John Harbaugh and the Ravens have a chance to change the narrative

Negativity has been very prevalent in the Baltimore Ravens’ fanbase (with my posts being no exception). John Harbaugh and the Ravens have a chance to turn things around:

The Baltimore Ravens have a chance to turn things around with the easiest schedule in the NFL. Baltimore, even after every struggle along the way is in the driver’s seat for the sixth playoff seed in the AFC. When the Buffalo Bills went down on Sunday, the Ravens climbed into the sixth spot. The Ravens beat the Miami Dolphins and the Oakland Raiders so they have the tiebreaker with their main competitors for the final playoff position.

When this season started, high expectations were in the air. John Harbaugh had a retooled defense to work with. A dominant defense was supposed to lead the Ravens to a dominant season. The fact of the matter is that the Ravens have been disappointing this year. 5-5 isn’t what the Ravens were hoping for.

Where the doubt comes from:

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The Ravens have had three unforgivable losses. The Ravens lost to the Steelers, who are one of the best teams in football. However I think even Mike Tomlin would admit that the Steelers didn’t have their A game. At home, against an out of rhythm Ben Roethlisberger the Ravens offense squandered a chance to steal a win. Pittsburgh took their time taking the purple and black out of the game, it was there for the taking.

The Ravens lost to the Chicago Bears at home, in the first start of Mitchell Trubisky. This was the one that hurt the most. It should have been an easy win for the Ravens. Instead they played so poorly that they needed a miracle even to take the game into overtime. Harbaugh saw his team falter in a game that seemed like a sure thing.

The Ravens third unforgivable loss was to the Tennessee Titans. Much like the Steelers game, Joe Flacco and the offense squandered a bunch of chances to win the game. The game came down to an onside kick and it’s not like the Ravens played well. Harbaugh has a hard time making things easy and it reflects in his team.

Other than that the Ravens haven’t had any inexplicable losses. The Jaguars game was unacceptable in terms of the score but losing over seas to a much improved Jaguars team wasn’t the end of the world. Jacksonville made the Steelers look horrible and Pittsburgh has eight wins. The Minnesota Vikings game was never going to be easy. It’s the other three losses that put the team into a negative whirlwind.

How the Ravens can turn it around:

Losing games that good teams should win is what has Baltimore doubting their beloved Ravens. It’s the thought that this could be the fifth time in six years that Harbaugh’s team hasn’t made the playoffs. It’s the 5-11 2015 season and the collapse of 2016, creeping into the back of your head. With really bad performances in winnable games, fans can’t help but wonder if it’s time to move on from Harbaugh, Flacco and even Ozzie Newsome.

Next: 3 reasons to be optimistic for the playoff push

The Ravens could not have an easier road to a successful season. Other than the Detroit Lions and the Steelers, the purple and black have a bunch of easy games. They still have to play the Houston Texans, Cleveland Browns, Indianapolis Colts and Cincinnati Bengals. There is only one thing this team needs to do to make the playoffs. The Baltimore Ravens just need to win the games they should. That’s not a lot to ask for. If the Ravens accomplish this, Harbaugh will have changed the narrative about his job security and his team.

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