Ravens Lose Ground Heading Into Bye

The Baltimore Ravens' division title chances took yet another hit.

Dec 1, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) throws from the end zone during the first half against the Philadelphia Eagles at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images / Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

The past few weeks have been a roller coaster for the Baltimore Ravens, at least as far as their AFC North title hopes are concerned.

Entering Week 13, the Ravens were just half a game behind the Pittsburgh Steelers for the division lead. Now, though, they're 1.5 games back once more, and their title hopes have taken another big hit as a result.

Of course, Sunday's 24-19 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles is the main reason why the Ravens fell back, no one will dispute that. However, the other results around the division weren't exactly kind to them.

Starting off with the more relevant game, at least for Baltimore's purposes, the Steelers went on the road and beat the Cincinnati Bengals 44-38 in a surprising shootout. Russell Wilson continued his impressive resurgance in the Steel City, completing 29 of 38 passes for 414 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Pittsburgh also won the turnover battle 3-1, so the defense still made plays despite a mixed overall performance.

For Cincinnati, this has been the story of the season. Joe Burrow played well again, completing 28 of 38 passes for 309 yards, three touchdowns and one interception, but the Bengals' atrocious defense once again couldn't get a stop, allowing 34+ points for the sixth time this season. The Bengals are now all but eliminated from playoff contention, and that's shameful considering Burrow is putting up MVP numbers every week.

Then in another surprising shootout, the Cleveland Browns fell 41-32 against the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football. Jameis Winston delivered the most Jameis Winston game of all time, completing 34 of 58 passes for 497 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions, two of which went back for pick sixes. Jerry Jeudy also had a great revenge game against his former team with nine receptions for 235 yards and a touchdown, but it still wasn't enough. With the loss, the Browns are now eliminated from playoff contention barring an extremely specific scenario.

Currently, the Steelers lead the division at 9-3, followed by the Ravens at 8-5, Bengals at 4-8 and Browns at 3-9. Entering their bye week, the Ravens know they have to focus on themselves and not scoreboard watch to see what their division rivals are up to.

"We don't need to worry about the Steelers. We need to worry about us," quarterback Lamar Jackson said after Sunday's game. "That's the first thing; worry about what we need to clean up on this side. Clean that s*** up. Forget every other team. We are beating ourselves out there. There are opportunities, [but] we're not making them happen. We need to make those critical situations happen, and we're not doing it."

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