Four Downs: Finish Strong!

First Down: Block Everything Out and Handle Your Business

The argument could be made that the Ravens playing before the Steelers on Saturday is unfair. A Ravens win means the Steelers have nothing to play for other than the pride of beating Cincinnati in the final week of the season. A Ravens loss means the Steelers can lock up the AFC North, giving them something to play for. The Steelers will know how the dominos fell for them before their game, an advantage not offered to Baltimore.

This argument is for whiners. The Ravens need to block out the situations outside of this game. They can’t be worried about which team they will face in the first round or whether or not the Bengals will sneak into the postseason. When the Ravens kick off their game, none of this matters. Last time I checked, winning the division was something to be proud of; just go do it.

Don’t get me wrong: the NFL screwed up here. It would have made perfect sense to have the two AFC North contests at the same time, something they’ve done in the past, to ensure both games are played competitively. It’s something that you can be upset, annoyed, or ticked about as a fan in the stands or in front of the TV. It’s simply something that John Harbaugh and company have no time for.

The argument can also be made that the Ravens have an opportunity they haven’t had in their past several playoff appearances. They don’t get the chance to rest their starters and they must finish the season strong. The finale is an important game, but most importantly the preparation for it is the same as any other game. History has not been kind to the Ravens when they rest their starters and get out of rhythm with their day-to-day football schedule. Trying to win this game is important, but not just because it gives them the three seed and a division crown.

Trying to win this game is about staying hot going into the playoffs for once.

Second Down: The Browns Offense Doesn’t Scare Baltimore

The last time the Ravens played the Browns they had Jameis Winston making things interesting in relief of the injured Deshaun Watson. This time Bailey Zappe is going to get the start. With Winston, the Browns had a bit of an “anything can happen” vibe to them that gave them a little legitimacy. The Ravens found Winston on a day where he was the good half of his split quarterback personality with their defense still figuring out the major lessons of the season. Zappe is a third year quarterback getting his first action with the Browns. He has 2,053 yards, 11 touchdowns, 12 interceptions and a passer rating of 78.5 in his career. Putting it mildly, the Ravens should win this to a similar tune that they beat the multiple back-up quarterbacked New York Giants.

The Ravens defense is coming off a shutout. The only points the Texans scored on Christmas were from a safety. In the Ravens’ last six games they’ve given up fewer than 20 points four times. The Ravens sacked C.J. Stroud five times and made the Texans punt six times. They also held them on both fourth down attempts.

“The bottom line” (A phrase Ray Lewis used to say on repeat) is that the defense is playing it’s best heading into the final week of the season and there is no excuse against the Browns.

3rd Down: The Closing Statement of Jackson’s MVP Bid  

I don’t think anybody in the organization truly cares how the MVP situation plays out. In their minds they have a quarterback who will be in the conversation on a yearly basis and Lamar Jackson himself doesn’t seem to wrapped up in it himself. I’ll be honest though, you and I care about it. Objectively speaking, Lamar Jackson should be the MVP. I don’t know how one of two unanimous MVPs in NFL history can put up better numbers than his unanimous MVP season and another player is even in the hunt for the award. Lamar Jackson gets one more time in a big game to show that he should be the MVP. It doesn’t matter to him. For the Ravens it’s business as usual. For those watching outside of the organization it’s something we can afford to be focused on.

Who’s the Rightful NFL MVP?

Jackson has 3,995 passing yards, 39 touchdowns and only four interceptions. The crazy part is that a couple of those interceptions bounced off the hands of his receivers – his accuracy has never been this razor sharp. Jackson is flirting with the passer rating record for a season with 121.6 being the mark going into the final game. He has 852 yards on the ground giving him a total yardage of 4,847 yards on the year. It is very possible he finishes the year with 5,000 yards. If this isn’t an MVP season, I don’t know what to tell you.

If Jackson plays a full game in the final week of the regular season and offers his typical performance, the final numbers will be more incredible than they already are. This is the best season a Baltimore Ravens quarterback has ever had and if he tops it off with a Super Bowl (a big if) it could go down as the greatest season any quarterback ever had.

Fourth Down: Can Oweh get his first Double-Digit Sack Season?  

Kyle Van Noy leads the Ravens in sacks with 11.5 punishments of opposing quarterbacks on the year. Odafe Oweh is right below him with nine sacks. A tenth sack would be a monumental moment in his career and would double the sack total of his best previous season. Oweh has shown incredible growth this season.

It’s important to remember that his inability to finish as a pass rusher was his only real red flag going into the 2021 NFL Draft. Oweh finished his three-year run at Penn state with seven sacks but failed to get a sack in his final year with the Nittany Lions. Oweh came into the league with all the athletic traits you could want a prospect to have. He’s a long and lanky athlete who can fire off of his stance like a DC Comics speedster. The one question was whether or not he can finish as a pass rusher and be an NFL sack artist.

Seeing as the Ravens have picked up Oweh’s fifth year option, he will be with them next season. The Ravens have a habit of developing these edge rushers and then seeing them get paid big money in another NFL city. It took a while but Oweh may finally be a rightful replacement for Matt Judon. This is one of the biggest things to root for on Saturday. Oweh worked on his game and now he can reap the rewards with a double-digit sack season.

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Source: https://russellstreetreport.com/2025/01/03/four-downs/four-downs-finish-strong/