Beginning with the NFL’s season-opening game taking place in Denver on Sept. 5, the defending Super Bowl champion Ravens will be featured in four nationally-televised prime-time games during the 2013 regular season.

For the second time in three years, Baltimore will host a night game on Thanksgiving as the Pittsburgh Steelers come to town for a prime-time meeting. The Ravens will also travel to Detroit on Dec. 16 to take on the Lions in their only Monday night appearance of the season.

In a rematch of last season’s AFC Championship, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots will visit Baltimore for NBC’s Sunday Night Football in Week 16. It’s the second straight year the teams have met on a Sunday night.

Based on last season’s records (137-119, .535), the Ravens will deal with the NFL’s fifth-toughest schedule in 2013. They’ll play seven games – including three of their final four – against 2012 playoff teams as they attempt to advance to the postseason for a league-best sixth consecutive season.

In addition to their home opener against the Cleveland Browns in Week 2 when they’re expected to unveil their Super Bowl XLVII championship banner, a highlight of the home schedule takes place the following week when former Ravens safety Ed Reed and the Houston Texans visit on Sept. 22. This year will mark the fourth straight season in which the teams have met, which doesn’t include the Ravens’ divisional-round victory over Houston two seasons ago.

Baltimore will play three straight home games in Weeks 12 through 14 before finishing off the regular-season schedule with two of three games on the road.

2013 SCHEDULE

Thursday, Sept. 5 at Denver Broncos - 8:30 p.m. (NBC)
Skinny: Baltimore is upset that it’s not hosting the league’s season-opening game as the Super Bowl champion, but NBC is licking its chops to feature Peyton Manning and a rematch of last year’s divisional-round thriller.

Sunday, Sept. 15 vs. Cleveland Browns – 1:00 p.m. (CBS)
Skinny: The Browns haven’t beaten Baltimore during the John Harbaugh era and the Ravens will unveil their Super Bowl banner on this date, so it’s tough to like Cleveland’s chances in this one.

Sunday, Sept. 22 vs. Houston Texans – 1:00 p.m. (CBS)
Skinny: It will be surreal to see future Hall of Fame safety Ed Reed wearing a different jersey in Baltimore, and the reaction he receives will be even more intriguing.

Sunday, Sept. 29 at Buffalo Bills – 1:00 p.m. (CBS)
Skinny: Buffalo hopes new head coach Doug Marrone pumps new life into the organization, but the Ravens are just happy to avoid a late-season trip to western New York.

Sunday, Oct. 6 at Miami Dolphins – 1:00 p.m. (CBS)
Skinny: Despite having much more success than the Dolphins since the Ravens came to be in 1996, Miami holds a 3-5 record in the regular season, but Baltimore has the 2-0 edge in postseason meetings.

Sunday, Oct. 13 vs. Green Bay Packers – 1:00 p.m. (FOX)
Skinny: Aaron Rodgers will visit Baltimore for the first time as the Packers starting quarterback after serving as Brett Favre’s backup in the 48-3 drubbing the Ravens handed Green Bay in their only meeting in Baltimore back in 2005.

Sunday, Oct. 20 at Pittsburgh Steelers – 4:25 p.m. (CBS)
Skinny: Baltimore owns a three-game winning streak in the regular season at Heinz Field as the best rivalry in the NFL is renewed in late October.

Sunday, Oct. 27 BYE WEEK

Sunday, Nov. 3 at Cleveland Browns – 4:25 p.m. (CBS)
Skinny: The Ravens travel to Cleveland immediately following their bye week for the second straight year, which doesn’t bode well for the Browns considering Baltimore is 5-0 coming off the bye week in the Harbaugh era.

Sunday, Nov. 10 vs. Cincinnati Bengals – 1:00 p.m. (CBS)
Skinny: The Bengals snapped a four-game losing streak against Baltimore in last year’s regular-season finale, a game the Ravens treated like a preseason contest as they rested numerous starters.

*Sunday, Nov. 17 at Chicago Bears – 1:00 p.m. (CBS)
Skinny: A Ravens defense without Ray Lewis and a Chicago defense lacking Brian Urlacher in the middle just seems strange as these teams meet for the fifth time ever, with the series tied 2-2.

*Sunday, Nov. 24 vs. New York Jets – 1:00 p.m. (CBS)
Skinny: With the mess that’s existed in New York over the last two years, you wonder if Rex Ryan will even make it this deep into the 2013 season.

Thursday, Nov. 28 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers – 8:30 p.m. (NBC)
Skinny: Neither team will be thrilled to play such a physical game on a a short week, but the Steelers will do it after a Sunday game in Cleveland, making their task as a Thursday night road team even more daunting.

*Sunday, Dec. 8 vs. Minnesota Vikings – 1:00 p.m. (FOX)
Skinny: The Ravens have spent plenty of time revamping their front seven and Adrian Peterson will provide as good of a test as any to see how the run defense stacks up.

Monday, Dec. 16 at Detroit Lions – 8:40 p.m. (ESPN)
Skinny: The last time the Ravens visited Detroit was in 2005 when they committed a franchise-worst 21 penalties and Terrell Suggs was ejected in the process.

*Sunday, Dec. 22 vs. New England Patriots – 8:30 p.m. (NBC)
Skinny: Plenty of time will have passed by the time these rivals meet in Week 16, but New England will have a difficult time forgetting the psychological and physical beating the Ravens handed them in the second half of January’s AFC Championship.

*Sunday, Dec. 29 at Cincinnati Bengals – 1:00 p.m. (CBS)
Skinny: Given the projected shape of the 2013 AFC North, this season finale could very well have the division crown hanging in the balance.

*** Games marked with an asterisk are subject to the league’s flexible scheduling over the final seven weeks of the regular season.

