Courtesy: Larry French/Getty Images
The Ravens head to Cincinnati with their second-straight AFC North Championship already clinched.
The main question this week is who will play for the Ravens and how much will they play? Believe it or not, most of the key Ravens players who were injured earlier in the year are close to full health (at least as much as you can be in Week 17 of an NFL season). Why risk upsetting that good fortune?
Sure the Ravens could move up to the third seed, in which case would mean they’d play the Bengals again next week, but in Baltimore. Long story short, I believe it’s in Baltimore’s best interest to host Indianapolis in the playoffs, not Cincinnati.
In any event, the keys to the game for the Ravens this week are very simple.
1.) Stay healthy
Obviously you never try to lose the game. But considering how many injuries the Ravens have withstood this season, it would be foolish to put a player in the game if they were on the fence, so to speak, with a nagging injury. If nothing else, it will help their backups gain key experience.
The Bengals are really the ones who have nothing (save for certain particular contractual bonuses, etc.) to play for, as they are locked into the No. 6 seed in the AFC.
2.) Stay sharpIf you’ve ever played football, you’ve probably heard that if you don’t go full speed, you’re the one who will get injured. In other words, if you don’t execute the play with proper speed and focus, you’re liable to be caught off-guard and potentially seriously hurt. Obviously, the Ravens can’t afford for that to happen, not only because they need to stay healthy but because they can’t have a mental lapse this close to the postseason.
Courtesy: Patrick Smith/Getty Images
I can’t emphasize enough how important it is for the Ravens to stay healthy through this week. Not only did they lose out on a first-round bye, but they will have to go on the road (if they advance far enough) for the divisional and (in all likelihood) conference championship games.
Say what you want about this Ravens’ team and their ‘road woes,’ but they have had a lot of playoff success in the John Harbaugh era (5-4 record) while only playing one home game.
