The Ravens are one win from repeating as AFC North champs.
Baltimore’s victory, coupled with the Pittsburgh Steelers’ loss earlier in the day, gave Baltimore a one-game lead in the AFC North with one game remaining.
The Ravens will repeat as division champions if they defeat the Cleveland Browns in next week’s regular-season finale or the Steelers lose to the Bengals in Week 18.
Being one win from a division championship is quite an accomplishment for the Ravens, who started 0-2 and had to spend much of this season chasing down the Steelers (10-5). However, the Ravens have won three straight and appear to be peaking, while Pittsburgh has lost three in a row, including their pivotal Week 16 loss in Baltimore.
The NFL season is a marathon, and the Ravens look like a team ready to make a strong finishing kick. They are in good health, they’re playing strong defense, and their offense has been too hot to handle in their three games since returning from the bye.
Baltimore dominated a Houston (9-7) team that has clinched the AFC South. There was so much talk about how the Ravens would handle playing three games in 11 days, and they responded by winning them all. They look like a team peaking at an opportune time heading into the playoffs, and if they beat Cleveland in Week 18, they’ll be starting the playoffs at home.
“[I’m] proud of our guys,” Head Coach John Harbaugh said. “These guys took this three games in 11 days and smashed it, obliterated it, tore it up and made into a bunch of smithereens laying around everywhere.”