Assessing Threat Levels of Teams Vying With Ravens for Playoff Berths
In yesterday's Late for Work, we looked at the Ravens' playoffs odds in several analytical models. Today, we'll focus on the teams the Ravens are competing with for playoff spots.
As noted yesterday, if the Ravens (7-5) win their four remaining games, their chances of playing in the postseason greatly increase. A 10-6 record may not be good enough in the AFC this season, even with the playoff field expanded from six teams to seven.
The Kansas City Chiefs (11-1) have already clinched a playoff berth, and the Pittsburgh Steelers (11-1) and Buffalo Bills (9-3) could do so this weekend. That leaves six teams vying for the four remaining spots. That's not counting the New England Patriots (6-7), whose playoff hopes were dealt a significant blow with last night's loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
One factor not in the Ravens' favor is that one of the playoff tiebreakers is conference record, as they currently have the worst AFC mark (4-5) of the six teams heading into Monday night's game at Cleveland.
The Athletic's Jeff Zrebiec analyzed the teams in the hunt (in order of their current seeding) and assessed their threats level to the Ravens:
Tennessee Titans (8-4)
Remaining schedule: at Jaguars (1-11), vs. Lions (5-7), at Packers (9-3), at Texans (4-8)
The Titans and Indianapolis Colts are tied for first in the AFC South but Tennessee currently holds the tiebreaker. Tennessee holds the head-to-head advantage over the Ravens.
Threat level: "Moderate. After last year's playoff debacle, Ravens fans would take great delight in a late-season Titans collapse. However, the Ravens don't necessarily need Tennessee to falter. Somebody is going to win the AFC South."
Cleveland Browns (9-3)
Remaining schedule: vs. Ravens (7-5), at Giants (5-7), at Jets (0-12), vs. Steelers (11-1)
The Browns are in the driver's seat in the wild-card race and still have a shot at winning the AFC North. Cleveland has won four straight and is coming off a statement-making 41-35 win over the Titans that wasn't as close as the final score would suggest. A win in Cleveland Monday night would be especially huge for the Ravens because it would give them a season sweep and move them within one game of the Browns with three games remaining.
Threat level: "High. The Browns just keep winning and keep improving. At 9-3, they also don't have a whole lot left to do to punch their postseason ticket."
December 11, 2020 at 09:42PM
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Late for Work 12/11: Assessing Threat Levels of Teams Vying With Ravens for Playoff Berths - BaltimoreRavens.com
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