OTL: Another Fork in the Road

Well, it all comes down to this.

It all comes down to this for the AFC North crown. pic.twitter.com/6NXIesuiFe

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) December 29, 2025

The last time the Ravens faced the Steelers, we talked about how monumental the stakes of that game were, both for this season and for the future. Baltimore dropped that game, and it looked like that result would be discussed at length in retrospect as we eulogized a lost season. Instead, against all likelihood and with some help from Cleveland, of all teams, the Ravens face a win-or-go-home game to close out the regular season. If the last matchup against Pittsburgh was huge, this one is several degrees of magnitude larger.

With the Bills’ loss, here are the NYT odds for which AFC team will get the No. 5 seed and a road trip to Baltimore or Pittsburgh in the wild-card round …

✱ Texans: ~69%
✱ Bills: ~17%
✱ Chargers: ~8%
✱ Jaguars: ~7%https://t.co/tgW42AKLKd

— Jonas Shaffer (@jonas_shaffer) December 29, 2025

I want you, for a moment, to visualize Sunday’s game first as a win, and then as a loss. Depending on how optimistic or pessimistic you are, one is probably easier to picture than the other. There’s been plenty of room for both at different points in the season, especially with the early losing streak followed by the turnaround that got them back above .500. But based on each result, it feels like the overall retrospective view on the season would be markedly different, as we’d come away with lasting impressions of what the 2025 Ravens were (or weren’t).

.@Ravens this season when allow 20+ points:

L
L
L
L
L
L
L

Ravens are 0-7 SU @packers team total is 22.5 points

Packers (-4 vs. Ravens) are the most bet team to cover in Week 17 at @BetMGM

Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER

— John Ewing (@johnewing) December 26, 2025

For example, they were a team that put up a lot of points in matchups early in the season, but one that couldn’t keep pace thanks to defensive shortcomings. Luckily for them, they finally broke the streak for this stat against Green Bay, but one hopes that they won’t test fate with it for the coming matchup. Once some of their defensive problems were corrected, games seemed to be more within reach, especially once they were able to get even some semblance of a pass rush going.

Travis Jones had 7 pressures, including 2 sacks on Saturday night.

That’s 14 pressures in the last 2 weeks since he signed his extension.

He’s up to 5 sacks and 45 pressures which is top 1T pass rush production.

Insanely good extension.#RavensFlock

— Cole Jackson (@ColeJacksonFB) December 29, 2025

If the Ravens win, does it make things feel like Zach Orr did enough to help adjust and make that group look better like he did last season? If they lose, does it feel like continued issues with the secondary are chalked up to not getting enough push on the pass rush, or being too little, too late? Can both be true, and will fans be able to parse the nuance of each?

Then we get into the conversation surrounding Lamar Jackson’s up-and-down season. Make no mistake about it: I will 100% stand behind Lamar despite struggles this year between subpar protection at the line and injury. That doesn’t mean that we can’t acknowledge that this has been a down year, and one that has, for some reason, seen a coaching staff more willing to adjust the playbook conducive to success when Tyler Huntley has been under center.

The thing I don’t think people realize about Tyler Huntley is that he’s not “bad” he’s just not a starting QB. He’s an excellent manager of the game but I guarantee you that if Henry was getting stuffed the Ravens lose that game as Huntley just doesn’t score a lot of points…

— Ronrosco (@Ronrosco2) December 29, 2025

So, what happens if Lamar guts it out, plays through injury and loses? Are people going to view it as going out on his shield, or will they view it as pride getting in the way of what’s best for the team under the circumstances? Will Huntley get the benefit of the doubt from a fanbase that was, in large part, ready to dismiss him after filling in for Lamar in his last stint in Baltimore with limited success? Would the fanbase view him with rose-colored glasses after Derrick Henry did the heavy lifting in the Packer game if Huntley can be a winning game manager once again?

I can tell you one thing: even with plenty of room for interpretation about the players and personnel, a win or a loss likely wouldn’t have much bearing for many, including myself, on the view of the coaching staff this year.

The Ravens winning the division wouldn’t change my opinion of John Harbaugh

Just to make that clear.

— Cole Jackson (@ColeJacksonFB) December 28, 2025

The standard for this Ravens team for a long time has been to, at a minimum, make it to the postseason and see what happens. It wasn’t that long ago that the Ravens fell just short in an AFC Championship, and it felt like the core of this team could take them anywhere, but even if they win Sunday’s game and get into the playoffs, they not only have an uphill battle, they also had to rely on huge upsets to get them there. A first-round exit would be disappointing for sure, but they’re in a position of essentially having an extra playoff game because they failed to take advantage of winnable games that could have given them breathing room. A loss would push them back below .500 to end the year, an unthinkable outcome to start the campaign, and one that would be that much more pressure on Steve Bisciotti to act.

Let’s roll the dice and see where they land. A week from now, things are going to look very, very different.

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