Heading into the 2009 playoffs, the AFC wild card race had been the talk of the league for the past month. Eight teams had a shot at two wild card spots, most of them needing much help.

In week 16 of the regular season, the wildcard took an unexpected turn when the New York Jets put themselves in position of win and get in. After the controversial win over the previous undefeated Indianapolis Colts, followed by losses from the Ravens, Jaguars, Dolphins, and Broncos, New York sneaked into the playoffs in the final week of the season.

The final seed in the playoffs was obtained by the Baltimore Ravens, who showed signs of promise along with inconsistency.

With the victory over the Oakland Raiders, Baltimore for the second straight season, entered the playoffs as a sixth seed. During wildcard week, Jets head coach Rex Ryan brought up the possibility of a Rex Ryan bowl in the AFC Championship game between the Jets and Ravens, and according to him, “they would defeat the Ravens and move on to the Super Bowl”.

At first, the odds looked slim to none. Both teams would need to win out, which would include the top two seeds and arguably the best two teams in the league in the Colts and the Chargers.

However, after last week’s performances, we are a few days away from possibly seeing  these two teams facing off in the Meadowlands for the right at a title birth in Miami.

The New York Jets opened the postseason with a victory over the Cincinnati Bengals 24-14.

New York was mostly in control during the course of the game, but a few missed opportunities by Cincinnati made the path much easier for gang-green.

The Baltimore Ravens pulled off the playoff shocker by eliminating the New England Patriots 33-14. Baltimore was up 14-0 five minutes into the game, and they never lost the lead. A solid running game along with a good defensive performance by the purple and black did the job.

Both the Ravens and the Jets are both in similar situations, and use the same winning formula to advance in the playoffs: good running games, and shutdown defenses.

Even with these victories, the normal scenario is one would be lucky to see either of these teams advance, none the less, both.

However, history proves that while the Ravens and Jets have a shot, the Colts and Chargers have been on the other side of the equation.

The Colts currently are winless with Peyton Manning as quarterback when coming off the bye week. The clubhouse has answered this question multiple times, saying their practices have been one of the more intense ones all season.

But to say there will be no rust on this Colts roster is untrue, and with the surging Ravens coming into town, they need to get on the board pretty quickly.

The San Diego Chargers overall in the past five years have shown to quickly falter in the playoffs, even after the countless winning streaks to end the season. San Diego finished the regular season on an 11-game winning streak, and yet you still have to think of the doubts?

Why? Because it is the post season. The NFL playoffs has proved to be the most exciting system in sports. Finishing with one of the best records in the NFL does not guarantee you a shot in the title game anymore.

It has been a long time since a No. 1 seed has won the entire thing, and the closest team in recent years has been the 2008 New England Patriots, who faltered against the New York Giants in Arizona.

Overall, a Baltimore Ravens-New York Jets AFC Championship would be a one-way publicity stunt, especially in the New York papers.

I would say without a doubt the Ravens playing against the Jets is what the people want to see, and in these NFL playoffs, this possibility is more then hope.

In fact, in a just a few short days, we could be seeing reality on our hands, by watching two of the elite clash in the closing of one of the more older stadiums in football.

Matt Miselis is an NFL writer for fanhuddle.com.

Two players that are key to the Ravens playoffs hopes alive, Ray Rice and Dominique Foxworth, are taking a bigger role in crunch time. Foxworth, the starting cornerback, and Ray Rice, the starting Pro-Bowl running back. Both of them have been called on to step their game up and they are answering.

Foxworth was among one of the most criticized members of the much scorned Ravens secondary. Although they currently ranked 6th in the league, they fell as low as 23rd in the beginning of the season. They gave up big plays left and right, especially in San Diego and Minnesota.

Foxworth, along with the rest of the banged up secondary have improved (except Frank Walker). Foxworth finished the season with four interceptions, tied with Dawan Landry for team leading. He also ties for 15th in the league in pass deflections in 20.

He has more pass deflectiosn than Vontae Davis, Champ Bailey, and Ike Taylor. Three of his interceptions came over a two game stretch. Two against Chicago, and one against Pittsburgh, the pick in Pittsburgh would have been a touchdown had the runback not been hampered by a block in the back.

