Heading into Week 17, the Baltimore Ravens can finally clinch a playoff berth. Let’s take a look at the scenarios.
After 16 long and grueling weeks, the Baltimore Ravens finally have a chance to clinch a wild-card berth in the AFC. It’s been a battle the entire season but the Ravens have put themselves in a position to make the postseason at 9-6.
As we know, playoff scenarios can be like solving a Rubix cube, there’s a number of different ways they can happen. Some teams need more help than others but the Ravens have a pretty straightforward path to the postseason. There are three different ways that can happen.
Here’s how they can do it:
- Win or tie against Bengals
- Bills loss or tie against Dolphins
- Titans loss or tie against Jaguars
Easy enough, right?
The Ravens can guarantee themselves the No. 5 seed with a win against the Bengals this week thanks to the Titans’ recent struggles. That’s the Ravens’ easiest path to the playoffs. It would likely set up a scenario where the Ravens travel to Arrowhead Stadium to play the Chiefs on wild-card weekend. But if the Ravens lose, there’s no guarantee they’re in. They do not win a three-way tiebreaker over the Bills and Titans if all three teams finish the season 9-7.
Things get even more complicated with a Chargers win and Ravens staff writer Ryan Mink does a great job of explaining that scenario. Essentially, if the Ravens, Bills, Dolphins, and Raiders finish 9-7, the Ravens would be out. Let’s hope it never gets that way but you never know in this league. From what we’ve seen this season, anything can happen in a given week.
Given all the injuries and struggles the Ravens have endured this season, they still find themselves in position for the postseason. Since the bye week, they’ve gone 5-1 and control their own destiny. A win against the Bengals takes all the weight off the shoulders but we know a divisional matchup is never a gimme. The Bengals will look to play every part of a playoff spoiler this week. If you don’t know that then you don’t know AFC North football.
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Let’s hope by this time next week, the Ravens are preparing for the wild-card round and not packing their bags for the third season in a row.