Steelers are up to No. 6 in the NFL Network power rankings.

Despite all their detractors and doubters, the Pittsburgh Steelers just keep finding ways to win games and stay on top in the AFC North. Pittsburgh is 10-3 with four games to play and can clinch a playoff spot in the AFC in Week 15 with a win over the Philadelphia Eagles.

In the latest updated NFL power rankings on the NFL site, they gave the Steelers a one-spot bump up after the win over the Cleveland Browns to No. 6 in their latest power rankings. Here’s what they had to say about the Steelers:

I’ve been asked a lot on radio shows whether the Steelers are truly a Super Bowl contender, and my answer always seems to turn into a version of: Why the heck not? They have a championship-level defense and an offense that can get cooking at times. Throw in a mortal-lock kicker in Chris Boswell (36 of 39 on field-goal tries) and terrific special teams overall, and the formula is there. 

If the Steelers want to be seriously considered as Super Bowl contenders, these next three games will tell all. The Steelers taken on the Eagles, Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs in a span of 10 days. The Eagles are the No. 2 team on these rankings and the Chiefs are No. 3. Come out of this stretch with a win or two and it will do a long way toward legitimizing their shot in the AFC.

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Ravens CB Marlon Humphrey weighs in on Justin Tucker’s struggles

Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey weighed in on the struggles of kicker Justin Tucker

The Baltimore Ravens are 8-5 as they enter their bye week in Week 14. The five losses already represent one more than the team had all of 2023, and with four games still remaining on their docket, they will need to find answers to plenty of their problems sooner rather than later, as time is running out.

One of the things that will hopefully be ironed out by the time Baltimore plays its next game is kicker Justin Tucker’s struggles. Cornerback Marlon Humphrey was asked about Tucker, and he said that what the veteran is going through is typical for kickers, but Tucker’s greatness has so blessed the team that it can be taken for granted.

“I said this on the sideline: ‘I think [Justin Tucker] is … I said this to some of the guys earlier; I said, ‘I think this is normal for kickers, but we’ve just been so blessed by Tucker’s eliteness that we kind of take it for granted. We used to sit down there on the [sidelines], and when he goes up there, you know it’s going in. But I think great players, they get out of those slumps at the right moment, and I think Tucker is one of those guys. There’s not much I know about kicking, but I do know Tucker is a guy to get things turned around.”

Tucker is having a career-worst year for the Ravens in 2024, losing the team multiple games with his missed kicks. He has the talent to turn things around, but his decline has happened over the past two seasons, sparking plenty of cause for concern.

NFL playoff picture: What are Chargers’ chances of making postseason after loss to Chiefs?

The Chargers are still in a good position to play beyond the regular season despite their loss to the Chiefs.

The Chargers lost to the Chiefs on Sunday night. They fell to 8-5, as did their chances of making the playoffs slightly.

According to NFL.com, Los Angeles has a 90% chance of making the playoffs. With the Bolts’ loss, they dropped back down to the sixth seed, and the Ravens moved to the fifth seed.

Here’s a look at the division standings entering Week 15:

1. Chiefs (12-1) *clinched division*

2. Chargers (8-5)

3. Broncos (8-5)

4. Raiders (2-11)

And a look at the playoff picture:

*There are (7) available Playoff spots

1. Chiefs (12-1)

2. Bills (10-3)

3. Steelers (10-3)

4. Texans (8-5)

5. Ravens (8-5)

6. Chargers (8-5)

7. Broncos (8-5)

8. Colts (6-7)

9. Dolphins (6-7)

10. Bengals (4-8)

AFC playoff matchups if the season ended today:

  • No. 2 Bills vs. No. 7 Broncos
  • No. 3 Steelers vs. No. 6 Chargers
  • No. 4 Texans vs. No. 5 Ravens

Drew Brees could be returning to the broadcast booth

Report: Netflix is in conversations to add former Saints quarterback Drew Brees to coverage for their Christmas Day double-header:

Drew Brees has expressed his desire to step back into the broadcast booth. The opportunity appears to be presenting itself. Brees along with NFL Redzone’s Scott Hanson are in conversations with Netflix to be a part of the international broadcast of the streaming platform’s Christmas Day double-header.

Christmas Day has long belonged to the NBA, but the NFL has attempted to stake their claim to the day in recent years. The New Orleans Saints have been a part of that history when Alvin Kamara dropped a gaggle of touchdowns on the Minnesota Vikings.

This year’s matchups pit the Kansas City Chiefs against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens versus the Houston Texans, both streamed live on Netflix.

As for Brees? The legendary quarterback has been primarily an in-studio analyst for NFL games, but he believes his best usage is in the booth for professional games. Brees told Front Office Sports, “That’s what I feel like I’m most qualified to do. That’s what I feel like I’m most passionate about. And certainly where my knowledge base lies, right?”

Brees getting this opportunity could initiate the comeback he is trying to make.

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Legendary coach reveals how he’d handle Justin Tucker’s struggles

A legendary NFL head coach revealed a plan for Ravens kicker Justin Tucker

The Baltimore Ravens have seen kicker Justin Tucker fall off considerably over the last year and a half. His 2023 season was filled with missed kicks from 50+ yards, while 2024 has been even more of a disaster for the future Hall-of-Fame kicker.

There are massive questions about what Baltimore should do with Tucker amidst his struggles, from bringing in competition to letting him ride it out. A legendary head coach, Bill Belichick, gave his opinion on the matter, saying that while Tucker still has the leg and talent, something is going on with him technique-wise, and he could be in his head.

Belichick also mentions that he would stick it out with Justin Tucker rather than find another option without the leg or resumé that Tucker has. At this point in the season, the Ravens have limited options for fixing Tucker’s struggles. It will likely be up to Tucker himself to get himself right.