Ray Rice has been voted to his first Pro-Bowl in the second year of his career. He has 1,339 yards this season with seven touchdowns. He had been a solid starter in the first half of the season, but it wasn’t until the last couple game where he exploded.

Against the Lions, he tore the field up, running for 166 yards and a touchdown, a 59 yard touchdown. He then snapped the Pittsburgh Steelers 33 game streak without allowing a 100 yard rusher, with 141 yards, but no touchdowns.

While the stats aren’t great, the timing is perfect. These are the games where players need to step their game up. In the big picture, the games late in the season are the ones that count, not in the beginning. Teams that start off hot then fizzle off never go far in the postseason or even make the postseason, and it starts with the players.

Most importantly, I wanted to see if the coaches and players that made up two-thirds of the voting put Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice on the roster. After all, being the biggest target on the Ravens offense has as much to do with the Ravens having their postseason chances still a possibility.

Ray Rice, Chris Johnson, and Maurice Jones-Drew were nominated for the AFC running backs. One back who feels was left out in the cold was Cincinnati Bengal Cedric Benson, who had a career year and led his team to a division crown.

There was some speculation that Rice wouldn’t get in, and would have been replaced by the likes of Benson. However, his stats alone show why he is deserving.

Through 15 games, Rice is second to Chris Johnson in all-purpose yards with 1,952, with eight total touchdowns. Rice’s play in the beginning of the year has earned himself as the most targeted player on the Ravens offense.

While on the ground, he has put up 1,269 yards, which includes 141 yards on the Pittsburgh Steelers, which snapped the streak of the longest amount of games without a 100-yard rusher.

Rice is also a vertical threat on the receiving end. He leads the Ravens in receptions with 74 and is second behind Mason in yards with 683.

Though defenses have much film on Rice’s play-making ability, he still finds a way to get in the open field and break tackles.

He may be the smallest player on the field, currently at 5′8″, 210 pounds. However, he is not affected by that at all.

Rice has proved in the 2009 season he is the Ravens most valuable player this season, making a difference in Baltimore this season.

Pro Bowl type players execute when they are needed most, and Rice has continued to do this all season long.

So before you say Ray Rice is not deserving of a Pro Bowl selection, look at his body of work this season, as his stats will do the talking for him.

Matt Miselis is a Baltimore Ravens writer for FanHuddle.com.

Lardarius Webb, CB/KR #21

Webb was the Ravens third round draft pick out of Nicholls State. Lardarius first came onto the scene in special teams. It started as a coverage man, then as Chris Carr showed no progression as a kick returner, Webb was thrown into the return business.

His first return was a 43 yard return, which set the tone. Two weeks later against Denver, he scored on a 95 yard kick return to open the second half. He averaged 27 yards even on kick returns with a total of 918 yeards coming into the week 15 game against Chicago.

As the replacement for Fabian Washington, Webb recorded 13 tackles, one sack, and three pass deflections. Unfortunately, Webb tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee against Chicago and will miss the remainder of the season.

Demetrius Williams, WR #87

Williams was the Ravens 4th round draft pick in 2006, out of Oregon. He has 62 career catches for 999 yards and 4 touchdowns. His role in games has dipped since 2006 and 2007, catching four passes last year, one of them for a 77 yard touchdown.

This year, he has stepped up when Joe Flacco needed him. His hands has looked like they are made of glue as he
has made two spectacular catches this season. The first was a 34 yard grab against Detroit, the second was a 32 yard touchdown against Chicago. The first catch was in the thick of triple coverage. The second was in double coverage so tight it drew a pass interference call on the defense, but he still made the catch.

Dannell Ellerbe, LB #59

Ellerbe was signed by the Ravens as an undrafted rookie free agent. Ellerbe saw very little action in preseason, so it came as a surprise to some people. As injuries struck the Ravens defense, Ellerbe saw more action on defense than special teams.

He quickly made his reputation as a big hitter more than anything else, but still made an impact in run stopping and pass rushing.

Marshall Yanda, OL #73

When Jared Gaither was sidelined with a neck injury Michael Oher took his spot at LT. Marshall Yanda took Oher’s place at RT. When Gaither was sidelined again, Yanda took Oher’s place again, as Oher replaced Gaither. Against Detroit, the offensive line gave up no sacks, and helped Ray Rice run for a career high 166 yards and a 59 yard touchdown.

