The Baltimore Ravens picked up a boost in the AFC playoff race without taking the field. New England’s loss on Thursday night pushed the Patriots down to 4-3, and that shuffle lifted every 4-2 team in the conference - including Baltimore, which moved from out of the picture to the seventh and final playoff spot.
That puts the Ravens right on the edge of the bracket at 4-2, with the conference standings bunched tightly behind the Chiefs and Bills. Kansas City sits first at 5-0, Buffalo is next at 5-1, and then the logjam of 4-2 teams begins.
The AFC’s current playoff order has the Jacksonville Jaguars in third, the Cleveland Browns in fourth, the Denver Broncos in fifth, the Pittsburgh Steelers in sixth, and the Ravens in seventh. Cincinnati is just behind them at 3-2, while New England fell to ninth after the defeat. The rest of the field includes the Raiders, Jets, Colts, Texans, Titans, Dolphins, and Chargers.
The 4-2 group is where the real sorting begins, and the tiebreakers are doing the heavy lifting. Cleveland is ahead in the AFC North because it is 2-0 against Pittsburgh and Baltimore. That leaves the Steelers in second in the division, with Baltimore sitting behind them at 0-1 in AFC North play.
At the top of the conference’s 4-2 teams, Jacksonville and Cleveland are the only division leaders in the mix, and the Jaguars hold the edge because they beat the Browns. That’s why Jacksonville is third and Cleveland is fourth.
The wild-card picture among the 4-2 teams has Denver first among that group because of its 2-1 AFC record, followed by Pittsburgh at 2-2. Baltimore comes next after the Steelers hold the tiebreaker over the Ravens.
Here’s how the AFC North looks right now: Cleveland leads at 4-2, Pittsburgh is second at 4-2, Baltimore is third at 4-2, and Cincinnati is fourth at 3-2.
Baltimore’s next game matters plenty in that crowded division race, because the Ravens face the Bengals this week. The Browns are set to play the Titans, and the Steelers are in the early Sunday morning game against the New Orleans Saints.
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Ravens Need An Unexpected Boost In Biggest Test Yet
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Charlie Kolars return from a one-week hand injury gives the Ravens another option in the passing game, and that kind of small boost can matter in a matchup like this. Baltimore also needs its defense to find a way to pressure Burrow without overextending itself, especially with the kind of pass-rush depth chart shifts that can complicate the plan opposite Hendrickson, making this less about star power than about which role players can handle a bigger stage. [Read more 🡒]