Lamar Jackson’s Baltimore Ravens face a pivotal clash against the high-flying New England Patriots Sunday, knowing anything but a win leaves their NFL playoff prospects in turmoil.<\/p>\n
Among many pundits’ pre-season favorites, the Ravens have suffered a disappointing and injury-ravaged campaign, and sit second in the AFC North with three games to play.<\/p>\n
Needing to catch their divisional rival Pittsburgh, a desperate Baltimore come up against a Patriots team still in the hunt for the conference’s crucial number-one seed spot.<\/p>\n
“I have to worry about the Patriots. I can’t think ahead (to the playoffs). I have to focus on these guys, because it’s an explosive defense, an explosive offense. So we have to lock in,” said Jackson.<\/p>\n
The two-time NFL Most Valuable Player has had a trying season with injuries, and missed training this week with illness, but brushed off concerns it would affect his play.<\/p>\n
“No matter where we’re at… this game is special,” said the quarterback.<\/p>\n
The Patriots suffered a rare hiccup last weekend, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory in a 35-31 loss to the Buffalo Bills.<\/p>\n
New England quarterback Drake Maye admitted the defeat after leading 21-0 “stings”, and insisted his team had learnt “some things we’ve got to improve on” against the Ravens.<\/p>\n
A win Sunday would keep the Patriots within striking distance of the NFL-leading Denver Broncos.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, on a weekend in which eight different NFL teams could guarantee themselves post-season football, the Steelers host the Detroit Lions in another high-stakes game.<\/p>\n
A win for Pittsburgh would leave their destiny in their own hands, regardless of Baltimore’s result, while the Lions currently sit just outside the post-season berths.<\/p>\n
In a battle of two of the NFL’s most in-form teams, the league-leading Broncos (12-2), on an astonishing 11-game win streak and undefeated at home, will aim to convince a few more skeptics that they are true Super Bowl contenders against the Jacksonville Jaguars.<\/p>\n
The Broncos could clinch the AFC number-one seed spot, handing them a playoff bye and home advantage, if they win on home turf this weekend and other results go favorably.<\/p>\n
Jacksonville, who have themselves won five games in a row, can seal their own playoff hunt, again depending on scores elsewhere in a high-stakes weekend.<\/p>\n
And the joint-leaders of the NFC South — the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Carolina Panthers — go head-to-head, with the winner strongly placed to extend their season into January.<\/p>\n
The Los Angeles Chargers, in their own playoff hunt, face a faltering Dallas Cowboys team who may have already been eliminated by the time the two sides line up on Sunday.<\/p>\n
That will depend on the defending NFL champion Philadelphia Eagles, who can wrap up their division with a win over the lowly Washington Commanders on Saturday.<\/p>\n
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