Baltimore Ravens Wild Card win was franchise reaffirming

Jan 3, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Baltimore Ravens free safety Darian Stewart (24) celebrates with Ravens head coach John Harbaugh (R) after intercepting a pass in the fourth quarter against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2014 AFC Wild Card playoff football game at Heinz Field. The Ravens won 30-17. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

After an 8-8 season in 2013, fans were a bit discouraged, which is understandable. The Baltimore Ravens had lost a lot of talent, though, and the feeling was that they would right the ship pretty quickly. For most of 2014, the ship was righted, but a combination of injuries and lethargic play almost had the Ravens on the outside looking in toward the end of the season. As recent as Week 17, some fans were shouting for John Harbaugh to be fired, Joe Flacco to be traded.

Those shouts have been silenced.

Saturday’s win was so much more than just a playoff win, so much more than just a rivalry win. It was proof that what the Ravens are doing is working.

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Fans should have already been able to see that. After all, 2014’s 10-6 record is better than 2013’s 8-8 record, stats were better across the board and Joe Flacco had rebounded to have a career year.

There were still significant questions, though, about the Ravens’ ability to compete against top-tier teams.

Well, the Steelers were the three-seed in the Playoffs, having beaten Indianapolis once and the Cincinnati Bengals twice this year, and Ben Roethlisberger was a legitimate MVP candidate. Their top-tier credentials were all in order, and the Ravens went to Pittsburgh and beat them anyway.

Let Saturday’s win be a message to the NFL. The Ravens mean business. Their skill position players, Steve Smith in particular, stepped up when they were most needed. The Ravens’ defense is constantly improving despite a steady stream of injuries. Opposing quarterbacks will need to hit the ice after a date with Baltimore.

Most importantly, though, yesterday’s win was a triumph for the two biggest faces in purple and black: John Harbaugh and Joe Flacco.

Flacco cemented his status as a big-game player, a man to be feared in the postseason. With the best support system he’s ever had in Gary Kubiak and quarterbacks coach Rick Dennison, Flacco continues to grow in his seventh season in the league. Few quarterbacks can make the same claim of continued growth.

Harbaugh, meanwhile, has cemented his status as the best motivator in the game. Adversity doesn’t affect the Ravens, nor does doubt. They will always be focused and fiery, and never more so than in the biggest games. The Ravens just looked like the more motivated team Saturday, and that’s Harbaugh’s doing.

With the two most important positions, quarterback and head coach, filled, not to mention a world-beating pass rush, the Ravens know they are on the right track. They proved it to the world Saturday night.