Peter - It appears that the Ravens are in a position to avenge each of their 4 losses this year if they can go on to win the Super Bowl (Cincinnati - done; Pittsburgh - done, but need to win the rubber match; NE - Pats must beat Jets; and Atlanta - Falcons must win the NFC championship). Has any team with 4 losses ever done this, and if so, who and when?

Finally, a dominant win.

The best part was that Flacco tucked the ball and ran, something that seems to have been missing all year.

On to Pittsburgh!

Funny,

But a dominant win means exactly NOTHING more than an ugly win.

One day, Baltimore fans will understand this.

Saints and Eagles fans would have loved to have won ugly this weekend.

Just getting the 'W' is a cliche.... yes. But it's true. I'll take an ugly, fluke, lousy offense, turnover ridden, bad play calling 'W' in Pittsburgh in the playoffs 100 out of 100 times.

I'll even take a W even if Preston gives every unit an F.

This team now has 13 W's.... What a great organization. Thanks Ravens!

wayne -

You're right that, in terms of moving on, a dominant win means exactly nothing more than an ugly win.

But, in terms of confidence going into Pittsburgh, aren't you glad the Ravens destroyed KC in the second half today? Or would you be just as confident had the Ravens squeaked out a 13-10 win, almost giving it up in the fourth quarter?

From Baltimore, living in Seattle - a great weekend of football-watching for me, my fantasy "can't lose" Super Bowl pipe dream still intact.
Now initially I thought it was terrible that the Hawks went in with a losing record while better teams went home. I hate that sort of thing in pro sports. But I feel a lot better about the Seahawks after Saturday's game, tho it'll be hard to get past the Bears (not dissimilar to Pittsburgh, come to think of it.) Perhaps my perspective is skewed by location - anyone else think the Hawks belong in the playoffs? In some essential sense of worthiness, I get that they belong according to the rules and that's all that matters.

On the ugly win vs dominant win thread - my two cents is that a game that is well fought but still has a good margin for the team I'm rooting for is the most satisfying. Altho' I have to say I didn't mind watching the Ravens pushing the Chiefs around for 3 quarters :)

nb,

I get your point, but I really don't think it matters.

One point win, 23 point win...... I believe every player on the team knows how hard it is to win in the NFL. In other words, I really believe their confidence comes from winning, in whatever form.

One could say that a tougher test for the Ravens would have been better going into Pitts. As it is, beating an inferior team likely won't mean anything more (confidence wise to Ray, Flacco, etc....)

Look at the impressive, confidence building wins Philly had this year. Meant nothing in the long run. The Eagles would have taken a fluke, tipped bar, immaculate reception type of win yesterday.

I just really believe it when the coaches and team say a 'win is a win'... I mean was Pitts win over Buffalo any less meaningful because the Bills receiver dropped that TD pass in overtime? Of course not. That W changed the course of these play offs..... and it was a fluke.... No matter though, because it was a Win.

I honestly don't believe Preston believes much of the stuff he types. Instead, he's just feeding a certain fan base who wants sensationalistic journalism....much like the writers in the New York Post and Dailey News.

Don't get me wrong, I loved being comfortable in the 4th qtr the other day. What a great feeling. WIns like that in the NFL have become very rare however, and shouldn't be counted on.

I guess senility really is setting in: I agree (mostly) with Wayne. A win is a win is a win. I seriously doubt that Ray Lewis could be more confident than he already is, but Flacco could, eh? So, a big win might make a difference to him. All that said, it'll be about the big bodies up front in the Pittsburgh game.

On Flacco and Ben:
They have been comparing the two since Flacco got in the league. Their size and being in the same league with similar style teams brings comparisons.
I think Flacco has gotten better at avoiding sacks and has always been pretty good about not giving the ball away. The better he becomes at scrambling, avoiding sacks and creating plays out of the pocket the more they will be compared.
Thankfully Flacco has gotten no comparisons with Ben off the field.

Mr. Schmuck,
As a follow up to my comment:
You could have brought up more interesting elements of this upcoming playoff game than "Flacco is similar to Ben -'No Really'"
Some readers of the Sun may live outside of the mid Atlantic, but even they know that Flacco gets compared to Ben.
Same as your column earlier this year about the rivalry between Baltimore and Pittsburgh being more than meets the eye, I believe that the Ben-Flacco comparisons are even more obvious than you claimed.
They play in the same division. They are good/great QB's. Their teams focus on defense but have quarterbacks who match the defense's toughness. The teams want strong armed, tall, sack avoiding QBs who are level headed and love footbal (who doesn't in FB at any level).
This stuff is obvious to anyone who pays attention, no, to anyone who even watches the AFC, even a little.
I know there is no way to predict who will win and what it will mean career wise. But I think the more interesting article could have been about how, despite all the hype of this game, even with a loss Ben is still an elite QB at least with the Steelers, but if Joe loses he could be damned to an eternity of "couldn't handle the big game."
This is a must win for the Ravens. A loss is a huge psychological trauma to these fans. The fans will always support, the players will always give their best, but a loss here is extremely detrimental to the Baltimore psyche.
I would say now that a painful loss on Saturday to that godforsaken Pburgh team will be one too many for these fans.
That being said, Joe is the better QB. Ravens win 24-17.

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Pete's reply: I know Joe has been compared to Ben because of his size and the rivalry, but my point was that he needs to actually play like him for the Ravens to win. He has not done very often and Harbaugh acknowledged it on Monday. That's why I went in that direction. You know, when you have a rivalry in a four-team division and you have five or six people covering the team, there are only going to be so many new and different angles on each matchup. Sorry that one didn't float your boat.

And you go and pick Pittsburgh this week......unbelievable.