Ravens Could Be Facing a Brutal Path to Super Bowl
There are still seven weeks to go in the regular season, but if it ended today, the Ravens' path to the Super Bowl would likely be daunting.
Trailing the Pittsburgh Steelers by two games in the loss column in the AFC North and currently holding the sixth seed in the conference, the Ravens could end up having to beat the AFC's top three teams on the road to make it to New Orleans in February.
"If the season ended today, Baltimore would travel back to Pittsburgh for the wild-card round," The Baltimore Sun’s Sam Cohn wrote. "Should quarterback Lamar Jackson exorcise his black-and-gold demons, the Ravens would likely fly north to face the Bills (9-2), who the Ravens beat at home in Week 4. A win there would likely mean an AFC championship game rematch in Kansas City (9-1) with a Super Bowl trip on the line.
"A possible trio of playoff road games in Pittsburgh, Buffalo and Kansas City — Head Coach John Harbaugh's record in such contests is an inconclusive 6-6 since 2009 — would supplementarily require the Bills to advance past the Broncos (6-5) in the divisional round and the Chiefs, who maintain the first-round bye, to get past the winner of the Los Angeles Chargers (7-3) vs. Houston Texans (7-4)."
It's quite the gauntlet, but past Ravens teams have successfully navigated similar challenges in the playoffs.
The 2000 and 2012 Ravens teams that won the Super Bowl were wild cards. Unlike the current scenario, both of those squads had a first-round home game, but they still had to beat the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds on the road.
Of course, plenty can change over the next seven weeks, starting with Monday night's big game in Los Angeles going against the Chargers, who currently have the No. 5 seed.
"Sunday was also oddly Pittsburgh's first divisional game of the year," Cohn wrote. "Facing the 11th toughest remaining schedule, the Steelers have five of their final seven games against AFC North foes. Kansas City and Philadelphia are the other two opponents. Should the Ravens bypass Pittsburgh for the top seed in the AFC North, beating the Chargers, Texans and Steelers along the way, the entire playoff picture swiftly reshuffles."
Pundit Says Ravens' Issues Are Fixable, Still Believes They Can Go All the Way
The Ravens were Fox Sports' Chris Broussard's preseason pick to win the Super Bowl, and while his confidence in that prediction has been shaken, he still believes they have a good shot.
"I really look at it as Ravens-Chiefs, and they have got to get over this hump," Broussard said on “Glenn Clark Radio.” "I've called Patrick Mahomes [Michael] Jordan-esque, and he's keeping a lot of these great quarterbacks from winning Super Bowls. Lamar has to get over Mount Mahomes, and I think they can, but they have very little margin for error."
Broussard contended that the Ravens' two biggest issues – penalties and pass defense – can be fixed.
"Penalties, especially self-inflicted ones, are fixable," Broussard said. "The defense is strange because I know they lost a couple guys, but the defensive backfield is essentially the same from last year and they were strong last year. Again, that seems to me to be fixable. Sunday [against the Steelers] was encouraging.
"If they can improve the defense and just cut down the penalties to where you're not killing yourself with self-inflicted ones, then I like their chances against anybody."
As Broussard noted, the defense stepped up in Pittsburgh. It prevented the Steelers from scoring a touchdown (despite four trips in the red zone) and limited them to 181 net passing yards.
The Ravens made changes in the secondary that paid dividends, including inserting safety Ar'Darius Washington into the starting lineup, moving Kyle Hamilton back into more of a deep safety role, and getting veteran cornerback Tre'Davious White more involved.
Ravens' Struggles Against Steelers 'Should Stick in Entire Organization's Craw'
As Harbaugh often says, the NFL is a week-to-week league, so the Ravens' focus is on this Monday night's game against the Chargers.
However, The Athletic's Jeff Zrebiec said the rematch against the Steelers at M&T Bank Stadium on Dec. 21 is the most important remaining game for the Ravens, for multiple reasons.
"The division might or might not be still up for grabs by then, but it goes beyond that," Zrebiec wrote. "At some point, the Ravens just need to play well and beat the Steelers. Their play whenever the two teams have met in recent years should stick in the entire organization's craw.
"Whether the Ravens admit it or not, the Steelers seem to be in their heads, and the Ravens might have to go back to Acrisure for the first round of the playoffs, too. A regular-season victory over Pittsburgh could be the momentum they need ahead of the playoffs."
Ravens Select a Cornerback in ESPN Analyst's Mock Draft
ESPN draft analyst Matt Miller released his 2025 mock draft. He has the Ravens selecting a cornerback in the first round for the second year in a row, taking East Carolina's Shavon Revel Jr. with the 24th-overall pick.
"The traditionally stout Ravens defense has been anything but this season, giving up the most passing yards in the NFL (3,351) and giving up 7.7 yards per attempt, the fifth-worst mark in the league," Miller wrote. "While there probably will be adjustments to Defensive Coordinator Zach Orr's scheme, more cornerback talent would also help. Baltimore drafted Nate Wiggins in the first round in 2024, and Revel would be a further boost
"Before tearing his ACL, he was on the verge of truly breaking out. Scouts told me this summer that Revel would be 'an elite tester with ideal height/weight/speed numbers.' He started the season hot, with two interceptions (including one pick-six) before the injury, and Revel probably will soar back up draft boards once given a clean bill of health."
