The Ravens beat the Steelers on Thanksgiving night, and for that I am thankful. They did so despite interference from the Steelers' head coach, and they did so despite the continued absence of Dennis Pitta. The game was close (it shouldn't have been by the rules of the NFL), and the Ravens certainly made their share of mistakes. The Ravens, however, showed us all something that should give their coaches and fans a huge boost of confidence and hope for the final month of the regular season and beyond.
The Ravens certainly didn't put up a monstrous total of points on the Steelers defense. They didn't even rack up a ton of yards, but they scored early, scored often, and almost never punted the ball away. Joe Flacco led sustained drives that ate up clock and almost always ended in points. Some of those drives could have ended in MORE points were it not for inexcusable false start penalties by both Michael Oher and Torrey Smith. Despite those penalties, however, the Ravens were able to simply keep scoring and keep driving on the 10th ranked pass defense in the league. Flacco threw zero interceptions and completed 68.5% of his passes. Joe utilized the long ball early and often off of classic Flacco play-action fakes and finally looked to be his old accurate self deep down field.
The Ravens are now the current placeholders of the 6th seed of the playoffs. A lot can change in the next month as the Ravens have 3 formidable opponents out of the final 4 teams they play during that time period. The good news is that 2 of their final 4 opponents will travel to Baltimore to face Joe and company, and the other two teams the Ravens play on the road have displayed major flaws lately that should leave them vulnerable to a surging Baltimore team that has won 3 of its last 4 games. At 6-6 the Ravens likely will have to accumulate 3 more wins to secure at least a wildcard spot, and winning all 4 of their remaining games would guarantee them a division win as it would mean a tiebreaker over the Bengals even if they also possess a 10-6 record at that point. Winning out the rest of the season certainly isn't consistent with the rest of the Ravens' season, but with the return of a premier tight end to the roster it also certainly isn't a far fetched idea.
The Ravens have an extended period from their Thanksgiving win until their next game, and that will give their players time to rest and thoroughly prepare before facing a mostly inept Vikings team next Sunday at home. I've read reports that Dennis Pitta will almost certainly return to the field next weekend, and that will give coaches, players, and fans a chance to see just how dominant this team can be before heading to Detroit the following week. My hopes are renewed, and my confidence in this team is as high as it has been since last post-season. Dennis Pitta is the missing piece to this team's puzzle. With a consistently high level of tight end play the Ravens will be absolutely one of the most complete teams in the NFL. Their offensive line is still not run-blocking well enough, but that may matter less and less with Pitta as a threat over the middle and in the red zone. Consider for a moment the many impressive facets of this team: the offense is full of speedy receiving weapons, the defense is packed with fierce pass rushers and talented defensive backs that have shut down many of the league's top receivers, the special teams units are arguably the best in the league with an automatic Justin Tucker and an explosive Jacoby Jones, and the offensive line is finally giving Flacco time to fully utilize his cannon of an arm. With Pitta finally back, can you think of a more complete team in the AFC? I certainly cannot.
This Sunday will be relaxing fun for Baltimore football fans. Good triumphed over evil, and Ravens fans can kick back and watch other conference rivals beat up on one another. There are a few notable games that fans will likely pay attention to just for sheer entertainment, but there is really only one matchup which will have a direct effect on the Ravens chances of making the post season. The AFC North-leading Bengals will face the Chargers in San Diego at 4:25 EST. The Bengals have a flawless home record, but they're 2-4 on the road this season and lost their last two road contests to the Dolphins and Ravens. The Bengals will be well rested coming off of a bye week, but the injuries that have truly affected Cincinnati can't be fixed with a week of rest. The loss of Leon Hall and Geno Atkins has undoubtedly changed the Bengals from a team that was capable of winning close games to a team that only loses close games. The Chargers haven't won many games in the last month, but their competition has been tough, and they managed to upset a Chiefs team with a near perfect record last week in Kansas City.
