With Lamar Jackson, the Ravens Are Contenders
Tuesday night's game against the Dallas Cowboys was as close to a "must-win" game as it gets. Entering the week at 6-5, Baltimore needed a victory to stay in contention for a wild-card berth.
What pundits left M&T Bank Stadium with was a belief that the Ravens can reach the postseason, and that their contention rides on Lamar Jackson.
"[Jackson] was back now, and maybe so are the Ravens," The Baltimore Sun's Jonas Shaffer wrote. "They'd entered Tuesday night ninth in the AFC's seven-team playoff picture. They left with a win over Dallas that they needed to stay in the wild-card hunt in December … that suggested they could very much contend in January."
"[T]he Ravens flexed their muscles often enough to take advantage of the Cowboys' mistakes and deficiencies and polish off a comfortable win," Penn Live's Aaron Kasinitz wrote. "It keeps them positioned to compete for a place in the playoffs, where Jackson's talent and the defense's potential and a smashmouth running game open the possibility of title contention."
One of the biggest takeaways coming off a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers last week was that the Ravens could compete with the NFL's best even when they're not at full strength. Fast forward one week later and the return of Jackson showed just how dangerous Baltimore can be.
Jackson finished 12-of-17 for 107 yards and two touchdowns passing, but the identity of the ground game was reminiscent of the Ravens' victories last season.
"After battering the Cowboys for four quarters, the Ravens had 294 yards and two touchdowns on the ground with a look-twice yards-per-carry average of 7.9 yards," NFL.com's Grant Gordon wrote. "[Gus] Edwards had a game-high 101 yards on only seven carries, while [J.K.] Dobbins had a touchdown and 71 yards on 11 carries. A season ago, the Ravens ran for more yards in a season than any team ever had. At least on Tuesday, the 2020 Ravens looked every bit like the purple-and-black rushing and wrecking crew they were a season ago."
At 7-5, the Ravens sit just two spots outside of the playoff picture, behind the Las Vegas Raiders. ESPN's Football Power Index gives Baltimore a 68 percent chance to make the playoffs.
"This is a team that has underachieved in terms of expectations in the win-loss column," Fox Sports' Marcellus Wiley said. "But I think they're trying to reconfigure a formula for success in the postseason. … This is a team that's hitting its stride and is going to hit its spot right now."
December 09, 2020 at 09:41PM
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Late for Work 12/9: Ravens' Contention Rides on Lamar Jackson - BaltimoreRavens.com
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