In the last three weeks the Ravens have had a fourth-quarter lead against the Steelers turn into a loss, and big late leads turn into close games against the Buccaneers and Texans. That has led to some grousing among Baltimore fans that the Ravens need to learn to put teams away.
Ravens receiver Derrick Mason wants all those fans to be grateful for what they have.
“We could be worse,” Mason said, per the Baltimore Sun. “We could be Buffalo or Cincinnati. We could be completely out of the playoffs right now. But we’re 9-4. You can’t satisfy everybody. Obviously we’d like to be going into this week undefeated just like everybody else in the NFL wants to be. But the reality is, it don’t happen that way. Some weeks you play well, and some weeks to skate by.”
Mason notes that the Ravens are, after all, on pace to make the playoffs for the third straight year.
“I can understand the fans frustration, but they’ve got to look at the big picture,” Mason said. “Where are we? We’re 9-4 and if the playoffs happened right now, we’d be the fifth seed. Stop being a pessimist. Be an optimist. Be happy with where we are. Because honestly, it could be a lot worse.”
As Bengals and Bills fans will attest, Mason is right about that.