Did You Know: The Ravens are 8-8 over their past 16 regular season games? It’s true. Now, on to the story.
I must admit, the Ravens have done little up to this point to make me believe they will make it back to the playoffs this season. An anemic offense, suspect special teams, cutesy play calling and a 3-4 record will do that.
But after climbing back in from the ledge after Sunday’s loss in Pittsburgh, I took a hard look at the Ravens’ losses and what’s in front of them.
Their four losses have come against the Broncos and that maniac robot, Peyton Manning…in Denver, on the road in Buffalo, against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers, and in Pittsburgh. To say the Ravens have had challenging situations in their first seven games would be an understatement.
While this doesn’t excuse our overall crappy play, it does offer hope for the future. After a much-needed week off, the Ravens have a good chance to reel off eight wins in a row. Really.
- We go to Cleveland after the bye, which is no gimme, but very winnable.
- Then the Bengals come to Baltimore – another very winnable game.
- We then go to Chicago to face the Bears who will likely be without Jay Cutler.
- Then the Jets come to Baltimore for the first of three consecutive home games. This could be trouble but we are at home where we rarely lose.
- Pittsburgh comes to Baltimore the following week. I don’t see them sweeping us or anybody this year.
- The Vikings visit Baltimore next and they are terrible.
- After that, we go to Detroit to face their backup QB.
- To cap off the run, a struggling New England comes to Baltimore.
It’s like the planets have aligned to give the Ravens a chance to make it all better.
Of course, all of this depends on the Ravens using their bye week to get back to basics and do what they do best: play smash mouth football with a hint of flair. That is how we win.
For now, try to survive a week without Ravens football and get ready for a great second half!