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Players and coaches don’t expect any loss of focus, intensity or momentum over the next two weeks.
There are some similarities between the 2019 Baltimore Ravens and this year’s team that are eerily familiar to the fan base and national media. Both are the hottest teams in the league, winning the AFC North, earning the No. 1 seed in the playoffs with home-field advantage, and the best team in the league with quarterback Lamar Jackson entering the playoffs as the favorite to win MVP. It was widely seen that there was.
In the final game of the regular season, they will face the same opponent at the same venue and under exactly the same conditions as they did against the Pittsburgh Steelers five years ago. The Ravens are starting a number of reserve players at home against district rivals they need a win to help advance to the postseason.
The last time they had such a star-studded lineup, it was a complete and utter failure with a 28-12 loss to the Tennessee Titans and an early playoff exit. Countless media outlets, and even the Ravens’ players and coaches themselves, blamed the first-round bye and excessive rest due to being on cruise control in the middle of the game, leading to the lack of results and the loss. It pointed out. their home field.
Some see the first-round bye as a bad omen for the Ravens, with some worried they’ll be even more rusty than well-rested when they take the playoff field in the divisional round. , the 2023 Ravens are confident that he will remain. Trapped and determined not to repeat history.
“The way we practice, we’re not going to get rusty,” inside linebacker Patrick Queen said Wednesday. “I know the story about ’19 and what happened. I think there’s guys in this locker room who want to take care and really prepare and go into this game. I think the rust thing is completely just a mindset.”
Queen, who was drafted in the offseason after the Ravens’ blowout loss in the playoffs, believes: Nothing can stop you. ”
The 2020 first-round picks are several hungry players on a team that has shown the ability to overcome just about any adversity they may encounter in January and, hopefully, February. One of them. The words “mature” and “locked down” are used repeatedly to describe the 2023 Ravens, who are unafraid of the ghosts of past failures.
“Just move your body and stay still like you’ve been doing all season,” Jackson said. “It’s a bye week, that’s all. I’m ready, I’m locked in, I’m ready.”
The Ravens have no intention of deviating from the schedule they got here and will practice and meet at regular times without playing a game during Wild Card Weekend.
Much like their gut-wrenching performance in 2019 has been lamented, as the Ravens offense was able to move the ball well against the Titans and even had over 500 yards of total offense. It has been lamented over the past few years. However, they struggled to convert in the red zone, and the defense was ultimately succumbed to a fierce run game led by four-time Pro Bowl running back and two-time league rushing champion Derrick Henry.
Reflecting on the entire experience, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh believed his team practiced well and felt “good” leading up to and during the game.
“I think we had a good game plan,” Harbaugh said. “We didn’t get the job done on certain plays. We just look at where we are on this team at the moment and make the best decision.”
The scars and experience this team has built, combined with the keen eye and one-track focus from its franchise quarterback, make it more anchored than it has been since its last Super Bowl appearance in 2012.
“[Lamar]has always had a single-minded focus, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like this,” Harbaugh said. “He’s been like that since the offseason we talked about, ever since he’s been in OTAs.” [organized team activities]Since the training camp, [he’s been] I’m locked in one day at a time. That’s the way he’s worked. It’s reflected in the way he practices and plays. ”
Considering how many up-and-coming and established veterans are playing on cheap one-year contracts or are in the final year of their contracts, it’s hard to imagine this talented group and band of brothers playing together. This will definitely be the last time I do it.
It looks like they won’t let being rusty or worrying about potential opponents get in the way of them achieving their ultimate goal and being the last team left standing.
“2019 is over,” Jackson said. “We talk about it all the time, and before you know it, I’m talking about it too. That was my first full season in the NFL. It’s a much different mindset, a different group. That January We weren’t able to accomplish that. I feel strongly that this year will be different.”
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