After their bye week, the Ravens are focused on playing their best when it matters most.
They can still win the AFC North. They can still win the Super Bowl. Starting with Sunday's game against the New York Giants, the Ravens (8-5) are locked into the present, leaving the first 13 games behind.
"This is the season; it kind of begins now," Head Coach John Harbaugh said. "The season is important to determine the important outcomes for the rest of the way – that's what we're focused on. We'll be focusing on this game, putting everything we've got into it, and then we'll go from there."
Having the latest bye week in the NFL this season could give the Ravens an advantage down the stretch. They had a chance to rest and recharge and should be fresher than many of their upcoming opponents, while Ravens dealing with injuries used the time to get healthier.
Wide receiver Zay Flowers believes the December bye will benefit Baltimore.
"I feel like it came [at the] perfect time," Flowers said. "We can get our body more ready for the playoffs and get our body more ready for the last four games and go on a run."
While the players were off most of last week, coaches stayed in the office and worked, focusing on future opponents and what adjustments can be made to help the Ravens play more consistently.
The Ravens played their best offensive football during a five-game winning streak in September and October when they averaged 35 points per game. However, their two-lowest scoring games occurred Week 11 (16 points) against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Week 13 (19 points) against the Philadelphia Eagles.
On the flip side, the defense was hitting its stride in the three weeks prior to the bye, and the Ravens are confident their offense, defense, and special teams can come together collectively following the time away.
"Everything that has to do with the next four weeks and past, that is what we're looking at, in terms of finding ways to make plays, score points [and] get stops," Harbaugh said. "All of the different things we can do to keep people off-balanced, create problems for our opponents, put our players in the position to make plays – those are the things that we're trying to find [and] turn over every stone along those lines and see what we can come up with, and that's what we did."
There will be plenty of talk about playoff probabilities and seeding during the next four weeks, but the Ravens control their own destiny as far as making the postseason. They don't have to watch the scoreboard. They can just focus on winning the last four games, which would send them into the playoffs with momentum.
"We want to play our best football right now – that's what we're really focusing on doing," Harbaugh said. "Everything else is just a sideshow; everything else is just a distraction. None of it is important.
"What's important is our football. The football. Getting the football right, playing our best football that we're capable of playing, everybody locked in for that – that's really what it's all about. Nothing else matters; everything else is just static."
Four of the last six No. 1 seeds in the AFC did not reach the Super Bowl. Having the best record in the regular season is an advantage, but playing the best football in December, January, and February is even better. That's what the Ravens are focused on doing.
"I'm really happy with where we're at, and I can't wait to see what we do over the next week, two weeks, three weeks, four weeks [and] into the playoffs," Harbaugh said.
