Sunday’s 24-10 victory over the Cleveland Browns kept the Ravens in the discussion for one of the top two seeds in the AFC postseason.
Then again, the New England Patriots, the Houston Texans and the Pittsburgh Steelers also won on Sunday, creating a four-way tie atop the conference with each team sporting identical 9-3 records.
Ravens fans may have their eyes on those three teams, but coach John Harbaugh said the coaches and players are solely concerned with this Sunday’s opponent, the 0-12 Indianapolis Colts.
“Our guys understand the importance of where we’re at because if you’re going to be at this level, you’re not just competing against the team you have to play on Sunday,” he said during his weekly news conference Monday. “All you have to do is win the game on Sunday, find a way to win the game on Sunday. That’s easier said than done, but that’s the challenge. We aren’t playing those other three teams on Sunday, but we’re playing a team that is very capable of beating us [and] that we’re very capable of beating. But the pressure is to stack those wins over the course of the whole month because [like] you’re saying, you’re going for that No. 1 spot. Ultimately, you’re playing for that division championship against two teams [the Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals] that are right there with you. So there’s pressure to win every week.”