The Ravens have surprisingly found themselves in the thick of a playoff hunt.  I didn't expect this at all, but at 7-4, there is no other way to define the Ravens performance this season.  As such, I'll try to post a rooting guide so that people know what non-Ravens games have the most impact to the Ravens chances to get a coveted playoff spot.  Most important games will be listed first.

1) Indianapolis at Cleveland - Boy oh boy have the Browns struggled this season.  It caught me quite by surprise because I thought their offense would carry them through.  DA might have been overrated, but Edwards dropscapades and the struggling of an offensive line that was one of the best in the NFL last year was not something that I had anticipated.  Indy, of course, has recovered from a struggling start to be placed 1st in the Wild Card standings with head to head wins against Baltimore and New England, their two biggest competitors in the Wild Card standings.  Look, let's be absolutely clear, we want Cleveland to win this game.  Badly.  Indy is going to be a really tough team to beat out for the WC due to them having the tiebreaker and a softer schedule.  I don't dislike the Browns as much as some other posters around here, but I think we can all agree that Cleveland winning would be a great boost to our team's playoff chances.

2) Pittsburgh @ NE - This game is actually far more important to our standings as the Ravens will have an easier time beating out NE for a WC spot than Indy and we could easily see Bal and Indy as the two wild cards.  The problem, however, is that in an ideal world, we would want both teams to lose.  If Indy gets WC #5, then NE is our biggest competitor for WC #6.  However, if Pittsburgh loses at NE, that gives us a reasonable chance at taking the division, as we would catch up in the standings and have a chance to put them a game behind in Baltimore.  Pittsburgh will probably have tie-breakers over us, but the tie-breakers are going to be really, really close.  I'm rooting for NE in this game, because it would be awesome to see the Ravens get a home playoff game, but Pitt winning may give us the best chance to make it to the playoffs.

3) Miami @ St. Louis - I think Miami wins this easily, and we have the tiebreaker over them regardless.  However, an upset St. Louis win will help drive away a potential WC competitor.

4) San Francisco @ Buffalo - See #3, then replace all instances of Miami with Buffalo (minus the tiebreaker) and St. Louis with San Francisco.

5) Tennesee @ Detroit - No way TN loses to Detroit, but we should all hope that they do.  On principle, it almost always helps us when an AFC competitor loses to an NFC team, even if it's only a little.  There are some bizzarre tiebreaker situations, but whatever.  In any case, TN losing this game doesn't actually increase our mathematical chances of reaching the playoffs, but it does increase our intangible chances, which took a big blow when TN lost to the Jets.  Why?  Because TN faces Pittsbugh and Indy in the final two games of the season, two of the three biggest competitors with us for a Wild Card spot.  If TN was still perfect, we know they would bring their A game aginst Pitt and Indy.  If TN is seen to struggle at this point, they will have to bring their A game in any case to keep their #1 seed and just in general to keep the team's attitude in shape.

6) Denver @ NY Jets - It's conceivable, although unlikely, that SD could improve and contend with Denver with one of them getting a wild card.  But in actuality, we want the Jets to keep winning so that TN is fighting for the #1 seed and beats Pitt and Indy.

I think these are all the games of consequence for us (minus the most important one)  Hope this keeps everyone's Thanksgiving weekend entertaining.