Ravens Reveal 'Bottom Line' to Beat 'Best Teams' Like Chiefs in AFC Championship Game
The Baltimore Ravens are entering the most important game of their season this weekend against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game.
With a little luck, and some really good football, the Ravens will get to play a new "most important game of the year'' in the Super Bowl against whichever team comes out of the NFC this weekend.
At the end of the day, however, Baltimore coach John Harbaugh says football is still football, no matter the stakes.
Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews (89) runs for a third quarter gain after his catch defended by Kansas City Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu (32) at M&T Bank Stadium.
Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports
“It’s a game. That’s the bottom line. It’s a football game," Harbaugh said. "It’s against a very good team. Yes, the opportunity [and] the reward to win one game is great. Everybody understands that. You put it into perspective. You have to play your best football against the best teams, but it’s a football game. So, all the things that matter in a football game, matter in this game. Those are the things that we’re going to try to do well.”
While the stakes are higher and give the game a feel that's different than any other the Ravens have played in so far, the Xs and Os don't change.
Typically the winners of these games go to the teams that play the cleanest and have their best players step up when needed the most. This is why the return of tight end Mark Andrews is so big this weekend and signifies the toughness that represents what being a Ravens player has come to mean.
"It’s an amazing amount of toughness – physical toughness in terms of the work he had to put in, and the pain," Harbaugh said of Andrews' work to come back from the injury he suffered in Week 11. "I saw him in the training room. [It was] a very painful injury [and] a very painful rehab. Then, just the mental toughness to ... With Mark, the crazy thing is you talk to him [he says], ‘It’s going great. It’s amazing. I’m doing so well. Everybody’s amazing with me.
"I love these guys. I love everything.’ It’s just how he stays A-plus positive every single day. I just love that about him.”
That toughness and determination is bound to inspire Andrews' Baltimore teammates and the crowd at M&T Bank Stadium is guaranteed to give him a warm welcome back.
All in hopes of being the better team against one of the AFC's best, earning a trip to the Super Bowl in the process.
