December 31, 2011|By Jeff Zrebiec, The Baltimore Sun
The banner stands about 70 feet high behind the far goal posts at the Ravens' indoor practice facility. Outlined in purple and black, a replica of the Lombardi Trophy looms overhead, serving as a daily reminder of what the Ravens are perennially after.
The real thing won't be presented for another five weeks, but to a man, the Ravens say that their run to that elusive second Super Bowl trophy starts Sunday afternoon when they face the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium in one of the bigger regular-season finales in team history.
With a victory, the Ravens (11-4) capture their third AFC North championship, a first-round bye and guarantee themselves at least one home playoff game at M&T Bank Stadium, where they are 8-0 this season.
A loss to the Bengals (9-6), coupled by a Pittsburgh Steelers victory over the Cleveland Browns, and the Ravens would again be forced to make their playoff run from the road, a scenario that they haven't been able to overcome the past three years.
"This is the type of opportunity that you work for in this league," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. "Everything we put into our offseason work, everything we do, is geared toward this time of year. In my mind, this is the playoffs."
It certainly is win-or-else for the Bengals, who need either a victory Sunday or a lot of other results to go in their favor to cap a surprising season with a playoff berth. The Ravens secured their fourth consecutive trip to the playoff two weeks ago, but as far as they are concerned, the stakes are just as high for them, an indication of how much they value a first-round bye and at least one week of home-field advantage.
"We need this win as bad as they do," said veteran linebacker Jarret Johnson, who has made the playoffs five times with the Ravens but only played in two home playoff games. "So, motivation and intensity isn't going to be the problem this game."
The Ravens haven't had a home playoff game since 2006 when they were beaten by the Indianapolis Colts in the divisional round. Since then, they had last season end in Pittsburgh, the 2009 campaign come to a screeching halt in Indianapolis and the 2008 season hit a wall again in Pittsburgh, one game shy of the Super Bowl.
They have won at least one playoff game in each of the past three seasons since Harbaugh became the head coach and Joe Flacco the starting quarterback, but each of those seasons ultimately ended in disappointment. They have talked since Day One of the season about getting at least one home playoff game to make things a little bit easier on themselves.
"I don't think it's about postseason for me anymore," said Ravens middle linebacker Ray Lewis. "It's mostly about finishing that. It's mostly about going to the next level, and that's kind of my experience of going through so many years. That's why I'm trying to get the guys to always see that these opportunities don't come but every now and then. So, each game means something. Each season means something. I was just talking to Ray [Rice] and was telling him we've [gone] from Year One with him, and now we're in Year Four already with him. And you see how quickly it can go by. But the opportunities go by even faster. Now we have a lot of key pieces that have matured to the point that they see that it is right now that we need to go do what we need to do."
The Ravens are 27-5 under Harbaugh at home and have won 18 of their past 19 games at M&T Bank Stadium. Meanwhile, they are 3-4 on the road this season, with three of those four losses coming to teams that have already been eliminated from playoff contention. So their desire to get a home playoff game, rather than playing a wild card game in either Oakland or Denver next weekend, needs no further explanation.
However, even more than clinging to home-field advantage, the Ravens could certainly use a first-round bye. They haven't had one since 2006, and it would be especially important for this team with so many key performers nursing injuries.
Pro Bowl right guard Marshal Yanda is dealing with rib and thigh injuries that will probably sideline him Sunday. Starting cornerback Cary Williams and reserve linebacker Dannell Ellerbe suffered concussions last week. Defensive end Cory Redding is expected to play Sunday despite a sore ankle that kept him out of last week's game. Kicker Billy Cundiff has been struggling with a left calf injury for nearly a month.
Wide receiver Anquan Boldin could use another week to come back from knee surgery, and veterans like Lewis and safety Ed Reed are dealing with their own injury issues.
