The 12-game streak was a mirage

**Uli2001** · 01-14-2020, 05:14 PM

I believe the team overachieved and was not nearly as good as everyone thought it was. With this I am not trying to knock the team's accomplishments this season, which was indeed memorable (a 14-2 record and MVP year by LJ), but just trying to understand what happened in the divisional game.

Of the twelve games, half were against the Jets and the sorry AFC North. The other half included teams that we thought were good at the time, but which eventually proved to be mediocre: Patriots, LA Rams, Houston, and the Bills. The only quality opponents were Seahawks and San Francisco. I think the Ravens sneaked up on the Seahawks a little bit (this was near the beginning of the streak). San Francisco had to travel to the East Coast for a 1 pm game and the Ravens squeaked by them in a monsoon (they probably should have lost that game).

Once again, it's very impressive and hard to win 12 games in a row in the NFL, no matter what the competition is. And they had some blowouts in there too. They caught lightning in a bottle, but only faced two of the top teams in the NFL. From the four teams in the CGs, they did not face three in the regular season. The one team they beat was SF, in a game that they probably should have lost.

The team this year was good, but they were not great. They did not get good WR play and their defensive front 7 was very mediocre. Recall that they had to go to the "garbage heap" in mid-season to get two of their starting LBs.

This is what I am seeing and it explains how they could lose 26-12 to the #6 seed at home. As a fan, I hope they are aware of this and the need to improve in all areas, especially WRs and the defensive front seven, in the offseason. If they think everything is alright and the Titans game was a fluke, they will not do well next year.

**Shrubbs** · 01-14-2020, 05:16 PM

Nah. We were really good.

**Uli2001** · 01-14-2020, 05:18 PM

Originally Posted by Shrubbs

Nah. We were really good.

That is the kind of thinking that may cause the team to fall to Earth big time next season.

**Shrubbs** · 01-14-2020, 05:19 PM

Originally Posted by Uli2001

That is the kind of thinking that may cause the team to fall to Earth big time next season.

We're fans

**s.r.genovese** · 01-14-2020, 05:25 PM

The played the hardest schedule and won the most games. They were good during the season. They weren't good on Saturday.

**ninetysixer** · 01-14-2020, 05:27 PM

sometimes it is good to lose a game or two in December.....

**Bhcforlife** · 01-14-2020, 05:27 PM

Of all the bad takes on this board the last few days and to come, this will likely prove to be the worst.

You don’t go 14-2 against the schedule they had and it be a mirage or fluke.

**jamb17** · 01-14-2020, 05:54 PM

Stfu!

**pslholder96** · 01-14-2020, 05:57 PM

Man, Keith Mills on twitter said it best

"Amazing how 3 hours of bad football eclipsed 3 months of really good football".

The takes on here are getting stranger by the day. You will never convince me otherwise. This was a great team, who had a great season and picked the worst possible time to play their worst. End of story.

**saintmatthew** · 01-14-2020, 06:11 PM

They were great and earned that record. Did they blow their load too soon? Perhaps. Lot of young guys though laying the groundwork for the future. Lot of shit breaks on Sat and they let themselves get knocked off their game by that. I truly believe though the lack of real pash rush from front line guys would have gotten exposed before the end of everything anyway. Burrow probably in the div next year and Ben comes back too. Interested to see what happens next.

**Captain Offense** · 01-14-2020, 06:14 PM

Everyone is entitled to their opinion - just like everybody has a particular body part.

In the NFL, a twelve game winning streak is pretty impressive. And in the NFL, a team can be fundamentally good but have a hiccup at any time, for any number of reasons. I was concerned leading into the playoffs because they were doing so well. And sometimes, a team can get on a roll at the right time and shock the world.

I would never have guessed they would have a 14-2 record this year. Frankly, I had no idea what to expect. We had what we saw - good and bad.

**AQKingRaven** · 01-14-2020, 06:14 PM

Originally Posted by Uli2001

I believe the team overachieved and was not nearly as good as everyone thought it was. With this I am not trying to knock the team's accomplishments this season, which was indeed memorable (a 14-2 record and MVP year by LJ), but just trying to understand what happened in the divisional game.

Of the twelve games, half were against the Jets and the sorry AFC North. The other half included teams that we thought were good at the time, but which eventually proved to be mediocre: Patriots, LA Rams, Houston, and the Bills. The only quality opponents were Seahawks and San Francisco. I think the Ravens sneaked up on the Seahawks a little bit (this was near the beginning of the streak). San Francisco had to travel to the East Coast for a 1 pm game and the Ravens squeaked by them in a monsoon (they probably should have lost that game).

Once again, it's very impressive and hard to win 12 games in a row in the NFL, no matter what the competition is. And they had some blowouts in there too. They caught lightning in a bottle, but only faced two of the top teams in the NFL. From the four teams in the CGs, they did not face three in the regular season. The one team they beat was SF, in a game that they probably should have lost.

The team this year was good, but they were not great. They did not get good WR play and their defensive front 7 was very mediocre. Recall that they had to go to the "garbage heap" in mid-season to get two of their starting LBs.

This is what I am seeing and it explains how they could lose 26-12 to the #6 seed at home. As a fan, I hope they are aware of this and the need to improve in all areas, especially WRs and the defensive front seven, in the offseason. If they think everything is alright and the Titans game was a fluke, they will not do well next year.

12 game streak and mirage dont belong in the same sentence if we're talking an NFL season.