NFL playoffs primer: What to know as Ravens begin quest for Super Bowl title
The NFL playoffs are here, and with them begin the Ravens’ quest for their third Super Bowl title.
Led by star quarterback Lamar Jackson and the league’s best defense, Baltimore finished the regular season 13-4 and secured the top seed in the AFC for the second time in five seasons. That means not only a first-round bye, but also home-field advantage through the conference championship game. If the Ravens do indeed make it that far, M&T Bank Stadium would host for the first time.
Before the wild-card round begins this weekend, here’s everything you need to know about the postseason:
Who’s in the playoffs, and when are the games?
After the Bills’ victory over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday night, which clinched a fourth straight AFC East title for Buffalo, the wild-card matchups are officially set.
AFC
No. 1 seed Ravens (13-4, first-round bye)
No. 7 Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7) at No. 2 Buffalo Bills (11-6): Sunday, 1 p.m., CBS
No. 6 Miami Dolphins (11-6) at No. 3 Kansas City Chiefs (11-6): Saturday, 8:15 p.m., Peacock
No. 5 Cleveland Browns (11-6) at No. 4 Houston Texans (10-7): Saturday, 4:30 p.m., NBC
NFC
No. 1 seed San Francisco 49ers (12-5, first-round bye)
No. 7 Green Bay Packers (9-8) at No. 2 Dallas Cowboys (12-5): Sunday, 4:30 p.m., Fox
No. 6 Los Angeles Rams (10-7) at No. 3 Detroit Lions (12-5): Sunday, 8:15 p.m., NBC
No. 5 Philadelphia Eagles (11-6) at No. 4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-8): Monday, 8 p.m., ESPN, ABC, ESPN2
When do the Ravens play?
With a dominant regular season, including wins over six teams that reached the playoffs, the Ravens secured a bye through the wild-card round and will host the lowest remaining seed in the divisional round on either Saturday, Jan. 20, or Sunday, Jan. 21.
The last time the Ravens had a first-round bye, they lost, 28-12, to the visiting No. 6 seed Tennessee Titans after a painfully slow start. Coach John Harbaugh said the team will treat the bye like a normal game week and hold practices Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, as well as a planned stadium practice over the weekend.
Who will the Ravens play?
Depending on the results of wild-card weekend, the Ravens could host the No. 4 seed Texans, the No. 7 seed Steelers, or any team in between.
It will not be a unique matchup. The Ravens have already played Houston, Cleveland, Miami and Pittsburgh this season, and have a combined 3-3 record against those teams.
While Baltimore dominated the Texans (25-9 in Week 1) and Dolphins (56-19 in Week 17) at home, it has not fared as well against its AFC North rivals, splitting with the Browns (28-3 road win in Week 4; 33-31 home loss in Week 10) and losing twice to the Steelers (17-10 road loss in Week 5; 17-10 home loss in Week 18) — though the Ravens sat quarterback Lamar Jackson and several key players in the regular-season finale against Pittsburgh having already clinched the AFC’s top seed.
There’s another big storyline worth following. Quarterback Joe Flacco, who played 11 seasons with the Ravens and was named Super Bowl MVP in the victory over the 49ers in February 2013, could return to Baltimore with the rival Browns. The soon-to-be 39-year-old veteran was signed to the practice squad late in the season and helped lead Cleveland to just its second playoff appearance since 2002, going 4-1 as the starter while passing for 1,616 yards and 13 touchdowns.
When are the conference championship games and the Super Bowl?
Both the AFC and NFC conference championship games take place Sunday, Jan. 28. They will be hosted by the higher-seeded team.
Super Bowl LVIII kicks off at 6:25 p.m. Feb. 11 at Allegiant Stadium, home of the Las Vegas Raiders. The game will be televised on CBS, with Jim Nantz calling play-by-play and Tony Romo providing the analysis. Grammy-winning artist Usher will headline the halftime show.
Who are the favorites to win the Super Bowl?
Only the 49ers, whom the Ravens beat, 33-19, on Christmas night, have better odds to win the championship than Baltimore.
Led by quarterback Brock Purdy, coach Kyle Shanahan, a host of star playmakers and one of the league’s best defenses, San Francisco is the favorite at +225, according to Vegas Insider. The Ravens are second at +320, followed by the Bills (+650), Cowboys (+750), Chiefs (+900), Eagles (+1,600) and Dolphins (+2,000). The Steelers (+12,500), with Mason Rudolph starting at quarterback and star pass rusher T.J. Watt dealing with a knee injury, are by far the biggest long shot.
According to ESPN’s Football Power Index projections, the 49ers have a 59.6% chance to make the Super Bowl, followed by the Ravens (55.4%), Bills (26.8%), Cowboys (25.1%), Chiefs (8.2%) and Lions (5.1%).