Ravens Fan Here: I Hope They Lose in Pittsburgh

Since Sunday, my Twitter feed has been an uncomfortable love fest for the Browns. I understand why. Last weekend broke exactly the right way. Despite a season in which the Ravens have been one of the NFL’s most disappointing teams, a series of fortunate outcomes has suddenly placed a home playoff game within reach.

But what does that really say?

This is not some late-season surge by our boys in purple. It is not the product of clean football, consistency, or solutions being discovered. It is fortune, nothing more. It is timing. It is other teams doing the Ravens favors. Mistaking that for progress would be a mistake.

So, do I want it to happen? Do I want the Ravens to win?

No. Sorry.

Because this would not represent growth. It would represent more whistling past the graveyard. Another week of “will he play or won’t he play?” Another offseason where John Harbaugh escapes real accountability. Is he coaching for his job? Who actually knows anymore? What is clear is that with every additional week the Ravens survive, the likelihood of meaningful change quietly fades.

The cost is not abstract. It is tangible. A lower draft pick. Another year of the same unresolved and increasingly uncomfortable dynamic with Lamar Jackson. A relationship that from the outside appears directionless and strained. Has the coaching staff lost its grip on it? Has the organization normalized the tension? And if so, why?

All of this in exchange for backing into the playoffs and likely being dismantled by a Texans team that is clearly ascending.

That outcome should not change how this season is evaluated. But will it? History says yes.

And no, this is not about rooting for the Steelers. Do I want them to win the division? No. It does not matter. They will get trounced either way. They may even be foolish enough to bring back Aaron Rodgers for another year. But even that scenario feels preferable to the exhausting loop Ravens fans have been trapped in. A top five roster paired with inconsistent and often baffling coaching. A team that looks elite on paper and ordinary when it matters most. How many seasons does that buy you before hard questions have to be asked?

This franchise does not need a playoff appearance that masks its flaws. It does not need another moment that delays difficult decisions. It needs clarity. It needs accountability. It needs change.

Sometimes missing the playoffs is not failure. Sometimes it is the most honest outcome.

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