The Baltimore Ravens got the bye week at the latest point in the season this year but it came at a good time after their 24-19 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles at M&T Bank Stadium. Now, the Ravens at 8-5 sit two games behind the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC North division race. Baltimore is currently one of the wild card teams.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh likes the timing of the bye week for his team. They’ll face the New York Giants on the road at MetLife Stadium this week,(December 15). He wants to make sure they take nothing for granted despite being favored to win the game. Harbaugh firmly believes the bye was good for a reset as they gear up to finish strong over the final four weeks of the season.
“I can find a lot of positives in it being this past week. It felt like it was at the right time,” Harbaugh said. “Everything else is just a sideshow; everything else is just a distraction. None of it is important. What’s important is our football. The football. Getting the football right, playing our best football that we’re capable of playing, everybody locked in for that – that’s really what it’s all about. Nothing else matters; everything else is just static.”
One of the possible distractions Harbaugh was referring to involved wide receiver Diontae Johnson who was suspended one game for conduct detrimental to the team. Johnson refused to enter the game against the Eagles because he was frustrated about a lack of usage since the Ravens acquired him from the Carolina Panthers.
Johnson won’t practice with the team this week. But he does have support from his fellow wide receivers.
“He’s one of my guys. He’s one of our guys,” receiver Zay Flowers said. “Diontae Johnson will be welcome back. It’s not a distraction.”
The reps may be even more scarce for Johnson since Rashod Bateman returned to the practice field after a knee injury limited him to 18 snaps against Philadelphia.
“I feel good. I got a little banged up [in the] Eagles game, but the bye week was big for me. I was able to get healthy,” Bateman said. ”We’ve been playing for a long time, now – 13 games straight. Some teams [had] already had their bye, but we didn’t, so [it’s] definitely good to go take a break, see some family and come back to the game. I think we all did [that].”
The break also was good for kicker Justin Tucker. Tucker missed two field goals and an extra point attempt in the loss to Philadelphia. The normally on the money kicker’s 70.4 field goal percentage is well below his career average.
Tucker stayed around the facility during the break and feels refreshed now that the team is into game week.
“I’m ready to go. It was good to get back in here first thing this morning [and] see all the guys. I was here all week, for the most part, anyways – in and out of the building. It’s good to come back in and see everybody; getting in the meeting room; get out on the practice field and just get right back to work,” Tucker said.
With four games left, the Ravens have to play their best football if they want to host at least one game at home. As of now, they’d be the second wild card team which means they’d need to win a couple of road games to get to the Super Bowl. That’s what they had to do back in 2012 when they last won the Super Bowl.
Harbaugh was the coach then and is looking toward his troops on another deep postseason run.
“We have a four-game season in front of us right now. This is the season; it kind of begins now,” Harbaugh said. “The season is important to determine the important outcomes for the rest of the way – that’s what we’re focused on. We’ll be focusing on this game, putting everything we’ve got into it, and then we’ll go from there.”