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Jamison Hensley, ESPN Staff Writer
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — As the Baltimore Ravens await who they will play in the AFC divisional round, their biggest adversary during the bye week is history.
Four years ago, Baltimore was the AFC’s No. 1 seed and was upset by the Tennessee Titans, 28-12, in its opening playoff game. For the nine players remaining from that 2019 team, including quarterback Lamar Jackson, that flop continues to hang over them as they enter the playoffs as the top seed in the conference for the first time since that disappointment.
“I’m still not completely over it, to be honest,” Ravens offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley said. “Those opportunities don’t come too often.
“Luckily, we have another chance this year, and we’re going to make sure that we don’t take it for granted.”
Since playoff seedings began in the NFL in 1975, there have been four instances of a No. 1 seed losing consecutive postseason openers, according to ESPN Stats & Information. It’s only happened twice since 2000: the Tennessee Titans (2000, 2008 and 2021) and the Dallas Cowboys (2007 and 2016).
Jackson is attempting to avoid becoming the first starting quarterback to lose consecutive opening playoff games as a No. 1 seed.
“[The] 2019 [season] is over with,” Jackson said. “We’re always talking about it. I always find myself talking about it, but it’s different. That 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 all around, we’re different.”
Jackson then added, “I strongly feel like this year it’ll be different.”
Over the past decade, the top-seeded teams are 16-4 (.800) in their first playoff games. The only teams to lose that opening game as the No. 1 seed are: the Cowboys (2016), Ravens (2019), Titans (2021) and Packers (2021).
In 2019, Baltimore entered the playoffs with the NFL’s best record at 14-2 and was a 10-point favorite over Tennessee in the divisional round. But after resting Jackson and a handful of starters in the regular season finale, the Ravens didn’t resemble the same dominant team in losing to the Titans.
“I remember we came out really, really slow in that Titans game,” Ravens nose tackle Michael Pierce said. “We got a good plan, and Coach [John] Harbaugh is on top of it. We’ll be working, and we definitely are mindful to what happened last.”
Just like 2019, Baltimore rested Jackson and a half-dozen starters in the final week of the regular season. Just like 2019, the Ravens will practice for three days during the bye.
The key, according to the players, is carrying a different attitude throughout the week.
“I do feel like 2019 definitely gave us a lot of insight into the things that we could have gotten better at using this time and being able to prepare,” Stanley said. “I would say, not be rigid about it, but be focused.
“I think that’s been our mindset all season. Harbs has been preaching about, stay loose, stay focused. I think that’s been really good for us. We’re just trying to stay away from being rigid and uptight.”
Baltimore (13-4) clinched the No. 1 seed in the AFC and the AFC North title in Week 17. Before losing their regular season finale to Pittsburgh, the Ravens had won six straight, 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 seed), Cleveland Browns (No. 5), Miami Dolphins (No. 6) or Steelers (No. 7). Baltimore will face the lowest remaining seed after this weekend’s wild-card round.
Until then, the Ravens players will continue to be asked about how they came up short in 2019.
“I don’t think it will get annoying,” Stanley said. “That’s stuff that is always in the back of our head, the guys that were there and experienced it.
“We know the feeling that stuck with us still to this point, and we don’t want to feel that again. We want to correct our loss.”
Source: www.espn.com