Unfortunately for head coach John Harbaugh, his Baltimore Ravens were not the team of destiny this season. Some conspiracy theory suggested that a purple color scheme for the Super Bowl indicated a scripted trip to the title game for the AFC’s top seed.
Perhaps that script existed and the Kansas City Chiefs simply ad-libbed. Either way, Andy Reid and his troops are preparing for their second Super Bowl in as many years. Harbaugh and his Ravens are still waiting for their next trip, their last appearance in 2012.
Indeed, the 2023 season marked their first appearance in the conference finals since that time. It also marked the first home game in the conference finals in franchise history. Granted, the Ravens are one of the newest franchises in the league, but they still go back to 1996. They didn’t think they would lose, and it shocked them when they did. And it still hurts.
“I’m heartbroken. I’m heartbroken [over] the fact that we didn’t win that game at home, in front of our crowd for the first time in all these years and to get a chance to play in the Super Bowl”, Harbaugh said during his season-ending press conference.
After setting an NFL record with 10 victories over teams who ended the season with winning records, it’s understandable. Going 13-3 before resting in the season finale, the Ravens fell well short of expectations. They did get their first postseason win since 2020 after failing in 2022.
“I felt the same way last year”, Harbaugh said. He added, “I felt like if we hadn’t not finished the game last year, not make the mistakes last year that cost us the game against the Bengals, I feel like we’d have been in the Super Bowl last year. I believe that with all my heart”.
He refers to QB Tyler Huntley’s goal-line fumble against the Cincinnati Bengals, primarily. The Bengals picked it up and returned it for a touchdown, a pretty big deal considering the two teams were locked, tied at 17-17.
Despite being one of the best teams in the regular season perennially, the Ravens only have two postseason wins since 2014. QB Lamar Jackson is now 1-4 since Baltimore drafted him in the first round in 2018.
They have made the playoffs all but one year, missing in 2021 after he suffered a significant late-season injury. Jackson also missed the team’s 2022 postseason, resulting in a loss. To his credit, he has won at least one postseason game in each of his last two trips after starting 0-2. And as 31 teams say annually, there’s always next year.
“We all should be excited about where we’re going, what’s in front of us, and what we’re building here”, Harbaugh said. What he left unsaid was just how much turnover there has been on the defensive coaching staff already. They are likely to suffer a significant loss or two in free agency as well. But whenever Jackson is healthy and on the field, it’s hard not to see them as a contender.
