The Baltimore Ravens failed to get a win they desperately needed if they wanted to be a serious threat for the AFC North title. With their Week 13 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles paired with the Pittsburgh Steelers' win over the Cincinnati Bengals, the Ravens moved to 1.5 games behind their divisional foes in the AFC North title race.
While winning the division isn't necessarily a pipe dream, it's looking more realistic that the Ravens will have to enter the playoffs as a wild card team this year. That means they'll have to play all of their games on the road if they want a chance to reach the Super Bowl for the first time since the 2012 season.
Let's take a look at how the AFC playoffs would shake out if the season ended today.
Updated AFC playoff standings after Week 13
1. Kansas City Chiefs (11-1)*
2. Buffalo Bills (10-2)*
3. Pittsburgh Steelers (9-3)
4. Houston Texans (8-5)
5. Los Angeles Chargers (8-4)
6. Baltimore Ravens (8-5)
7. Denver Broncos (8-5)
The good news is that the Ravens would be a playoff team if the season ended today and their odds of making the postseason sit at 96%. The bad news is that they'd be a wild card team and would be playing on the road in Pittsburgh in the wild card round. The Texans would host the Chargers while the Bills would host the Broncos. Kansas City and Buffalo are the only teams to have clinched a spot in the postseason, as of this writing.
More Ravens news:
The Ravens own the tiebreaker over the Broncos so if they finish with the same records, Baltimore would get the higher seed. The best possible outcome for the Ravens if they're going to be a wild card team would be to finish as the five-seed so that they could play the Texans, who have disappointed this year and play in a weak AFC South. Given the Ravens' recent issues in the playoffs, it'd be nice to have an "easier" team to play in the first round.
Winning the AFC North isn't entirely out of the realm of possibility but it won't be easy. The Ravens' remaining schedule after their Week 14 bye includes the Giants, a rematch with the Steelers, the Texans, and a rematch with the Browns. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh faces the Browns, Eagles, Ravens, Chiefs, and Bengals. That's a tough slate for the Steelers and if the Ravens can take care of business on their end, the Steelers might cough up the division on their own.
Baltimore just has to focus on winning out and hoping the Steelers lose at least three of their final five games.