Baltimore Ravens win but don’t get the help they needed in Week 15
The Baltimore Ravens got their compelling victory against the Jaguars. They took care of what they could control:
The Baltimore Ravens games tend to lead to a good, bad, and ugly post. There were some things that the Ravens could have done better, but this was a 40-14 win. The Ravens game was mostly good. The Ravens took care of what they could control in their efforts to make the NFL playoffs.
Other than an opening drive interception from Lamar Jackson, the offense had a very good day at the office. Jackson went 17-23 passing for 243 yards and three touchdown passes. One of those touchdown passes was to Dez Bryant, and that was awesome with a side of awesome. Marquise Brown and Mark Andrews had big days, the offense had their way for most of the game.
We’re talking about a game where the Ravens were up 26-0 at the end of the first half. The game was never in question. Before the game, I wrote that the key for the Ravens was for them to keep their focus. They did that. They didn’t look ahead. They didn’t play sloppy, John Harbaugh’s team was in the moment.
This is one of those games where it would have been great to have fans in the stadium. This could have been such a fun moment at M&T Bank Stadium. The Ravens outgained the Ravens 409 yards to 267. The Ravens even did things they haven’t typically done well this season. They sacked Gardner Minshew five times.
That’s great for a team that couldn’t get any sacks on Baker Mayfield a week ago. The Ravens were penalized less than five times for a nice change of pace.
Winning is important. They need a little help one way or the other. This shows the importance of taking care of games that are there for the taking. The New England Patriots were eliminated from postseason contention today. The Ravens fell to the Patriots earlier this year in a game they had no excuse to lose.
The Ravens need help though:
The teams the Ravens needed to lose were the Miami Dolphins, Indianapolis Colts, and the Cleveland Browns.
So if the purple and black win out that doesn’t automatically mean they are in the playoffs. Baltimore needs some help. The Patriots had a chance to help the Ravens and they failed to do so when they lost to the Miami Dolphins. The one time anybody from the Charm City would willingly root for the Patriots they lost.
The Texans gave up a golden chance to get a win against the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts won 27-20. If the playoffs started today the Ravens would be on the outside looking in. The Colts losing would have been a big help for the Ravens, but it was not to be.
The Browns beat the New York Giants 20-6. After giving up 47 points to Baltimore they held their next opponent to two field goals. Interesting note: Joe Judge’s Giants are the Ravens’ battle next week.
Next. Take home points from the Ravens win over the Jaguars. dark
This was a good day for the Ravens. In terms of what they could control, the Ravens got it done. The Ravens have to win out and losing was never a possibility on this Sunday.
The Ravens could be getting hot at the right moment. At the very least they did what they were supposed to do against the Jaguars. Control what you can control, Ravens. That’s all you can do.