Playoffs!!

With a win over the Raiders, the Ravens reach the playoffs as a 6 seed (again), and will match up against the Patriots next weekend (Sunday, 1PM).

They played a Raiders team that at times looked better than their record, but in the end, the Ravens defense simply shut them down, and the running game overwhelmed them.  The McGahee stiffarm was second only to the Ray Lewis hit of Sproles as moments of awesome this year.

So now the 9-7 record no longer matters, and it’s one game at a time.  I don’t like the New England matchup (I would have been much happier to see them play the Bengals), but I think if the Ravens show up, they can beat anyone.  Remember, this team beat the Chargers, and lost to Indy and the Vikings by a combined 4 points.

To win next weekend, they need to dominate offensively by running the ball, winning the battle of field position, and keeping the Pats offense off the field.  Hurt or not, they are good.  The Ravens also have to play with discipline, no stupid penalties.  Only a near perfect effort will win; if they play like they did against the Steelers two weeks ago, it won’t just be a 3 point loss.

Given the way things are going, I think they’ll be up, and they’ll be on.  Which means a close tough game they can win.