{"id":15681,"date":"2024-12-30T02:15:34","date_gmt":"2024-12-30T02:15:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=15681"},"modified":"2024-12-30T02:15:34","modified_gmt":"2024-12-30T02:15:34","slug":"two-ways-the-ravens-can-win-the-afc-north-plus-who-they-might-face-to-start-playoffs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=15681","title":{"rendered":"Two Ways the Ravens Can Win the AFC North, Plus Who They Might Face to Start Playoffs- ."},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Two<\/p>\n

Shawn Hubbard\/Baltimore Ravens Photos<\/p>\n

TE Mark Andrews<\/p>\n

Christmas couldn’t have gone much better for the Ravens.<\/p>\n

After the Steelers were walloped by the Chiefs in the early game, the Ravens blew out the Houston Texans, 31-2, to take control of the AFC North heading into Week 18.<\/p>\n

Baltimore (11-5) now has a one-game lead over Pittsburgh (10-6) in the division race and can clinch the division with a home win over the Browns (3-12) in the regular-season finale or Steelers loss to the Bengals (7-8).<\/p>\n

The Ravens, who trailed the AFC North by two games a week and a half ago, now have an 88% chance to win the division,\u00a0according to ESPN, and NextGenStats (NGS) gives them a 92% shot.<\/p>\n

The Ravens lost to the Browns earlier this season, 29-24, and the Steelers beat the Bengals, 44-38. So Baltimore has to take care of business to seal its second straight division crown.<\/p>\n

The Ravens’ Christmas Day win over the Texans (9-7) guarantees they’re at-worst the No. 3 seed in the AFC if they win the division. Baltimore can still earn the No. 2 seed (5% chance, per NGS) if the Buffalo Bills lose out (vs. Jets, at Patriots) and the Ravens win in Week 18.<\/p>\n

If the Ravens get the No. 3 seed, their most likely Wild Card opponent would be the Los Angeles Chargers and another HarBowl. The Chargers (9-6) are in the playoffs if they win in New England this weekend.<\/p>\n

The Chargers currently sit in the No. 6 seed with the Denver Broncos (9-6) in the No. 7 spot because the Bolts have a head-to-head tiebreaker over them. The Chargers’ final two games are at New England (3-12) and at Las Vegas (3-12). The Chargers can rise to the No. 5 seed if they win their final two games and Pittsburgh loses in Week 18 to Cincinnati.<\/p>\n

Next Gen Stats gives the Chargers a 58% shot of getting the No. 6 seed. However, the Steelers (23%) and Broncos (16%) both have decent odds of landing in that spot as well.<\/p>\n

If the Ravens don’t win the division, they’re locked into the No. 5 seed, which would mean a return trip to Houston in the Wild Card round.<\/p>\n

After starting the season 0-2 and chasing the Steelers for most of the season, Baltimore is in control heading into the final game.<\/p>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shawn Hubbard\/Baltimore Ravens Photos TE Mark Andrews Christmas couldn’t have gone much better for the Ravens. After the Steelers were walloped by the Chiefs in the early… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15682,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15681","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hot-news","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\nTwo Ways the Ravens Can Win the AFC North, Plus Who They Might Face to Start Playoffs- . - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=15681\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Two Ways the Ravens Can Win the AFC North, Plus Who They Might Face to Start Playoffs- . - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Shawn Hubbard\/Baltimore Ravens Photos TE Mark Andrews Christmas couldn’t have gone much better for the Ravens. 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