HOUSTON - The Ravens breathed a sigh of relief yesterday because they have moved from the land of the unknown onto familiar ground. Bring on the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers. Been there. Done that.
The Houston Texans put a scare into the Ravens last week, when the Texans upset the Pittsburgh Steelers by 18 points, so the Ravens didn't know what to expect at Reliant Stadium yesterday. Were the Texans coming together? Would they play tougher now to win two consecutive games for the first time? Was the defense as good as expected? Who was this David Carr fella?
But after yesterday's 23-19 victory, another game in which the Ravens did just enough to win, this team was glad to still be in contention for the AFC North title with two games left - against Cleveland at home Sunday and then in Pittsburgh the next week.
"We had to get this one today," said Ravens left offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden. "We knew Houston beat Pittsburgh last week, so that probably made us focus a little more. We still do some things we shouldn't do, obviously, but now we get a chance at Cleveland next Sunday. If we beat them and Pittsburgh goes down to Tampa Bay and loses next Monday night, then it's us and Pittsburgh for the division championship and the playoffs."
Ravens coach Brian Billick has to be smiling today, because his job is now a little easier. Emotionally, the Ravens will be ready to play the final two games, because these three teams don't like each other. Strategically, there isn't much to hide, because they play each other twice a year.
By Wednesday morning, when Billick next addresses the team, he will point out the two positives from the first games, when the Ravens beat Cleveland, 26-21, and lost to Pittsburgh, 31-18. It will go something like this:
"Guys, every game is still a playoff game from here on out, and we've got a great opportunity before us. We're playing a team that we got after pretty good earlier this season in Cleveland, and even though we're playing in Pittsburgh the following week, we've won there before. They kicked the tar out of us in the first half, but we moved the ball well on them in the second half, so let's build on that.
"They won't do anything we don't know about, and we won't do anything they don't know about. It's all about execution. I like our chances."
The Ravens, who are a game and a half behind the Steelers, are still long shots. Even with injured linebacker Ray Lewis and defensive end Michael McCrary in the lineup, they likely would still be a .500 team or worse, because there is too much overall inconsistency every week. But their chances improved when Cleveland lost to the Indianapolis Colts yesterday, putting the Ravens and Browns in a tie for second behind the Steelers.
To win the division title, Cleveland has to beat the Ravens, and the Ravens have to beat Pittsburgh. Translation: Cleveland will come into Baltimore Sunday with a lot less energy. That's a major advantage for the Ravens.
The Browns will play tough for about 47 minutes, and if the Ravens get a lead after that point, Cleveland will shut it down. The hill will have become too high.
Cleveland has improved since the last time the Ravens played it on Oct. 6, but the Browns still struggle against the run. Defensive tackles Gerald Warren and Orpheus Roye are tough, but Cleveland outside linebackers Dwayne Rudd and Darren Hambrick shy away from contact.
Rudd and Hambrick could do Skin So Soft commercials for Avon.
Pittsburgh will provide a more difficult challenge. Let's say the Ravens beat Cleveland and the Steelers lose to the Bucs. No team in the past year and a half has physically abused the Ravens more than Pittsburgh, which has won three of the past four against Baltimore.
Earlier this season, the Steelers pounded the Ravens receivers at the line of scrimmage for a half, then knocked around the defensive front seven for 28 first-half points. The Ravens always have trouble getting pressure on Pittsburgh quarterbacks Tommy Maddox and Kordell Stewart.
The Steelers would be tough to overcome. But Billick watched his team score 15 second-half points against Pittsburgh. The only way the Steelers stopped them in the second half was by Ravens turnovers.
The Ravens will be ready to play. Only three times in Billick's four years have the Ravens not been in the game: in the season finale of his rookie season against the New England Patriots, against the Steelers last season in the playoffs and that whipping a week ago against New Orleans.
"We believe in ourselves," Ogden said. "We'll win, lose or draw, but we always have confidence in ourselves."
That's what this year has been about. The Ravens are an ugly team in an ugly league. They haven't put together a good half of football since about midseason. They have no pass rush, receivers who can't catch, a starting quarterback who is disillusioned about his fading skills and two top players who are on the sideline with injuries.
But this is the NFL. Parity is here to stay. On any given Sunday, one team can play as poorly as the other, especially in the AFC North.
"A lot of teams come in this situation that are more experienced and have better hopes for the playoffs than us and don't close the door," center Mike Flynn said. "But we did. We're alive for another week."
Maybe quarterback Jeff Blake summed it up best:
"To come into foreign territory and win on the road is very important. Now it should be a little easier for us to come home and compete."
Home, though, just isn't at Ravens Stadium, but in the AFC North as well.