The Ravens clinched a playoff berth on Sunday, but no one in Baltimore is in the mood to celebrate.
In fact, Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco says that the Ravens are so down about their three-game losing streak, they feel as though they might as well have lost every game all season.
“We’re a 9-5 football team, and it feels like we’re 0-14 right now. But that’s just the feeling that you have right after a game like this,” Flacco said.
But Flacco added that he’s confident that the Ravens can turn things around, starting Sunday against the Giants and continuing into the postseason, perhaps all the way to the Super Bowl.
“We believe we’re pretty stand-up guys, tough guys, guys with character,” Flacco said. “We’re going to be able to look at ourselves in the mirror when this thing is all said and done and honestly say that we are those type of guys or that we’re not those type of guys. I believe that we are, and you’re going to be able to see that over the next six, seven weeks, however long we have left. In order to get through this, we have to go home and look in the mirror, first of all, and work as one to get better and win football games. I believe that’s the kind of people we are, and that’s the kind of guys we have and the kind of coaches we have. It’s going to take toughness to get yourself up, pull yourself in there and do the work you need to do in order to give yourself the best chance of winning on Sunday.”
If the Ravens win either of their final two games they’ll win the AFC North and get to open the playoffs at home. But the way the Ravens have been playing lately, it’s fair to wonder whether they can win either of their final two games, against the Giants and Bengals. It wouldn’t be a big surprise if the Ravens double their current losing streak, and a sixth straight loss, in the wild card round of the playoffs, ends their season.
And ending the season on a six-game losing streak would be about as bad as the Ravens have felt since Flacco arrived five years ago.