By virtue of their win against the Cleveland Browns and the San Diego Chargers’ loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, John Harbaugh and the Baltimore Ravens are back in the playoffs after a year hiatus.
It wasn’t pretty against Cleveland, but the Ravens did just enough to get the final seed in the AFC, which will likely pit them against the winner of the Steelers-Bengals game Sunday evening.
Joe Flacco completed 22-of-36 passes for over 300 yards with two touchdowns, including a 16-yard strike midway through the fourth quarter to put Baltimore up for good. Meanwhile, Justin Forsett added another 100-yard performance in what has been a surprising season for the former CAL standout.
Regardless of who Baltimore plays in the playoffs next week, its first goal was to get into the second season. And to be honest, San Diego did the Ravens a huge favor by laying a complete egg against an Alex Smith-less Kansas City Chiefs team. Philip Rivers was sacked a total of seven times and pressured throughout the duration of the 19-7 loss to Kansas City.
That loss coupled with Baltimore’s win sends the Ravens to the playoffs on the road next week.
Photo: USA Today