Ravens Probably Fighting For AFC 2nd Seed Now
November 18, 2012; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice (27) rushes the ball against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the third quarter at Heinz Field. The Baltimore Ravens won 13-10. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-US PRESSWIRE
The Lions failed to take down the Texans yesterday and now the Texans seem to be on a collision course with the top seed in the AFC. That leaves the Ravens in the unfortunate spot of fighting for a second seed. Now, don’t get me wrong, mathmatecally it is still very possible for the Ravens to get the second seed, it will be for another couple of weeks, But it is highly unlikely.
The Ravens would essentially need to run the table and hope the Texans continue to struggle, but actually lose a few now. The Texans, for the second straight week, were forced to OT after having to rally just to earn the extra time. both weeks their opponents have missed multiple opportunities to win the game. Both the Lions and Jaguars missed OT field goals, and the Lions suffered from what might be the worst rule in the NFL handbook.
After Justin Forsett was clearly down on the ground, he got back up and ran about 80 yards to the endzone. Jim Schwartz immediately threw his challenge flag, almost before the play even ended. The problem was, that because it was a scoring play and all scoring plays are automatically reviewed and therefore un-challengable. because the play was not subject to challenge, it is actually an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty to challenge the play. So the Lions were penalized 15 yards, but thats not all. The rule states that once a team attempts to challenge an un-challengable play, then they can no longer benefit from instant replay reviews. essentially, because the Lions challenged an incorrect play, they lost the ability for the play to ruled incorrect. What???
Either way, the Lions lost and by extension the Ravens lost as well. later in the day, the Patriots also trounced the Jets to keep pace with the Ravens for the second seed.