Ravens Are More Prepared for AFC's Top Seed Than 2019 Squad
MVP front-runner Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens have clinched the AFC's top seed with a dominant 56-19 win over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.
This will be the second time in franchise history that the Ravens have clinched the #1 seed - the 2019 team being the first.
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It may also be ironic that the last time Baltimore had clinched that first-round bye, Jackson had completed his first MVP season.
Is this current iteration of the Ravens better prepared for the first-round bye than the first time they had it when they were upset by the visiting Tennessee Titans?
They certainly seem so.
In 2019, the Ravens played just the 23rd toughest schedule in football. This season, Baltimore's .530 strength of victory percentage is the highest of any playoff team in the NFL playoffs this year.
Their ability to beat some of the best teams in football has shown their grittiness, and ability to win in different ways.
A big part of that has been the improved play of the quarterback. While many people would question how Jackson could improve on his 4,300-yard, 43-touchdown season, he has managed to upgrade his play in the pocket in 2023 to make Baltimore's offense a lethal combination.
The results have shown to be incredible - including a five-touchdown, perfect passer rating day against the Dolphins.
“I don’t know that I’ve seen a more impressive performance in a game," Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said of Jackson's performance. "I don’t know that I’ve seen a more impressive performance in a season.”
Jackson's improved play this season has mixed well with a Ravens' defense ranked in the top five in most categories. It's a big reason why the team is positioned where they are:
A deadly top seed that almost nobody will want to play.
"There’s just nobody like him," Odell Beckham Jr. said of Jackson. "With respect to everyone who has had tremendous seasons and all the great talent in the NFL, I just think he’s put himself in a great position.”
With Jackson playing the best football of his career, a top defense that has shut down almost every top offense they have faced, and a skill position group as deep as they've ever had, the Ravens look even better than the team that clinched a top seed four years ago.