Against Chicago, the Ravens rushed for 127 yards total, 87 for Rice, and only gave up one sack to the Bears.

David Tryee, WR/ST #17

It was tough to put Tyree here considering his Super Bowl heroics, but before that fateful day, Tyree was a Pro-Bowl special teamer. After the Super Bowl, Tyree faded into the midsts of the forgotten, after being placed on IR in 2008. He was cut by the Giants in August.

After special teams ace Brendon Ayanbendejo was placed on IR with a torn abdominal muscle, the Ravens signed Tyree. Tyree has one fumble recovery, and 12 special teams tackles in 6 games.

Paul Kruger, DE/LB #99

Despite being a very acclaimed lineman from Utah, Kruger was inactive for eight of the Raven’s 14 games. He came up big against the Raven’s archrivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers. In OT Kruger intercepted a pass from QB Dennis Dixon and returned it to the Raven’s 35 yard line, helping to set up the game winning field goal.

The AFC Wild-Card race is one of the thickest in recent years. No teams is going to squeek into the playoffs at 9-7 this year. That rules the defending champion Steelers out. The Ravens, Jaguars, and Broncos are the three teams that stand the best chance. Technically, Miami and New York have a shot at the postseason, but it would have to take all three of the aforementioned teams to lose out.

If the season were to end now, Denver and Jacksonville would be the wild-card spots. This may not be the case after week 16. The Broncos will need to lose two games to fall-out, lose one game and go to a tiebreaker with Baltimore if they win out.

It’s safe to say that bar any disaster Denver has the number 5 seed sewn up. Jacksonville has a tough schedule ahead of them and could quite possibly lose two or more games. Baltimore has one more game with archrival Pittsburgh, but the way they are playing, Baltimore could beat them. The Ravens play a struggling Chicago team and a savior-less Raiders team.

But enough with the predictions, the past is what is important here. The Ravens and the others have been able to blow-out teams, some of them good teams, some of them perennial victims. But they have all been blown out, some score-wise, other statistically.

The Ravens blew out the poster-child of perennial victim, the Detroit Lions, (48-3). The Ravens set franchise records with 548 total offense, and five rushing touchdowns. The Ravens put up 501 yards in a (38-24) statistical blowout against the Chiefs on opening day. Two weeks later they put the hurt on Cleveland 34-3, forcing four interceptions.

They also topped archrival Pittsburgh(20-17), and San Diego (31-26).

They made a statement win over the previously undefeated Denver Broncos, 30-7. But it was the three losses previously that would set the tone for the rest of the season. A dropped pass in New England (21-17), a last second drive against Cincy (17-14), and a missed field goal at Minnesota (31-33) set the tone for the second half of the season.

It certainly doesn’t help that the Ravens laid an egg in Cincinnati (17-7) and Green Bay (27-14). Both of those the Ravens defense failed to show up until the second half, and Joe Flacco played terribly, throwing one touchdown and five interceptions in those two games.

Ray Rice has topped the 1,000 yard rushing mark for the first time in his career (1,041), and has seven rushing touchdowns and one receiving touchdown. Eight total, which is eight more than he had all 2008. Rice was able to put up 100 yard games three times (108, 103, 166). He has also been held under 50 yards three times (36, 47, 48)

Derrick Mason leads the team in receiving yards with 841. He surpassed the 800 career receptions mark earlier this year. He has two 100 yard performances (118, 142), but has also been shut out completely in one game and caught for only 13 yards against Green Bay. He has six of Joe Flacco’s 15 touchdowns.

Perhaps the most inconsistent part of the team is the defense. Although still top-10 they have regressed from last years. They are ranked 8th in rushing defense, 14th in pass defense, and 10th overall. They have given up 24 plus points five times, (24, 26, 27, 33, 27). They gave up 24 points to the 30th ranked offense of the Kansas City Chiefs.

Phillip Rivers threw for 420 yards against the Ravens in week 2. They allowed 516 yards of total offense and an 81 yard catch and run touchdown meant to only go for 10-11 yards in that game.

