Getty Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens hands the ball off to Mark Ingram #21 against the Cleveland Browns during the first half in the game at FirstEnergy Stadium on December 22, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio.
The Baltimore Ravens are heading into the postseason on a tsunami wave of momentum thanks to a 12-game win streak and are locked into the top seed in the AFC. Now, they’ll attempt to capture the franchise’s third Super Bowl.
The Ravens will have a bye for Wild Card weekend and will then face the lowest remaining seed in the divisional round.
Baltimore has not lost since a 40-25 misstep against the Browns in Week 4 and finished with the best record in franchise history at 14-2.
“It feels good,” Harbaugh told reporters this week, per The Baltimore Sun. “It’s a big accomplishment. I think the players deserve a tremendous amount of credit for it, because it’s hard. It’s difficult, it’s challenging, to win a game in the National Football League. When you put together the kind of season that these players have put together, it’s quite an accomplishment. It’s probably the best regular season in the National Football League this year by any team, and we still have another game to play, which we still take very seriously.”
The Kansas City Chiefs are the other AFC squad that will receive a bye as the No. 2 seed. As far as the other conference matchups go, the Buffalo Bills will play the Houston Texans in one Wild Card game, while the Tennessee Titans will take on the New England Patriots in the other.
The Ravens even won their regular-season finale without the services of their stars, romping the rival Pittsburgh Steelers to keep the winning streak alive. Former NFL Rookie of the Year Robert Griffin III started the game at quarterback for the Ravens in the 28-10 win.
Lamar Jackson’s MVP Campaign Propels Ravens
GettyLamar Jackson is one of the most exciting players in the NFL.
It’s the first time in the Ravens’ franchise history that they have secured home-field advantage through the playoffs and in large part, it’s thanks to the play of second-year quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Jackson has put himself in the driver’s seat for the MVP with a historic campaign.
“Not bad for a running back,” Harbaugh joked this week, referring to the criticism Jackson got his rookie year.
Jackson sat out the Ravens’ season finale after rushing for 1,206 yards and throwing 36 touchdown passes over the first 15 games.
“Not bad for a running back.”
Okay Coach!
Ravens Need to Get RB Mark Ingram Healthy
The Ravens will be keeping an eye on the health of running back Mark Ingram the next two weeks. The former Heisman winner hurt his calf against the Browns in Week 16 and as previously noted, sat out in Week 17.
Ingram formed a lethal running attack for the Ravens with Jackson, rushing for 1,018 yards and scored 15 touchdowns of his own.
“I’m smooth. I’m good,” Ingram told reporters this week. “I got some time, so I’ll be ready for the first playoff game.
“I have confidence I’ll be ready to go,” Ingram added. “The team’s doing a good job, the training staff’s doing a good job [with] around-the-clock treatment and getting it ready to go.”
With 223 rushing yards against the Steelers, the Ravens set an NFL record for yards rushing in a season, besting the previous mark of 3,165 by the 1978 New England Patriots. The Ravens wrapped up the season with 3,296 yards on the ground.
Harbaugh on single-season team rushing record: “That’s like Joe DiMaggio’s record”. The record everyone said would never be broken. “It feels real good.” #Ravens
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