Getty Gallery: 6/6
No. 9 Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens were a three-point overtime loss to one of the NFL's top teams away from jumping up the rankings. They'd be rivaling the Cowboys, Patriots and Bears at this point, but they were unable to hold off a late regulation push from Patrick Mahomes and company in the 27-24 loss.
With that said, a close loss to a legitimate favorite to win the Super Bowl in Arrowhead Stadium shows just how good this Ravens team can be. Specifically, rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson has shown flashes of major upside, and we saw glimpses of that again on Sunday.
The Ravens' young quarterback has struggled with accuracy, completing 57.1 percent of his passes or less in three of four starts. He's also totaled five touchdowns (all in the last three games) against just two interceptions while rushing for 346 yards in that span.
For what it's worth, Ravens defender Terrell Suggs had the type of approach that shows the mentality of this group following the loss, as ESPN revealed.
"We didn't come here for no moral victory," Ravens pass rusher Terrell Suggs said. "We didn't come here to `do well' against a 10-2 team, now 11-2. No, we came to win."
The loss hurt Baltimore a bit in the playoff race, as they had a chance to grab a strong hold on the No. 6 seed in the AFC. Unfortunately, the Ravens now sit at 7-6 and have three other seven-win teams on their trail and the Denver Broncos (6-7) just behind that.
No. 10 Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks wrapped up Week 14 with a crucial Monday Night Football win over the Minnesota Vikings. The Seahawks sit moved to 8-5 with and strongly improved their playoff chances while distancing themselves from the rest of the pack. They currently sit in the No. 5 spot in the NFC while the Vikings, who were just behind them, dropped to 6-6-1 to create a logjam for the final playoff spot.
Seattle helped their playoff outlook in a big way with the home win, and it was safe to say Pete Carroll's team had to be happy they had the 12th man behind them on Monday night.
The Vikings had a chance to overtake Seattle for this No. 10 spot in the power rankings with a win, but Seattle held off Kirk Cousins and company. Although the Seahawks haven't finished the deal just yet, there was good news, as the three teams with six wins behind them – Carolina Panthers, Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins, all stumbled this week.
The Seahawks are in prime spots to make the postseason if they can play well moving forward, and Seattle's run of four-straight wins helped out in a big way. Not only did they pick up those victories, but two of them came against potential contenders for a playoff spot in the Panthers and Green Bay Packers.
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