In other Chiefs related new, the Broncos are headed for Kansas City on Sunday. This will be a rematch of the Chiefs-Broncos game in Denver. The Chiefs will be at home, but they'll be missing some key pieces to their once-dominant defense that may make Peyton Manning's day a hell of a lot easier. Manning's old team, the Colts, will face their division rival Titans in what could ultimately either be a turning point for the Titans in their bid to beat out the Colts for the AFC South title. It could also simply be the game where the Colts sweep the Titans and effectively solidify their lead on the rest of their division for the remainder of the regular season. Either way, this game should reveal a lot about whether or not the Colts can be a serious playoff contender and win the tough games they SHOULD win when the division title is on the line. Without further ado, let's take a look at this week's predictions!
WEEK 13 NFL PREDICTIONS
JAGUARS AT BROWNS- After their bye week, the Jaguars are 2-1. They beat a reasonably competitive Titans team and a slumping Texans team. The Browns are back to starting Brandon Weeden, and that could mean a much easier day for a horrible Jaguars defense. The Browns defense, however, is still quite strong, and I don't expect Weeden and company to turn the ball over nearly as much as they did a week ago against the Steelers. Both of the Jags' wins have been on the road thus far, but they won't win in Cleveland. The Browns have too many weapons despite their inept quarterback. BROWNS 23-21.
TITANS AT COLTS- The Colts have been embarrassed in a couple of recent games, but they beat the Titans in Tennessee and they should beat them Indy. COLTS 31-24.
BEARS AT VIKINGS- BEARS 28-13.
DOLPHINS AT JETS- I think the Dolphins are the better team, but they'll have trouble winning in this weather in New Jersey. The Jets will win this one, but it won't be enough to reignite their chances of making the playoffs. JETS 20-17.
CARDINALS AT EAGLES- I've been impressed with the Cardinals lately. They made a mockery of the Colts recently, and have won 6 out of their last 8 games. They even beat the Panthers earlier this season. The Eagles, on the other hand, have won their last 3 games and will be coming off of a bye week and playing at home. I believe the Cardinals are a more complete team, but their defense won't be enough to stop an elite Eagles offense. Nick Foles has yet to throw and interception and currently has as many touchdown passes as last season's Super Bowl MVP. This will be a shootout. EAGLES 33-28.
BUCCANEERS AT PANTHERS- PANTHERS 24-17.
PATRIOTS AT TEXANS- PATRIOTS 35-17.
FALCONS AT BILLS- There is no reason to believe the Falcons can go on the road and beat even a disappointing Bills team. BILLS 21-13.
RAMS AT 49ERS- The 49ers already beat the Rams in St. Louis. They'll beat the Rams in San Francisco with help from a returning Michael Crabtree. 49ERS 38-20.
BRONCOS AT CHIEFS- The Chiefs will be missing too much on defense to get to Peyton Manning this weekend. The Broncos aren't as dominant as they once seemed, but the Chiefs lost at home to the Chargers last week, they'll lose to the Broncos this week. BRONCOS 30-19.
BENGALS AT CHARGERS- The Chargers are hot off of a win in Kansas City and they're quite good at home this season. Phillip Rivers is going to light up a Bengals defense without it's best cornerback and pass rusher. Andy Dalton should have a good amount of success through the air, but the Chargers will simply outpace the Bengals in the scoring department. CHARGERS 42-35.
GIANTS AT REDSKINS- Both of these teams have been essentially eliminated from playoff contention. I wonder if the Redskins will simply bench RG3? The Redskins have scored less and less each week for the last 3 weeks. The Giants have won 4 of their last 5 games. GIANTS 27-21.
SAINTS AT SEAHAWKS- This is a battle of two teams that enjoy some of the biggest homefield advantages in the league. The Seahawks just lost a crucial defensive back because of drug policy violations, but their defense is still strong enough that they should be able to edge the Saints thousands of miles away from Nawlins. SEAHAWKS 23-20.
RELAX, RAVENS FANS!
JOE AND THE BOYS GOT IT DONE!
AS ALWAYS
GO RAVENS!!!
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