The Ravens rested their starters Sunday in Cincinnati, but that doesn't show in the record book.
Baltimore enters the playoffs having lost four of its final five games, a southbound skid during the month of December.
Does it matter now though?
Not to the Ravens, who quickly put the regular season behind them following Sunday's defeat.
"AFC North Champions. I'll just say that," running back Ray Rice said. "I'm not really concerned about the four losses."
There have been teams that stumbled down the stretch and still won the Super Bowl. The New Orleans Saints dropped their final three games in 2009. The Indianapolis Colts lost three of their last five in 2006.
While the Ravens' goal in the regular-season finale was clearly to ensure getting and staying healthy over winning, losing still wasn't a feeling that Head Coach John Harbaugh took to.
"I don't like that, but they're on the record," Harbaugh said of the four losses.
"The game always means something," safety Ed Reed added. "[But] it doesn't worry us because this is the playoffs and it's different. The playoffs are different than the regular season."
One way the playoffs should be different for the Ravens than the regular season is that they may be healthier than at any other point. They could have linebackers Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs on the field together for the first time this season, for example.
Baltimore rested several players nursing injuries, such as Suggs, defensive tackle Haloti Ngata, safety Bernard Pollard and guard Marshal Yanda.
Rice looks at the postseason like a fresh start.
"I'm more concerned about this team getting healthy [than the losses]," Rice said. "We are going to hit our stride going into the playoffs. Our record is 0-0, if you think about it."
