The Athletic has live coverage of Ravens vs. Jaguars on Sunday Night Football

Having the AFC’s top seed or even a first-round playoff bye hasn’t exactly been a great recipe for the Baltimore Ravens.

As the No. 2 seed following the 2011 regular season, they did at least win a playoff game before being ousted by the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship. Otherwise, they had a bye and the No. 2 seed in the 2006 playoffs and were beaten at home in the divisional round by the Indianapolis Colts. Following a record-setting 2019 regular season, the top-seeded Ravens looked slugging coming out of a first-round bye and were dominated by the Tennessee Titans.

Advertisement

There’s still some scar tissue within the organization from those disappointing early-round postseason exits, but there is little apprehension in Baltimore’s locker room about potentially landing the AFC’s top seed.

“We want it bad,” inside linebacker Patrick Queen said Wednesday.

The 10-3 Ravens, who currently have a one-game lead on the Miami Dolphins and a two-game advantage over the Kansas City Chiefs, Jacksonville Jaguars and Cleveland Browns, could take another step toward securing the top seed with a victory over the Jaguars Sunday night at EverBank Stadium.

For all the hype about the Ravens’ upcoming showdown against the San Francisco 49ers, a win Sunday would mean regardless of what happens in Santa Clara, Calif., on Christmas night, Baltimore could clinch the AFC’s top seed by winning its final two home games against Miami and Pittsburgh.

There’s also a chance the Ravens could clinch a playoff spot as early as Sunday night. There are at least nine different permutations which, coupled with a Ravens Week 15 win, would book the organization’s 11th playoff berth in John Harbaugh’s 16 seasons at the helm.

GO DEEPER

NFL Week 15 playoff clinching scenarios

For example, a Denver Broncos loss to the Detroit Lions Saturday, a Buffalo Bills loss to the Dallas Cowboys Sunday and a Ravens win over the Jaguars would do the trick. There’s a handful of other scenarios just like that. For the Ravens, first things first: They need to find a way to beat a division leader on the road Sunday to stay atop the conference.

“There’s no No. 1 seed. There’s no such thing as that right now. Just because they put a bracket on the TV screen, it doesn’t mean anything,” Harbaugh said. “It’s what you do, so our guys understand that we have to go earn everything we get, and if we earn it, then we’ll get it. If we don’t earn it, we won’t. So, we’re going to try to win as many games as we can, climb as high as we can.”

Advertisement

During game weeks, we’ll look at some of the biggest storylines, key matchups and primary questions the Ravens face heading into their contest. Now for this week’s first-and-10:

1. Baltimore’s last trip to Jacksonville was brought up without prompting by a few defensive players this week. In Week 12 last year, the Ravens were beaten, 28-27, by the Jaguars on Trevor Lawrence’s 10-yard touchdown pass to Marvin Jones Jr. and his two-point conversion throw to Zay Jones with 14 seconds remaining. The Ravens blew a nine-point lead early in the fourth quarter and then a seven-point lead in the final minute as Lawrence threw for 321 yards and three touchdowns. The victory resuscitated the Jaguars’ season, starting a stretch where they won seven of eight games, including a first-round playoff contest against the Los Angeles Chargers. The loss is still fresh on the minds of certain Ravens. “I just think that goes back to last year with the sour taste that we left in our mouth from that game,” Queen said. The Ravens have traditionally struggled in Jacksonville. They are just 3-7 there all time and have lost three of the past four. Sunday would be a good time to change that trend.

2. Lamar Jackson, who was particularly agitated after the loss to Jacksonville last year, gets a shot at a defense that hasn’t been playing well. The Jaguars rank second to last in the NFL in pass defense, allowing 265.2 passing yards per game. And they’ll be without starting safety Andre Cisco and starting corner Tyson Campbell on Sunday. Beyond Josh Allen, they struggle to consistently get to the quarterback. Only five NFL teams have fewer than the Jaguars’ 27 sacks. They’ve allowed three consecutive quarterbacks to throw for more than 300 yards. If the conditions allow (more on that later), offensive coordinator Todd Monken will almost surely have Jackson test the Jaguars through the air.

3. The Ravens have made rushing for 100 yards look routine. They’ve done it in a league-high 30 consecutive games dating back to Week 2 of last year. No other team has a streak going longer than six consecutive games of rushing for 100-plus yards. It will be a challenge for the Ravens, though, to extend it this week. The Jaguars have the league’s fourth-best run defense. They’ve allowed their opponent to rush for 100-plus yards just five times in 13 games. The Ravens will need to get a body on Jaguars linebacker Foyesade Oluokun, who leads his team with 90 solo tackles, including eight stops behind the line of scrimmage.

