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After a close contest with the Philadelphia Eagles, the Baltimore Ravens are once more on the cusp of top ten rankings.
12. Ravens / Previous: 14
Survived. That's about how you can sum up the Ravens' win over the Eagles on Sunday. With another Steelers win in Cincy, and Pittsburgh set to host the winless Browns in Week 17, Baltimore's playoff hopes would have been on life support had Carson Wentz's two-point conversion-pass found Jordan Matthews' hands (whether Matthews would actually catch it is a whole 'nother adventure). Now the season comes down to a Christmas showdown at Heinz Field. Ravens fans sure hope C.J. Mosley's well-timed interruption wasn't the only present of the holiday season for this good bunch of kids.
A fair and truthful submission from NFL.com. Also, no surprises above the Ravens in their rankings. All teams above Baltimore are tough squads.
Washington Post:
13. Baltimore Ravens (8-6) | Previous: 16
The Ravens just held on against the Eagles and now they have their chance on Christmas Day in Pittsburgh to edge ahead of the Steelers for first place in the AFC North. They already beat the Steelers this season in Baltimore. The division race is coming down to the game that rightfully should decide it.
The only team above Baltimore which induces head-scratching, the Miami Dolphins. With Ryan Tannehill at quarterback Baltimore blew them out. This was less than a month ago. Since that game Baltimore faced the Patriots and lost, while the Dolphins beat up on a bad Cardinals team and the terrible Jets with Matt Moore at the helm. I’d like a re-vote please.
SB Nation:
Ravens: 9 (last week 12)
The mothership gives Baltimore love in their rankings, though they don’t talk about them.
Bleacher/Report:
Ravens 13 (last week 15)
Dolphins 12
Unshockingly, B/R has Baltimore below the Dolphins. They did not include any writing behind the ranking, but there isn’t a scenario where a Matt Moore Dolphins squad should be higher.
Yahoo!:
This post is titled “The amazing rise of miami behind rookie coach Adam Gase”. I was sharpening my pitchfork, but the Dolphins are behind Baltimore in these rankings. Well played Yahoo!. . .
10. Baltimore Ravens (8-6, LW: 14)It’s concerning that the Ravens had to fade a two-point conversion in the final seconds to beat the Eagles at home. But a win is a win and all that matters now is what happens on Christmas at the Steelers.
I like this ranking and explanation. It was concerning the Ravens game went down to a two-point conversion defense to win, but all that matters is this Sunday’s game.