The Pittsburgh Steelers still maintain a lead in the AFC North and have two matchups against them, but Baltimore Ravens rookie linebacker Teddye Buchanan is confident that his team will win the division.
Appearing on ESPN Radio’s Unsportsmanlike Tuesday morning, Buchanan all but guaranteed the Ravens will win the AFC North, completing a comeback from 1-5 start to the season. To do that, the Ravens will have to leapfrog the Steelers, who sit at 5-4 and lead the division entering Week 11 against the Cincinnati Bengals.
“Absolutely, yeah. No question,” Buchanan said when asked if the Ravens will win the division, according to video via ESPN. “Because that’s what we’re gonna do. We have the team to do it.”
With star quarterback Lamar Jackson back after missing a few weeks due to a hamstring injury, the Ravens have won three straight games and are back on track. Baltimore blew out the Miami Dolphins in Week 9 on Thursday Night Football, and then went to Minnesota and defeated the Vikings, 27-19, in Week 10, pulling them closer to the top of the division, one game behind the Steelers.
Having games against the Steelers in Weeks 14 (at Pittsburgh) and 18 (home) is advantageous for the Ravens. Both of those games will have major implications within the division.
It’s not out of the realm of possibility that the Ravens enter those games with the division lead already in hand, too. The Steelers play the Bengals in Week 11, while the Ravens take on the Cleveland Browns. After that, the Steelers travel to Chicago to take on the Bears and then host the Buffalo Bills. Baltimore plays the New York Jets after Cleveland and then the Bengals.
So, the Ravens have the advantageous schedule in the next few weeks.
For Buchanan, who won the AFC Defensive Rookie of the Month for October and has recorded 38 tackles and half a sack this season, grading out at a 53.0 overall from Pro Football Focus in 455 defensive snaps, the struggles the Ravens went through early in the season has made them stronger.
“Quite honestly, we’ve been at the lowest of low. We were one and five. We felt kind of the whole world against us at one point,” Buchanan said. “But we kind of came outta that and we’re resurging as a new team, and I think just kind of that bye week, like I said, we had our backs against the wall and we still feel that. So we’re gonna continue to fight and continue to win.”
With Jackson back under center and a newfound confidence within the building, the Ravens are surging at the right time. It coincides with the Steelers riding a bit of a roller coaster in the middle part of the season, which has opened the door for the Ravens to get up off the mat and back into the fight.
There’s a lot of football left, including two key Steelers-Ravens clashes that will be must-watch football. This could be some bulletin board material from the rookie.
Recommended for you