The Ravens look to be the top contender for the number six seed in the AFC playoffs. Jacksonville and Miami have brutal schedules. The Jets aren’t good enough, and the the Broncos have the number five seed.

 The Baltimore Ravens continued their push to to the post-season with the hounding 48-7 defeat of the lowly Detroit Lions.

 It was an overall good effort from all the sides of the ball for the desperate team.  The Ravens offense, which had hit a wall after facing three of the top defenses consecutively, expolded for 548 yards of total offense.

 The success was led by Ray Rice, who had 209 yards of total offense before being taken out early in the second half. The running game did not stop there however, with four total touchdowns on the ground: two by Rice, one by McGahee and Leron McClain.

 The successful running game opened up the pass attack for Joe Flacco, who had a quite easy day under center. Flacco may have only had one touchdown pass, but it came on a 61 yard catch and run by receiver Derrick Mason.

 On the defensive side, the group came to play. Even though they missed All Pro safety Ed Reed for the second striaght game, they managed to pull off three interceptions on Dante Culpepper.

 Ray Lewis and rookie corner Lardarius Webb led the defense in tackles. On a side note, Terrell Suggs made his return after missing four games with a torn ligament in his knee.

 In his comeback, Suggs did show good signs of mobility, and hopefully removed the rust from his game against the Lions offense.

 As you take a glance at the AFC wild card race, the Ravens are poised to make a run into January. If they win their final three games of the regular season ( Chicago, @ Pittsburgh,@Oakland), they shall most likely enter as one of the final playoff teams.

 However, their is a four-team tie for the final wild card spot, so it will go down to the final week of the season. The Baltimore Ravens are overall the most balanced team out of the contenders, and are the biggest threat of a wild card team in the playoffs, coming up short against a few of the top teams ( Indianapolis, Cincinnati, New England).

 The final three weeks will be a roller coaster ride for the Baltimore Ravens, as they try to accomplish a new goal in their 13 year history: make the playoffs back-to-back years.

Matt Miselis is a Baltimore Ravens writer for FanHuddle.com.

The Bengals were stunned by the new starter Bruce Gradowski and the Raiders, on a last minute turnover and the subsequent field goal. The final score was 20-17. Carson Palmer and the Bengals won the game statistically but the final score.

The Browns were outscored 38-37 by the Lions, led by Matthew Stafford’s five touchdowns. He threw for an astonishing 422 yards, including a 75 yard strike to Calvin Johnson and a touchdown to Brandon Pettigrew with no time left.

The Browns scored 37 points in their best game since…… 2007? Brady Quinn threw for 4 touchdowns and 300 yards, but they fell short in crunch time. Maligned coach Eric Mangini also made a questionable timeout at the end, giving time for Stafford to come back in the game

The Steelers were shocked 27-24 in OT against the Chiefs, who came out of nowhere to tie the game up. The Steelers dominated the stat sheet, but gave up crucial plays at the wrong time.

The Steelers gave up a 60 yard catch and run that was only intended for 10 yards at most, showing how important Troy Polamalu’s presence is, and how he missed while he is out.

Worse news, was a head injury to quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. He has told teammates he is fine and will play against Batlimore, but it is not his decision. He may actually not be ready, and even if he is, his fate may be sealed.

A new policy issued by the NFL states that concussed players must consult a neurologist independent from the Steelers organization.

Another part of the policy is that a player must be symptom free for seven days. It’s Monday, and his status isn’t even clear yet. Second stringer Charlie Batch was also injured and he will be sidelined for about a month.

The Ravens fell 17-15 to Indianapolis and Peyton “The Sheriff” Manning. And yes, I called him that before John Gruden got a gig on MNF. Great minds think alike.

All points aside, the defense of the Ravens managed to buckle down and prevent the most electrifying pass offense from scoring more than one touchdown through the air. The run defense was able to limit one touchdown for Joseph Addai, who has been inconsistent recently, but has had his days.

For the secondary and the defense that had gathered so much criticism before the bye week, it has been great to see them step up.

They have been stopping the run, stopping the pass, limiting the endzone to a privileged few, and have been forcing turnovers. They have only given up 41 points in four games and shut-out an opponent for the first time since 2006.

