Steve Davis: Now The Tough Part For The Ravens
When the Ravens started this three game stretch at home, I predicted on the air that they would win all three. Not exactly the gutsiest prediction of all time; after all, they were playing three losing teams on their home field.
That said, now that they have swept the three at home, I thought I would have felt better about this team and their outlook moving forward. I don't necessarily feel like the Ravens are any better than before the three game winning streak. They still can't run the football, they still don't have a consistent passing game, and as well as the defense plays at times, they don't play shutdown D when the game is on the line.
The Ravens now play 3 division leaders. I would like to think the Ravens can win each of these game, but outside of the fact that they are the Ravens and have a track record, I am not terribly encouraged by how they're playing. They are 1-5 on the road, and 2 of these are on the road.
I think Detroit is going to be really hard to win.
Then it is New England at home. The Patriots are a lesser team now that Gronkowski is out, and the Ravens don't fear the Patriots, so I like that one.
The Bengals have scored 40 points in three straight home games. If the Bengals have something to play for, that game will be very tough.
That puts the Ravens at 1-2 over the final 3. I don't think that will be good enough to get the Ravens in the playoffs because I think the Dolphins will win 2 of their final 3. So, for the Ravens to get in to the playoffs, they will have to pull off a big upset in either Detroit or Cincy.
