Terrell Suggs walked to the podium for his post-game press conference and was asked about the feeling of getting back into the playoffs.
He paused for a few seconds, and then let out a deep breath before responding.
"It's awesome," he said with a smile. "It feels awesome. We haven't taken it all in yet. We really stuck together in there today."
Baltimore's opponent for the wild-card round won't be determined until after the Bengals-Steelers game Sunday night. The only certainty is that they will go on the road in the wild-card round.
The Ravens clinched their sixth playoff berth in the last seven seasons with Sunday's 20-10 victory over the Browns. They also needed some help from Kansas City, as the Chiefs beat the Chargers to clear Baltimore's path to the playoffs.
Several players admitted to keeping an eye on the scoreboard throughout the game against Cleveland, and seeing that the Chiefs had a lead for most of the day gave them a little extra motivation on the sidelines.
"We were down 10-3, and we saw [Kansas City] was up," Suggs said. "They were up 19-7, and I was like, 'Hell no. Let's go.' Yeah we'd been paying attention and it was just like, we've got to handle our business – and we did so."
Even if players tried to block out the updates from the Chargers-Chiefs game, that score was hard to ignore.
"I was just trying to focus on us. I wasn't trying to get distracted," wide receiver Steve Smith Sr. said. "I just put my head down. But Jacoby was looking and giving us updates."
The Ravens (10-6) are now back in the playoffs for the first time since hoisting the Lombardi Trophy two seasons ago.
"It feels good," quarterback Joe Flacco said. "I remember sitting at home last year, a week from now, and it didn't feel very good. That at least won't be happening this year, and it feels very good. It's a great locker room right now, and we've just got to do all we can to go get ready, have fun this week and get ready for another challenge."
The situation was similar to last year for the Ravens to get into the playoffs. Baltimore went into last year's finale against the Bengals needing to win and then get some help to make the postseason. The Ravens got the help they needed last season, but faltered against the Bengals.
They made sure that wasn't the case this season by scoring 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter.
"I would be sick right now if [the Chiefs won] and we'd lost that game," offensive lineman Marshal Yanda said. "They did their part. But we had to get it done in the fourth, no matter what they did. I would have been sick if [the Chargers] would have lost and we would have lost, just kind of like last year."
A common theme from the locker room after the victory was that the Ravens aren't done by any means. They now have a new season ahead of them, and they have plenty of experience winning in the playoffs when the odds seem stacked against them.
"I think [we] can be very dangerous," Head Coach John Harbaugh said. "We all know the history. It's a 0-0 tournament right now. We've been on the road plenty of times in the playoffs as a group. We're as dangerous as anybody else, at least. So, I'm excited to be coaching the Ravens in the playoffs, I can tell you that."