4. Allen typically lines up across from the left tackle, which means he’ll be the latest challenge in a season full of them for the Ravens’ Ronnie Stanley. The veteran left tackle had a bounce-back game last week, but the Los Angeles Rams don’t have any outside linebackers in Allen’s class when it comes to getting after the quarterback. Allen enters the weekend tied for third in the NFL with 13.5 sacks to go along with an interception and two forced fumbles. He has two or more sacks in four different games this season. Stanley had a second straight full week of practice, the latest indication that he’s getting healthier. Allen will be a good measuring stick.

5. Lawrence gutted it out last week on a bad ankle, but he and the rest of the Jaguars offense struggled to deal with the Browns’ defense. Lawrence threw a season-high three interceptions, was sacked four times (one shy of a season high) and completed just 56 percent of his passing attempts (his second-lowest total of the season). The Ravens fully expect to see a better version of Lawrence. He practiced in full all week, so he’ll certainly be healthier. But expect Baltimore to see just how healthy he is by trying to get after him early. The Jaguars didn’t handle the Browns’ aggressiveness well last week.

Advertisement

6. Ravens defensive lineman Justin Madubuike has registered a sack in 10 straight games. With another quarterback takedown Sunday, he’ll tie a record currently held by Jared Allen, Chris Jones, Trey Hendrickson and Shaun Ellis for most consecutive games with a sack. Madubuike said this week that he’s noticed more double-teams in recent games. He can probably expect that to continue. Madubuike can also probably expect Lawrence to get the ball out quickly after the Rams’ Matthew Stafford had success doing that against Baltimore.

7. Standout Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton practiced all week despite sustaining a knee injury in last week’s game. He is considered questionable, although Harbaugh indicated that Hamilton was in a “good spot” and all signs during the week pointed to him trying to play. A healthy Hamilton would be the Ravens’ best matchup for productive Jaguars tight end Evan Engram, who is getting targeted by Lawrence even more than usual with wide receiver Christian Kirk sidelined. In essentially two games since Kirk went down, Engram has 20 catches on 21 targets for 177 yards and three touchdowns. If Hamilton plays, the Ravens would have to be confident the safety is at full strength for him to match up with Engram all night.

8. Ravens wide receiver/returner Tylan Wallace’s star turn since his 76-yard punt return in overtime to beat the Rams included getting slimed by Jackson and winning AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors. Asked Monday whether Wallace will remain the team’s punt returner for an injured Devin Duvernay, Harbaugh joked, “I think he’s earned it.” The long returns are nice, but Wallace’s focus will be on ball security and making good decisions. Duvernay has battled injuries and hasn’t looked as explosive as he did earlier in his career. However, Duvernay rarely mishandled the ball and consistently made good decisions on when to call fair catches and when to field punts or let the ball go. Wallace just doesn’t have a lot of experience as a punt returner, so how he handles the role in the prime-time spotlight bears watching. The Ravens will also have to settle on a kick returner, with running backs Justice Hill and Keaton Mitchell likely in the mix there.

GO DEEPER

AFC North Whiparound: Strongest finisher, off-the-radar impacts and Pro Bowl candidates

9. The Ravens had only one member of their 53-man roster, backup quarterback Tyler Huntley, miss a practice this week. Huntley’s absence was due to the birth of his first child. Hamilton is considered the only real health question mark on the team, and Harbaugh sure made it sound like he was going to play. There’s always a chance the Ravens use a practice squad elevation on a special teams player, but that feels more like a luxury than a necessity. Baltimore’s inactive list Sunday night will almost be made up entirely of healthy scratches. The Ravens have the option of elevating outside linebacker Malik Hamm, who has one more week left in his 21-day practice window, to the 53-man roster by 4 p.m. ET Saturday. But that seems to be an unlikely move this week, given where Hamm stands on the outside linebacker depth chart.

10. The rain appears to be following the Ravens. A week after rain was a constant presence in the victory over the Rams, Baltimore will arrive in Jacksonville where it’s expected to be an extremely wet weekend. Forecasts call for heavy rains to be out of the area by the 8:20 p.m. kickoff, but high winds are expected to remain. It may not be a fun evening to be a kicker.

Prediction

Ravens 23, Jaguars 20

The Ravens have historically struggled in Jacksonville. They’re coming off a physically and emotionally draining game. They’re on the road and facing a desperate team. If Lawrence and company are who most pundits think they are, they’ll bounce back with a strong performance in prime time. But as long as they’re not turning it over, the Ravens should be able to move the ball against a defense that has given up 65 points over the past two weeks. Baltimore’s defense should also be able to make some plays against a turnover-prone Jaguars offense. This has the makings of a game that will be decided late, and the Ravens have Justin Tucker on their side.

(Top photo of Trevor Lawrence and Patrick Queen: Mike Carlson / Getty Images)