AFC No. 1 seed Ravens hoping to learn from ’19 disappointment

OWINGS MILLS, Md. – As the Baltimore Ravens await who they will face in the AFC Divisional Round, their biggest opponent during the bye week is history.

Four years ago, Baltimore was the No. 1 seed in the AFC and was defeated by the Tennessee Titans, 28-12, in its first playoff game. For the nine remaining players from that 2019 team, including quarterback Lamar Jackson, this flop continues to weigh on them as they enter the playoffs as the conference's top seed for the first time since that disappointment .

“I'm not completely over it yet, to be honest,” Ravens offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley said. “These opportunities don’t come around very often.

“Luckily we have another chance this year, and we’re going to make sure we don’t take it for granted.”

Since the NFL playoffs began in 1975, there have been four instances where a No. 1 seed has lost the first consecutive playoff games, according to ESPN Stats & Information. This has only happened twice since 2000: the Tennessee Titans (2000, 2008 and 2021) and the Dallas Cowboys (2007 and 2016).

Jackson is trying to avoid becoming the first starting quarterback to lose consecutive playoff openers as a No. 1 seed.

“[The] 2019 [season] It's over,” Jackson said. “We're still talking about it. I still talk about it, but it's different. It was just my first full season [starting] in the NFL and my second year in the league.

“It’s a different mindset. [It’s] a different group of guys. I just feel like everything around us is different.”

Jackson then added, “I definitely feel like this year it's going to be different.”

Over the past decade, top-seeded teams are 16-4 (.800) in their first playoff games. The only teams to lose this opener as a No. 1 seed are: the Cowboys (2016), Ravens (2019), Titans (2021) and Packers (2021).

In 2019, Baltimore entered the playoffs with the best record in the NFL at 14-2 and was a 10-point favorite against Tennessee in the divisional round. But after resting Jackson and a handful of starters in the regular season finale, the Ravens no longer looked like the same dominant team in losing to the Titans.

“I remember we came out very, very slow in that Titans game,” Ravens tackle Michael Pierce said. “We have a good plan, and Coach [John] Harbaugh is on top. We're going to work and we're certainly aware of what happened last time.”

Just like in 2019, Baltimore rested Jackson and a half-dozen starters during the final week of the regular season. Just like in 2019, the Ravens will practice for three days during the bye.

The key, according to the players, is to adopt a different attitude throughout the week.

“I feel like 2019 definitely gave us a lot of insight into things we could have improved upon using that time and being able to prepare,” Stanley said. “I would say don’t be rigid about it, but be focused.

“I think that's been our mindset all season. Harbs preached: stay relaxed, stay focused. I think that's been really good for us. We're just trying not to be stiff and uptight.”

Baltimore (13-4) clinched the AFC's No. 1 seed and the AFC North title in Week 17. Before losing their regular-season finale to Pittsburgh, the Ravens had won six consecutive, leading the league in points scored (33.8) and fewest points allowed (17.7) over that span.

The Ravens know they will face one of four teams in the divisional round: the Houston Texans (No. 4), the Cleveland Browns (No. 5), the Miami Dolphins (No. 6) or the Steelers (No. 7). Baltimore will face the lower seed after this weekend's wild-card round.

Until then, Ravens players will continue to be asked why they failed in 2019.

“I don’t think it will get boring,” Stanley said. “Those are things that are always in our minds, the guys who were there and who experienced it.

“We know the feeling that has remained with us until now, and we don't want to feel it again. We want to correct our loss.”