The Ravens might not lose another game all year
By John Buhler
The Baltimore Ravens get their 11th win of the season by beating the Buffalo Bills. Frankly, Baltimore may not lose another game for the rest of the year.
It was not easy, but the Baltimore Ravens found a way to beat the feisty Buffalo Bills in Orchard Park on Sunday.
With a 24-17 win over the Bills, Baltimore improved to 11-2 on the season, while Buffalo dropped to a respectable 9-4. Ravens Flock can feel very confident that its beloved NFL team may not lose another game for the rest of the season. Wait, what?
Yes, at 11-2 the Ravens stand a phenomenal chance of getting to 14-2 this season, earning home-field advantage in the AFC in the process. The Ravens will be overwhelming favorites in their final three games of the regular-season slate. Their next three games are home vs. the New York Jets, at the Cleveland Browns and home vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers. All three are very winnable.
New York is playing better in recent weeks, but Baltimore should crush Gang Green on Thursday Night Football in Week 15. One of Baltimore’s two losses on the year came to Cleveland at home. Given their nature as AFC North rivals, avenging that early-season loss in personal for the Ravens. And do you think for a second Baltimore will want to lose to archrival Pittsburgh? Me neither.
So yes, 14-2 is a very, very real possibility for Baltimore this season. That will earn the Ravens home-field advantage in the AFC playoffs. After that, they will have three win-or-go-home games in the postseason, with presumably the first two being played at home in Baltimore. Should the Ravens win their two AFC playoff games, they will get to Super Bowl LIV down in Miami Gardens.
Of course, it’s all about matchups come playoff time for Baltimore. The questions are who are they likely to face in those theoretical playoff games and will the Ravens be favored in all three contests? We have to like the Ravens potentially in all three.
As the presumptive top seed in the AFC playoffs, the Ravens will face the lowest-seeded of the No. 4, No. 5 or No. 6 seeded teams in the Divisional Round. So they’d be looking at facing the worst division winner between the AFC South and AFC West, or potentially a wild card team they will have already played, some team like the Bills or Steelers. That game will obviously be in Baltimore.
Should the Ravens hold up their end of the bargain and advance to the AFC Championship, it too would be in Baltimore. It won’t matter who they face, whether it’s the Kansas City Chiefs, the New England Patriots or somebody else, they will be favored to win because Baltimore will be at home. As for the Super Bowl, Baltimore has shown it can hang with whoever comes out of the NFC.
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This team is so good that it may not lose another football game until the next football season. But if they do drop one, it may very well be costly. The Patriots may end up win home-field advantage in the AFC and that could change things. Once the calendar flips to 2020, then any loss will be devastating for the Ravens, as that would mean the season is over. But they might keep winning.