Pundit Predicts Ravens Will Win Division, Be the Team ‘Nobody Wants to Play’ in Playoffs

Even though the Ravens are 1-5 and have sole possession of last place in the AFC North, they still have a roster so talented (along with a favorable schedule) that there’s reason to be cautiously optimistic about their chances of going on a tear and making the playoffs.

Yahoo! Sports’ Frank Schwab is throwing caution to the wind. Not only does he believe the Ravens will win the division, but he also thinks they’ll have it clinched before taking the field in Pittsburgh in the season finale even though the Ravens currently trail the first-place Steelers (4-2) by three games.

“There’s a guy named Lamar Jackson, who’s probably going to come back to the lineup this week,” Schwab said on “Yahoo! Sports Daily.” “The Ravens are going to beat the Steelers for that division. The Ravens are going to the playoffs, and the Ravens are going to be the team in January nobody wants to play.”

Schwab predicted the Ravens’ resurgence will begin with this Sunday’s home game against the Chicago Bears.

“The Ravens are six-and-a-half-point favorites this week against the Bears. The oddsmakers haven’t given up on the Ravens and neither have I,” Schwab said. “I think this Ravens team is about to get really, really hot. I truly, honestly think, results be damned, this is a top 10 team in the NFL. I’m going to die on this hill.

“The Ravens are going to win on Sunday. The Steelers are gonna lose to the Packers. I think all of us would predict that. Then they’re only two games behind the Steelers. They play the Steelers twice. They’re going to beat the Steelers.”

When “Yahoo! Sports Daily” co-host Caroline Fenton expressed skepticism about the Ravens overtaking the Steelers to win the division, Schwab doubled down, saying Baltimore will do so “easily.”

The Ravens have a shot, but it’s going to be difficult. They need to win nine of their 11 remaining games to reach 10 victories, which is widely viewed as the minimum number needed to reach the playoffs.

The Steelers’ schedule gets tougher – five of their next six games are against teams with winning records – but anyone writing off a team that has never had a losing record in Mike Tomlin’s 18 seasons as head coach does so at their own peril.