ExtremeRavens Posted January 3 Posted January 3 The Ravens enter the final week of the regular season with a simple task: Win. Unlike the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cincinnati Bengals and Miami Dolphins — who need to win and get help from another team or two to achieve their goals — Baltimore (11-5) can wrap up its second straight AFC North title with a victory Saturday over the reeling Cleveland Browns (3-13). With an expected win — the Ravens are whopping 19 1/2-point favorites — at M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore will be the No. 3 seed in the AFC playoffs and host a wild-card game next weekend against either the No. 6 seed Los Angeles Chargers (10-6) or Steelers. While Pittsburgh (10-6) could be eliminated from AFC North title contention before its 8 p.m. kickoff Saturday against the Bengals, it still has seeding at stake. If the Steelers lose and the Chargers win in Las Vegas on Sunday, Pittsburgh would drop to the No. 6 seed and head to Baltimore after splitting the regular-season series with its archrival. Cincinnati (8-8), meanwhile, needs to win and have the Dolphins lose to the New York Jets and the Denver Broncos lose to the Kansas City Chiefs to sneak into the playoffs. If the Ravens stumble, and the Steelers beat the Bengals, Baltimore would slip to the No. 5 seed and travel to face the No. 4 seed and AFC South champion Houston Texans (9-7) in a wild-card-round rematch of a Christmas Day game the Ravens won easily, 31-2. Here’s what else is at stake for the Ravens this weekend: Lamar Jackson’s MVP case It’s coming down to the wire. Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen enters Week 18 as the betting favorite to win his first NFL Most Valuable Player Award at -300, according to Vegas Insider. Jackson is close behind at +200, while Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (+2,000) and Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (+4,000) are longshots. Allen has been the front-runner for much of the season, but Jackson, much like last year, has made a late surge. Big wins over the Steelers and Texans on national broadcasts, combined with a statistical case that rivals (and even surpasses) Allen’s output, has put Jackson in the running for a second straight and third overall MVP Award. If he finishes the regular season with a dominant performance against the Browns — again in front of a national audience — he’ll have a strong argument. Records Speaking of stats, there are plenty of interesting footnotes to consider. With just 45 passing yards and one touchdown pass, Jackson will eclipse 4,000 passing yards and 40 touchdown passes for the first time in his career. With an additional 148 rushing yards — which seems unlikely given how much wear-and-tear that would involve right before the postseason — Jackson would become the first NFL player to eclipse 4,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in the same season. However, he can settle for becoming the first member of the 4,000/800 club. If he avoids turning the ball over, Jackson can also become the first player in NFL history to record at least 4,000 passing yards, 40 passing touchdowns and four or fewer interceptions. Jackson also enters Week 18 with a 121.6 passer rating, which is narrowly behind the all-time mark of 122.5 that Aaron Rodgers set in 2011 with the Green Bay Packers. Another efficient game with a high completion percentage, a few touchdown passes and no interceptions would do the trick. With one rushing touchdown Saturday, Ravens running back Derrick Henry can break his tie with Jamal Lewis for the most in a single season in franchise history at 14. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) Running back Derrick Henry and tight end Mark Andrews can also get in on the fun. With one rushing touchdown, Henry can break his tie with Jamal Lewis for the most in a single season in franchise history (14) and become the first player in NFL history with three seasons of 15 rushing touchdowns and 1,500 rushing yards. Andrews can rival wide receiver Torrey Smith for the most touchdown catches in a single season in Ravens history (11), needing one to tie and two to break the record. He also needs just 17 more receiving yards to pass former tight end Todd Heap (5,492) and move into second place all-time in franchise history behind former wide receiver Derrick Mason (5,777). Contract incentives Running back Justice Hill was eight receptions or 117 receiving yards away from securing a $500,000 bonus, but a concussion suffered in Week 16 against the Steelers and a subsequent illness have ruled him out for Saturday’s game. Hill signed a two-year extension worth $6 million in September. Henry ($2 million), outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy ($500K) and offensive lineman Patrick Mekari ($750K) have already earned their incentives, according to Brian McFarland of Russell Street Report. Cornerback Marlon Humphrey also earned $250K for making the Pro Bowl. Left tackle Ronnie Stanley, who took a pay cut this offseason, just missed out on getting a $7.5 million bonus after being left off the initial Pro Bowl ballot. Stanley was named an alternate Thursday after a healthy and resurgent season. 2025 opponents If the Ravens win the AFC North title Saturday, that means playing a first-place schedule for the second year in a row. In addition to their six games against the AFC North, the Ravens will face the AFC East, NFC North and the champions of the AFC South, AFC West and NFC West in 2025. The Texans (AFC South), Chiefs (AFC West) and Los Angeles Rams (NFC West) have already wrapped up their divisions, so the only suspense will be in Baltimore. Have a news tip? Contact sports editor C.J. Doon at cdoon@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/CJDoon. View the full article Quote
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