The Baltimore Ravens are the only team in the NFL to have made the post season for the last four years in the row. Over the past, the trend is that half of the playoff teams one year will fail to make it back the next year. However, according to a story and podcast on Pro Football Talk says that trend doesn't seem like it will hold for the 2012 season.
Of the six teams in the AFC that made the playoffs last year, the one team they find vulnerable are the Cincinnati Bengals. As a sixth seed, the difference between just making or missing the post season is very slim. They think the Ravens will return once again to extend their league-leading current streak.
Mike Florio from Pro Football Talk actually comes out and says the Pittsburgh Steelers could be in "real trouble," especially with three teams coming out of one division, the AFC North. Both agree that the Ravens are the favorite to repeat as division champs. Therefore, if one of the other AFC North teams has to drop out of the playoff picture and it's not the Ravens, then all is good with this writer.