The Baltimore Ravens Road to the NFL Playoffs 2017
The NFL playoff picture is beginning to take shape as the Baltimore Ravens need two wins at home for a spot in the 2017 NFL playoffs.
The Baltimore Ravens, Tennessee Titans, and Buffalo Bills all share identical records and battling for a playoff berth entering NFL Week 16 schedule. Despite the NFL standings showing the Ravens on the outside of a playoff spot, they control their path to the NFL playoffs.
Two wins at home against the Indianapolis Colts (3-11) and Cincinnati Bengals (5-9) translates to a playoff berth after beginning the season at 3-4. Two also wins certainly put the Ravens at the No. 5 seed in the AFC playoff standings.
However, before we get on to playoff predictions and odds for the Ravens, let’s examine their two remaining games.
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Right now, the Ravens focus is on the Colts on Saturday afternoon, with the playoffs naturally in mind.
As of Friday, the majority of sportsbooks are in agreement with the Ravens as 13.5-point favorites, except Bovada’s 14-point Ravens advantage, per SBRodds.com.
On paper, a win looks like a piece of cake for the Ravens before their season finale with the 5-9 Bengals. With both opponents from the AFC, the Ravens can finish with an 8-4 conference record by winning out, enough to advance.
Now, with a playoff berth in sight, let’s analyze a collection of NFL playoff scenarios, predictions, odds and more for the Baltimore Ravens.
Scary Ravens Playoff Scenarios
Let’s look into some Ravens playoff scenarios, odds, and more by applying the resourceful FiveThirtyEight.com 2017 NFL Predictions. First, the Ravens sit comfortably with playoff chances at 87 percent entering their primetime Saturday NFL special.
So, since we already know the Ravens control their destiny, let’s analyze playoff scenarios if the Ravens were to lose one of their last two games or even worse, drop both games.
IF Ravens lose vs. Colts and win vs. Bengals and Bills, Titans and Chargers win out:
By applying the ESPN NFL Playoff Machine, if the Ravens, in fact, lose to the Colts, but end the regular season with a win versus Cincinnati doesn’t exactly put the Ravens in the playoffs.
AFC Wild Card Matchups:
No. 6 Titans vs. No. 3 Jaguars
No. 5 Bills vs. No. 4 Chiefs
IF Ravens win vs. Colts and lose vs. Bengals; Titans win, lose to Jags, Bills lose to Patriots, win vs. Dolphins:
This is where things start to get tricky. In this scenario, the Bills would finish with the No. 5 seed and own the tiebreaker over the Ravens based on the strength of victory, per ESPN.
Next, the No. 6 seed would go to the Titans who would win the tiebreaker over the Ravens as well based on head-to-head win percentage. Lastly, this scenario results in identical seedings and matchups as above.
Next: Ravens Pro Bowl Selections 2017
Despite the possible scenarios, the Ravens own the upper hand by controlling their playoff fate.