Taking It One Game At A Time

The Ravens took care of business on Sunday, embarrassing the Detroit Lions in a 48-3 rout. Not since 2005 against the Green Bay Packers, have the Ravens scored so many points. The offense put up a whopping 548 yards against a hapless Lions team. And while most people expected the Ravens to beat the rebuilding team with ease, the Ravens were the only team in the AFC North that had more than a margin of victory of over 10 pts.

The Ravens are at 7-6 and are still very much alive in the playoff race for the #6 seed in the AFC. While the Jaguars also have a 7-6 record, they have a better conference record than the Ravens, which keep them at the final spot in the playoff picture. So what do the Ravens have to do, in order to get a playoff spot at the end of the season? Simple: Play one game at a time.

The Ravens approach for the final 3 games should not be about the playoffs. It should be about the opponent in front of them. While they have one of the easiest schedules going into the final 3 weeks of the season (Bears, Steelers, Raiders, all with losing record), everyone knows this is spoiler time, when losing teams are playing for the upset and for roster spots for next season. The Ravens should focus one week at a time. Next up: the Chicago Bears.


While Bears QB Jay Cutler has struggled, he can still make plays. And the problem of the Bears is not all his wrongdoings and interceptions. The offensive line is horrible and his WRs include Devin Hester (a former special teamer) and Johnny Knox, a rookie. The Ravens know that Cutler can still be a threat to a secondary that has been without S Ed Reed for the past 2 weeks with a hip injury.

If the Ravens want to handle the Bears, they need to continue to run the ball. RB Ray Rice had over 200 yards from scrimmage on Sunday, and over 160 yards in rushing with a TD. The 3 headed monster finally came to play, with McGahee and McClain finally getting the ball to help the offense. As long as the Ravens can run the ball and take some pressure of of an ailing Flacco, they can get the victory.

From the defensive side of the ball, the Ravens need a strong pass rush, one that has been lacking the past few weeks. But with the recent sightings of LB Antwan Barnes and the return of Terrell Suggs, that can help tremendously. The Ravens also need to see a continuing strong performance of rookie CB LarDarius Webb, who's filled in nicely since Fabian Washington went down with an injury.

As for the games against Pittsburgh and Oakland, I could comment on them. But I won't. This is a one-game season for the Ravens. One game at a time.... til next week