How the Ravens’ finale vs. Pittsburgh could affect their draft order, record books and more

The Ravens request a batch of extracurricular assistance Sunday, capable that manager John Harbaugh won’t fuss reviewing the Week 18 rooting usher with his team.

A five-game losing streak has analyzable a once-simple way to the playoffs. To marque the postseason for the 4th consecutive year, the Ravens (8-8) request wins from a two-touchdown underdog (the Jacksonville Jaguars), a field-goal underdog (the Las Vegas Raiders) and a league rival (the New England Patriots).

They besides person to instrumentality attraction of concern wrong M&T Bank Stadium. The Pittsburgh Steelers (8-7-1) and backmost Ben Roethlisberger, who’s approaching what volition apt beryllium the last crippled of his hallowed NFL career, person their ain long-shot playoff ambitions.

“Our absorption is going to beryllium connected our game, winning our game,” Harbaugh said Monday. “So thing matters if we don’t win. That’s truly the absorption each week, and that’s what we’re going to absorption on.”

Sunday’s crippled has implications acold beyond the Ravens’ minuscule playoff odds, however. Here’s a look astatine what’s astatine involvement for the Ravens’ draught slot, schedule, grounds books and more.

Take your pick

The Ravens participate Week 18 with the No. 16 slot successful the 2022 draft. Where they extremity up depends not lone connected what happens Sunday successful Baltimore but besides astir the NFL.

If the Ravens suffer to the Steelers, they’d extremity up with a prime as precocious arsenic No. 14 wide and arsenic debased arsenic No. 16. If they bushed the Steelers but miss the playoffs, they’d astir surely autumn to No. 18 overall. If the Ravens marque the playoffs, their archetypal prime would beryllium nary amended than No. 19, and would beryllium thereafter connected postseason results.

In the lawsuit of a tiebreaker, spot of docket determines draught bid — the little the aggregate winning percent of a team’s opponents, the better. That’s atrocious quality for the Ravens, whose existent spot of docket (.531) is stronger than immoderate team’s successful their draught range. Here’s a look astatine the Ravens’ institution successful the draught order, including record, spot of docket and Week 18 opponent.

• 10. Atlanta Falcons: 7-9, .461, vs. New Orleans Saints
• 11. Denver Broncos: 7-9, .478, vs. Kansas City Chiefs
• 12. Minnesota Vikings: 7-9, .513, vs. Chicago Bears
• 13. Cleveland Browns: 7-9, .524, vs. Cincinnati Bengals
• 14. Philadelphia Eagles (via Miami Dolphins): 8-8, .467 SOS, vs. New England Patriots
• 15. New Orleans Saints: 8-8, .515, astatine Falcons
• 16. Ravens: 8-8, .531, vs. Steelers
• 17. Pittsburgh Steelers: 8-7-1, .520, astatine Ravens
• 18. Las Vegas Raiders: 9-7, .517, vs. Los Angeles Chargers
• 19. Philadelphia Eagles: 9-7, .461, vs. Dallas Cowboys
• 20. Los Angeles Chargers: 9-7, .509, astatine Raiders
• 21. Philadelphia Eagles (via Indianapolis Colts): 9-7, .489, astatine Jacksonville Jaguars
• 22. Miami Dolphins (via San Francisco 49ers): 9-7, .509, astatine Los Angeles Rams

According to ESPN, the Ravens are beardown favorites to extremity up with the No. 18 prime (57% odds), with the No. 15 prime (21%) and No. 14 prime (8%) arsenic the second- and third-most apt outcomes.

On schedule

While the Ravens’ 2022 docket won’t beryllium released until the spring, the team’s opponents volition beryllium finalized Sunday.

Much of the 17-game slate is already known. The Ravens volition play six games against the AFC North: home-and-home bid against the Bengals, Browns and Bengals. The Ravens, who are 1-4 against part foes this season, past won conscionable 1 AFC North crippled successful 2007.

Under the NFL’s docket rotations, the Ravens volition besides look the full AFC East — location games against the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins and roadworthy games against the New England Patriots and New York Jets — and the full NFC South — location games against the Carolina Panthers and Falcons and roadworthy games against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Saints.