The problem has been scoring, not total offense. The Ravens can move the ball down field at will, but can’t score at all, nor can they move the ball in the redzone. The Colts limited the Ravens to five field goals, and forced two crucial turnovers to win the game.

The Ravens have gone from hot offense and average defense to good defense and average offense. The tables have turned, and the Ravens aren’t looking too good that way. They may be 2-2 after the bye and 3-3 before, but the offense has scored very few points since the win against Denver.

Balance is the best way to win, and the Ravens have struggled with balance all year, and have to correct it down the stretch, if they want to play in the postseason.

In the 16-0 win over the Cleveland Browns  Monday night, the Baltimore Ravens knew what the team needs to improve on if they want to make the playoffs this season.

One of the moves the front office decided to make was to find a new answer at the kicker position, which has begun just a few hours ago.

The Baltimore Ravens released Steve Hauschka after his struggles throughout the season of missing clutch field goals, along with the miscues last night.

Hauschka missed a 36 yard field goal, and had an extra point blocked. The team did not bring back veteran Matt Stover this season after failing to hit the long range field goals.

The search is on in Baltimore, with the team having a few kickers try out and earn the starting role.

The Ravens return home to face the undefeated Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.

It took the Ravens 29 minutes and 58 seconds to put points on the board against Minnesota, and went into half-time down 14-3. The Ravens were able to put up seven points in the third quarter, but also gave up two field goals, putting them behind 20-10.

In the fourth quarter they exploded offensively, scoring 21 points, including two touchdowns in the course of 56 seconds of possesion. But it was too little, too late, as the Vikings hung on gto win 33-31. The Ravens also gave up touchdowns on the Vikings first two possesions of the game, and couldn’t get past their own 50 yard line until late in the second quarter.

It was even worse in the Bengals game, offensively. The defense gave up 17 straight points on three straight drives, but shut out the Bengals for three and a half quarters. The offense couldn’t find the endzone until the fourth quarter, and converted 0 of 8 third downs in the first three quarters. They didn’t convert early on, and the put them too far behind to come back.

The Ravens can’t overlook the Browns. If they fail to produce the first part of the game, then they could be upset on Monday Night Football. But judging by the anger of the Browns fan base, no one will be there to see it.

It’s hard to tell. The once vaunted defense has been mediocre at best, and has failed to live up to the expectations that were set this year. That appeared to have changed last Sunday, when the defense ruled the day against the Broncos. They brought the physicality that had been so prevalent this past decade.

Whatr changed though? Was it the desperation of the moment, the neccesity of the win? No. It wasn’t mental, it was fundamental. Greg Mattison and the defense made some simple changes that went a long way.

The defense played primarily out of the 3-4 scheme they had played while coached by Rex Ryan before his departure to coach the New York Jets. It showed as the defense was able to shut down the Broncos offense. They held the 9th ranked offense to just over 200 yards, the lowest of any team the Ravens have faced, with the sole exception of the lowly Browns.

The rush defense allowed just 66 yards on the ground. Rookie Knowshon Moreno led the Broncos with all of 39 yards with a 3.6 average. Moreno’s lone touchdown was a one yard push after several pass interference calls. Correll Buckhalter came in leading the league in average yards per carry with 6.07. He averaged just two yards a carry.

Another thing was more blitzing. They weren’t the crazy Rex Ryan blitzes but they were able to put enough pressure for Kyle Orton to throw short quick passes for small gains. He was sacked three times, and was hurried well over ten times.

He could only muster 154 yards passing, and no touchdowns, with no picks either. However, it would have definitley be two picks, had Terrell Suggs and Jarret Johnson not dropped balls thrown right into their hands. Domonique Foxworth could have had a pick as well, but it would have been tough.

Speaking of Foxworth, another big change was more physical play from the secondary. Instead of waiting for the reciever to catch the ball and tackle him, the cornerbacks were more physical and tried to break up the pass. They also took advantage of the five yards of contact allowed as well.

Simple changes can go a long way. The defense that allowed 400 yards of offense in six of their seven games, and one of the games allowed 500 yards, held the ninth ranked offense to around 200 yards. Imagine what they can do against the 13th ranked offense. If they can prove they are not a fluke, then a real “Ravens defens” paired with the AFC’s highest scoring offense, ranked 7th in the league, is a scary thought.