Baltimore Ravens beat Lions: This victory is huge

BALTIMORE, MD - DECEMBER 3: Running Back Alex Collins #34 of the Baltimore Ravens celebrates with teammates after a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Detroit Lions at M&T Bank Stadium on December 3, 2017 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - DECEMBER 3: Running Back Alex Collins #34 of the Baltimore Ravens celebrates with teammates after a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Detroit Lions at M&T Bank Stadium on December 3, 2017 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Baltimore Ravens beat the Detroit Lions moments ago. This victory is huge for the purple and black:

The Baltimore Ravens did wonders for their playoff hopes with the 44-20 victory. With just five games remaining in the season, the Ravens are 7-5. The only tough game remaining on the schedule is next week against the Steelers. If the Ravens can shock the Steelers, an 11-5 record is a very likely outcome for the season. The games after the battle with the Steelers are against the Indianapolis Colts, the Cleveland Browns and the Cincinnati Bengals. Two of those three very winnable games are at home. The one road contest in that stretch is against the completely defeated Cleveland Browns.

A Team Victory:

This was the first true team victory. The offense had a lot to do with the Ravens lighting up the scoreboard. The Ravens scored two touchdowns through the air and two on the ground. Justin Tucker scored 3 field goals. If the Ravens can get that kind of production from their offense, it will be hard to see them losing any game. The offense hasn’t gotten the job done this season but they did more than enough in this game.

More from Ebony Bird

The defense had three sacks, two interceptions and a defensive touchdown. They held a very potent passing game in check for most of the game. The 20-0 lead at the half was huge. The Lions came out of the second half swinging at full force, but the Ravens led this game the whole way. The Lions’ offense is too good to shutdown completely, but the Ravens slowed them down in a big way.

The Ravens special teams was perfect in this one. Sam Koch added two punts inside the 20 to his stat sheet and Justin Tucker was perfect on the day. This was the first time in the entire season where the offense, defense and special teams got the job done in the same game.

The playoffs look likely:

This result is massively important. The Bills losing to the Patriots also helped the Ravens cause. Things are simply looking up for Baltimore. The Ravens gave themselves a cushion in the AFC wild card hunt. If the Ravens lose to Pittsburgh next week, the team should still be fine if they handle their business against three bad teams. The Ravens have seven wins and they probably only need nine to go to the playoffs.

Next: Jimmy Smith likely out for the season

The Ravens may be getting hot, right at the perfect moment in the season. With a great defense the Ravens don’t need much from the offense. If the offense can do half as good as it did against the Lions, Baltimore will be tough to beat. With a favorable schedule and three straight wins to boost their confidence, the playoffs are now a likelihood for the Baltimore Ravens.