That leaves 3 games to beryllium determined. The Ravens volition play a location crippled against a matching-rank squad successful the AFC West and roadworthy games against matching-rank teams successful the AFC South and NFC East. That means a third-place decorativeness successful the AFC North would permission the Ravens hosting either the Chargers oregon Raiders and traveling to play the Houston Texans and Washington Football Team.

Special success

With different beardown showing Sunday, the Ravens tin decorativeness the play arsenic the NFL’s apical peculiar teams unit. According to Football Outsiders, the Ravens pb the league successful peculiar teams DVOA, oregon defense-adjusted worth implicit average, which measures occurrence comparative to the league mean and accounts for variables specified arsenic hostile quality.

The Ravens participate Week 18 with a DVOA of 6.0%, up of the second-place Kansas City Chiefs (4.4%) but little than the Ravens’ 2020 people (7.4%), which trailed lone the New England Patriots’ (8.1%). In their 3rd play nether peculiar teams coordinator Chris Horton, the Ravens fertile archetypal successful tract goals and other points, 2nd successful punt returns, seventh successful punt coverage, 12th successful kickoff returns and 22nd successful kickoff coverage, according to Football Outsiders.

Under Harbaugh, a erstwhile peculiar teams coordinator, the Ravens person taken up astir imperishable residence successful the precocious echelons of peculiar teams play. Since his hiring successful 2008, the Ravens person finished successful the apical 10 successful DVOA successful each but 2 seasons, including 3 years astatine No. 1.

Record watch

A fistful of individual, squad and NFL records and milestones are connected the enactment Sunday:

• Barring an unexpected signifier squad call-up, the Ravens volition extremity the play with 75 players having appeared successful a crippled this season, tying the 2020 squad for the astir successful franchise history.
• The Ravens person allowed a franchise-worst 4,507 passing yards this season, oregon 281.7 yards per game. That mean is simply a virtual fastener to eclipse the highwater people acceptable successful 2014, erstwhile the Ravens allowed 248.7 yards per game. The Ravens’ 100.9 passer standing allowed is besides presently the worst successful franchise history, up of the 99.6 standing allowed successful 2015.
• Quarterback Lamar Jackson needs 33 passing yards to scope 10,000 for his career. If helium hits the people Sunday, he’d go the fastest backmost successful NFL past to grounds 10,000 passing yards and 3,500 rushing yards.
• Tight extremity Mark Andrews needs 5 catches to interruption the Ravens’ single-season reception record. Wide receiver Derrick Mason finished with a franchise-best 103 catches successful 2007, though helium did truthful successful 16 games.
• Andrews, present the Ravens’ single-season record-holder for receiving yardage (1,276), besides needs 141 yards to interruption the single-season NFL grounds astatine the position. The Kansas City Chiefs’ Travis Kelce had 1,416 yards successful conscionable 15 games past season.
• Among qualifying players, Ravens wide receiver Devin Duvernay leads the NFL successful punt instrumentality mean (14.4 yards). Lamont Brightful (2002) and Jermaine Lewis (2000) stock the Ravens’ single-season grounds for punt instrumentality mean (16.1 yards).
• Wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown needs 19 receiving yards to scope 1,000 this season. He would beryllium the archetypal Ravens receiver since Mike Wallace successful 2016 and the 14th subordinate successful franchise past to deed the milestone.
• Inside linebacker Patrick Queen needs 1 tackle to scope 200 for his career. With different tackle for loss, he’d articulation the Buccaneers’ Devin White, Saints’ Demario Davis and Bears’ Roquan Smith arsenic the NFL’s lone defenders with astatine slightest 200 tackles and 20 tackles for nonaccomplishment since the commencement of past season.
• Kicker Justin Tucker needs 12 points to acceptable a vocation precocious and Ravens single-season record. He’s reached 141 points 4 times successful his career.
• Pittsburgh Steelers extracurricular linebacker T.J. Watt needs 1 ½ sacks to interruption the NFL’s single-season record. The New York Giants’ Michael Strahan finished with 22 ½ sacks successful 16 games successful 2001. Watt has 21 ½ sacks successful 14 games this season, including 3 ½ against the Ravens successful Week 13.