Oakland Raiders: Taking A Closer Look At The AFC Playoff Picture

Baltimore Ravens (5-5)

Remaining Schedule: Houston Texans, Detroit Lions, @Pittsburgh Steelers, @Cleveland Browns, Indianapolis Colts, Cincinnati Bengals

The Ravens have been consistently inconsistent this season. But, the back end of their schedule is favorable, with games against the Browns, Colts, and equally inconsistent Bengals in the final three weeks of the year. They also hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Raiders by virtue of their 30-17 Week Five mauling in Oakland.

The one thing that could trip the Ravens up though, is their oftentimes punchless offense. Currently ranked thirty-first in the league in yards and seventeenth in points, the Ravens are scoring just 21 points a game. It’s their defense, ranked sixth in the league and third in points allowed, that’s keeping them in the fight this year.

You just don’t know which team you’re going to get when Baltimore takes the field. Is it the team that got routed by Jacksonville 44-7 or the team that shellacked the Dolphins 40-0.

One stat that pops off the page is that Baltimore’s defense has pitched three shutouts this season. In the season opener, they beat Cincinnati 20-0, the aforementioned pasting of the Dolphins in Week Eight, and last week’s 23-0 win over Green Bay.

Those shutouts don’t seem nearly as impressive though, when you give them a little deeper scrutiny. Two of them came against teams that have been train wrecks this season – Cincinnati and Miami. And the third came against a Packers squad minus Aaron Rodgers – an outcome that likely would have been much different had he played.

While Baltimore’s defense is legit, they’ve also feasted on some inferior competition.

But, what does this final six-game stretch hold for the Ravens? A bag as mixed as their season has been through the first ten games.

Losses to the Lions, Steelers, and a surprising loss to Cincinnati in the final week of the year will cap off their 2017 campaign.

Predicted Finish: 8-8