Pundits Weigh in on Ravens’ Fall From Super Bowl Favorite to Playoff Longshot
The Ravens entered this season as a Super Bowl favorite. With two games remaining, their odds to make the playoffs are less than 10 percent.
Baltimore (7-8) could finish with a losing record for the first time since 2021 and just the second time in 18 seasons under Head Coach John Harbaugh.
Given the high expectations, ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky said the Ravens are “the most disappointing team in the NFL this season.”
“This team, unequivocally, was the most talented roster in the AFC, and, rightfully so, the AFC Super Bowl pick,” ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky said on “Get Up.”
That’s an interesting take considering the defending AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs have already been eliminated from playoff contention and the Ravens are still fighting to get in.
Alas, the only way the Ravens can make the playoffs is if they win in Green Bay on Saturday, the Pittsburgh Steelers lose in Cleveland on Sunday, and Baltimore wins in Pittsburgh in the season finale.
Even if all of that happened, The Baltimore Banner’s Childs Walker doesn’t think the Ravens could make a deep playoff run.
“Nothing in the Ravens’ record — they’re not notably efficient on offense or defense, they’ve mostly beaten losing teams and rarely decisively — suggests they’re some slumbering giant,” Walker wrote. “Their mediocrity is at odds with the powerhouse we saw last season, and it’s difficult to let go of the notion that that team still lives inside this one.”
NFL.com’s Jeffri Chadiha, who was among the many pundits who picked the Ravens to win the Super Bowl in the preseason, expressed a similar opinion.
“Baltimore has spent this entire season trying to make up for major setbacks, the first being a shocking 1-5 start and the second being all the health issues that have hobbled Lamar Jackson,” Chadiha wrote. “It’s time to admit this just wasn’t the Ravens’ year.”
It goes without saying that the Ravens aren’t conceding anything, but Harbaugh said it anyway Sunday night after the loss to the New England Patriots.
“I know we’ll come out fighting, because that’s what we’ve done all year,” Harbaugh said. “We’ve been in tough circumstances all year. It’s been a grind, for sure. And we’ve come out and fought every single game.”
