Finally home, Ravens appear primed for stretch run
Since John Harbaugh became head coach prior to the 2008 season, the Ravens have played 47 games. Of those 47 games, 27 (57%) have been on the road.
Of the Ravens last 14 games dating back to Week 16 of last season, 10 have been on the road.
Week 16 of 2008 the Ravens played a prime-time Saturday night game at Dallas, which they ultimately needed to win to qualify for the playoffs. They went on to win road playoff games in Miami and Tennessee, before falling to Pittsburgh at Heinz Field in what some consider to be the most physical NFL game played in the last few seasons.
Last season, the Ravens lost games at New England and Minnesota during the regular season in heartbreaking style. They lost at Green Bay on a Monday night, along with 4 other losses, 2 of which (Cincinnati and Pittsburgh) were also on the road.
The Ravens then crushed the Patriots in Foxboro, only to fall the following week to the Colts in the divisional round.
They came into this season with high expectations, playing 4 of their first 6 games on the road at the Jets (on the first Monday night game of 2010, and the first prime-time game at New Meadowlands Stadium), Patriots, Bengals, and Steelers. A few weeks later, they were asked to go to Atlanta and play against a team that was 17-1 at home with Mike Smith at the helm and Matt Ryan under center.
So, just to recap, 71% of the Ravens’ last 14 games have been on the road. Of those last 14 games, 50% have been at New England, at Pittsburgh, at Indianapolis, at New York (Jets), and at Atlanta.
Is that a brutal schedule or what?
John Harbaugh and his team have gotten through it. They have put their heads down and moved forward, just as they did in 2008 when their BYE week was moved to week 2.
They haven’t complained. They haven’t let up. The Ravens have stuck together and battled through a schedule that not many other teams have come close to experiencing.
Now, they can exhale. No, the Ravens aren’t going to take the Buccaneers, Steelers, Saints, or Bengals lightly just because the games will be played at M&T Bank Stadium. John Harbaugh isn’t going to let anyone take their foot off of the gas pedal.
That being said, since 2003, the Ravens are 46-14 at home, third to only the Patriots and Colts in home winning percentage over that period.
They sit at 7-3, with their fate within the division in their hands. With the Jets still scheduled to play at Pittsburgh, at Chicago, and at New England, and with the Ravens holding the tiebreaker over the Jets, it is fairly safe to say, assuming the Jets do not win out, that the Ravens have the path to a first round BYE in their hands.
(The Patriots would have to finish one game worse than the Ravens for Baltimore to overtake the Pats in the race for the #1 seed, so Ravens fans should be rooting for Detroit tomorrow afternoon over turkey dinner).
The Ravens find themselves in this position after weathering the storm that their schedule has brought them over John Harbaugh’s first 2 1/2 years in Baltimore. They control their own destiny, and they do so with four of their next six games at home.
This is what every NFL team strives for. Each win builds momentum for the next week. Each win makes the subsequent games that much more important. Wins in September and October secure meaningful, playoff-like games in November and December.
The Ravens have taken care of business thus far in 2010. They have won seven of their first 10 games, ensuring that the months of November and December will contain four games with major implications being played at M&T Bank Stadium.
With the way these Ravens have set themselves up, a purple January filled with playoff fever in Baltimore is looking pretty likely.
The opening laps are over, and the Ravens have survived the toughest conditions seen by any of the participants.
And down the stretch they come.
