It shouldn't have come down to this, but they wouldn't be the 2011 Ravens if they did anything the easy way.
Every perceived weakness will be open to question Sunday when they take the field against the still-playoff-hopeful Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium with the AFC North title and at least one home playoff game hanging in the balance.
Every one of those questions will require the right answer, since the Bengals have a lot to play for and they are the kind of team that has given the road-wary Ravens fits outside of M&T Bank Stadium.
Really, are we still wondering in Week 17 if quarterback Joe Flacco and offensive coordinator Cam Cameron are on the same page?
Can anyone explain how the Ravens went 8-0 at home for the first time in franchise history and need to beat the Bengals just to get even on the road this season? Does anyone need to be reminded that with a pedestrian victory in either Jacksonville or Seattle the Ravens wouldn't have a care in the world right now?
Every NFL team has issues at this time of year, but how many are wondering if the franchise's all-time greatest player is really healthy, or why one of the best safeties in the history of the sport has only one interception in his past 14 games, or — for that matter — who will be doing the placekicking during the postseason.
This team has more scary variables than an algebra final, and they all need to add up to something positive for the Ravens to earn that smooth road through the postseason.
John Harbaugh still refuses to read too much into his team's 3-4 record on the road, even after the Ravens were beaten so soundly in San Diego two weeks ago.
"I think we've got a good routine," he said at the start of practice this week. "It's proven and we're going to try to play better than we have in the games we didn't win on the road. That's the main thing. Obviously, turnovers were a big factor in some of those games; like any game in the National Football League. So, those are the things that will be our focus — the things that you have to do actually to win a football game, whether you're at home or on the road."
It's hard to argue with that logic, but Harbaugh will have to forgive the rest of us for obsessing about the Ravens' road record when one more loss on the road could doom them to spend their entire postseason on it.
Granted, Harbaugh and Cameron have bigger headaches, like the rash of recent injuries that has left them plugging holes. They'll still be without go-to receiver Anquan Boldin for at least this game and have been practicing this week without guard Marshall Yanda and linebacker Dannell Ellerbe. It's also fair to wonder — as one rival coach told Mike Preston the other day — whether Ray Lewis is all the way back from the toe injury that sidelined him for four games. If all that has the coaching staff lying awake at night, nobody is letting on.
"We're not really wired to think that way," Cameron said on Thursday. "It's the 'next man up.' We have a job to get done. You haven't heard us talk a lot about the fact that Anquan is not playing, because he is not playing. He didn't play last week. We have to find a way to win the game. Injuries are part of this game. It's pretty documented the teams that have won at a high level the last few years with massive amounts of injuries. I think that's why we've got a chance to overcome any injuries we have just because of our approach.
"We're not big on excuses as coaches or players or an organization. We have a job to get done. If somebody is out there in a Ravens uniform, we expect them to play at a high level. Bottom line: That's why we win."
To their credit, the Ravens have done a good job of filling every gap. They won all four games Lewis was out. Torrey Smith and young tight ends Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta stepped up when Lee Evans was not available for a big chunk of the season. General manager Ozzie Newsome was able to bring back veteran kicker Shayne Graham when Billy Cundiff was hobbled by a calf injury.
And Cameron and Flacco could make some light this past week of the tug-of-war that has been going on between them throughout the season, because — in the games that counted the most — they were on the same page.
Don't know about you, but I feel better already.
Listen to Peter Schmuck when he hosts "The Week in Review" Fridays at noon on WBAL (1090AM) and wbal.com.