If the Baltimore Ravens want to be a legit playoff team, beating the Steelers and Bengals is a must:
The Baltimore Ravens need to win their next two battles against division rivals. Their slip up in Cleveland, and their back to back losses have taken away any breathing room the purple and black had in the playoff hunt. With some tough games on the schedule 8-8 and another missed postseason is too real of a possibility for comfort.
If the Ravens lose to the Steelers they will be 1-3 in the division, which doesn’t bode well for a team that may need to put some help from other teams on their Christmas list. Winning the division would be incredibly hard. If the Steelers beat the Ravens they will be 5-2-1, on a roll and the ship will be officially righted in Pittsburgh. Baltimore would be 4-5. It may not seem like a lot, but that would put the Ravens back by a mile.
Baltimore needs to beat Pittsburgh but it doesn’t mean much without a win over Cincinnati. The Ravens have to be 6-4 after the next stretch to have a realistic chance of getting a playoff spot. The Ravens still have to play the Chiefs and Chargers.
For now, let’s pencil the Chiefs game as a loss because the Ravens can’t win that game the way they have played recently. The Chargers game is a toss up. If the Ravens beat their division foes and one of these two tough games, they have a chance for an 11-5 record. The Ravens have some soft opponents. The Oakland Raiders are a disaster, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers aren’t good and the Browns are more than beatable if the Ravens bring their A game.
If the Ravens beat the Steelers and Bengals everything is right there on the table. 11-5 is the optimistic outlook. The most realistic outlook is 10-6 or 9-7. The Ravens haven’t shown enough consistency. You never know what Ravens team is going to show up, and that isn’t the mark of a team that wins double digit games.
This is a gut check moment for John Harbaugh and his team. If Baltimore loses to Pittsburgh or Cincinnati at home, 4-5 would be an uncomfortable position. The season would be all but over if the Ravens drop both of these games. Winning the next two games would mean that the train hasn’t fallen off the tracks, and that there is a chance at playoff football. It would mean this team still has fight in them. It’s gut check time, but if the Ravens don’t advance to 6-4 in the next two weeks, they are in trouble.