The best rivalry in the NFL has taken some hits over the last couple years due to retirements and anticipated free-agent departures, but a piece of news on Tuesday could breathe instant life into showdowns between the Ravens and Steelers.

A source told WNST.net that the Ravens have reached out to former Steelers linebacker James Harrison and the organization is apparently interested in acquiring the services of the 2008 NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Harrison was released last weekend after the Steelers and agent Bill Parise were unable to come to terms on a renegotiation. The 34-year-old was scheduled to make $6.57 million this year and was previously signed through the 2014 season.

Originally signed by Pittsburgh as a rookie free agent in 2002, Harrison spent some time with the Ravens organization — and was allocated to NFL Europe — before he was re-signed by the Steelers and eventually exploded onto the scene by becoming a starter in 2007. After making five straight Pro Bowls and accumulating 54 sacks from 2007 through 2011, Harrison was limited to just six sacks in 13 games last season.

For the right price, Harrison could be a good short-term fit to fill the situational pass rusher role previously held by Paul Kruger, who signed a $41 million contract with the Cleveland Browns on Tuesday. However, it’s fair to wonder how much production Harrison has left in the tank with his 35th birthday coming up in May.

Another name to keep an eye on is St. Louis Rams free-agent wide receiver Danny Amendola, who has reportedly drawn some interest from the Ravens in light of the trade of Anquan Boldin to the San Francisco 49ers on Monday. However, there has been some conflicting information as CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora reported Wednesday morning that the Ravens haven’t shown interest in the wideout.

The 5-foot-11 slot receiver made 63 receptions for 666 yards and three touchdowns in 11 games as Sam Bradford’s primary target in 2012.

Amendola was an undrafted free agent from Texas Tech in 2008 but eventually found a niche with the St. Louis Rams. Injuries have been a concern for the 27-year-old Amendola over the last two seasons as a broken arm cost him nearly the entire 2011 season and suffered a dislocated clavicle last season.

No one should confuse his ability in the slot with the physical approach of Boldin over the last three seasons, but Amendola could be a nice fit as a part of the equation to replace Boldin’s production in the Baltimore offense.

According to a Pro Football Talk report, Amendola is planning to visit two teams in free agency, but those teams have yet to be disclosed.

I’m amazed by how many people I had to explain it to Sunday night. I honestly had to give up after a little while.

The stupidity of the statement “I’d rather the Baltimore Ravens be the four seed because the path looks easier to me” is unbelievable.

I was impressed by a number of things I saw from the Baltimore Ravens Sunday (weren’t we all?), but one that probably went unnoticed by many was how head coach John Harbaugh addressed the question of how the team would handle next week’s game.

“The thing we’re going to do for sure is we’re going to try to win the game” Harbaugh explained. “We’re also going to try to make sure we’re as healthy as we can be going into the playoffs so I think we’ll merge those two considerations.”

Bingo. The Baltimore Ravens absolutely MUST try to win their Week 17 date with the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium.

By virtue of their 33-14 win over the New York Giants Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium, the Ravens clinched the AFC North title and a home playoff game. They are guaranteed to play on Wild Card weekend of the NFL Playoffs, but they are not yet locked into the four seed. The Ravens could still clinch the three seed in the AFC Playoffs with a win over the Bengals and a New England Patriots loss to the Miami Dolphins.

The difference in the third seed and fourth seed isn’t necessarily significant, but it has the potential to be. Getting the third seed could be the difference in whether the Ravens are able to host the AFC Championship Game.

It seems like an unlikely scenario, but it’s not impossible. Should the Ravens and Patriots end up as the third and fourth seeds but each win their first two playoff games, they would meet in the AFC title game. If the Pats are the three seed and the Ravens the four, the Pats would host the game at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough. I vaguely remember such a game happening there before.

But if the Ravens were to finish as the three seed and the Patriots the fourth seed, the game would then be played in the friendly confines of M&T Bank Stadium, the place where the Baltimore Ravens have won 15 of their last 17 games (including playoffs).

Which scenario would you prefer?

I got this question Sunday night. “This seems so unlikely. When was the last time something like this even happened?”

The person who asked was right. It IS an unlikely scenario. But if the Ravens are to return to the AFC Championship Game at all, they will HAVE to knock off one of the top two seeds. The Pats would then only need to win a game either in Houston or Denver, neither of which seems like an impossible scenario.

And if you’ll allow your memory to serve you right, you’ll be reminded that the Ravens were a second half collapse away from having this scenario play out in January 2011. The New York Jets stunned the Patriots in Foxborough, so had the Ravens avoided blowing a fourteen point halftime lead to the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field, they would have hosted the AFC Championship Game as a five seed.

Some people argued to me “Glenn, I think the road is easier as a four seed because I’d rather play Indianapolis and Houston than Cincinnati and Denver.”

I have absolutely no idea why there is a sudden fear of the Cincinnati Bengals amongst Ravens fans. The difference between the Bengals and Colts is minimal at best. Bengals QB Andy Dalton has thrown for three touchdowns and five interceptions over the course of the last three weeks, is 0-3 in his career against the Ravens and thus far in his NFL career has not defeated a team that has clinched a postseason berth (although that could change next week if the Washington Redskins or New York Giants get in).

The Houston argument is more compelling. Despite the fact that the Ravens suffered a 43-13 shellacking earlier this season in Houston, it’s easy to understand why fans would believe that task more likely to be accomplished than a Ravens win in Denver. What’s forgotten in this scenario is that the Texans have not yet clinched the top seed in the AFC. They will need to do something they’ve never done in franchise history-win in Indianapolis-next Sunday in order to nail down the top spot, and RB Arian Foster’s availability could be an issue after he left Sunday’s loss to the Minnesota Vikings with an irregular heartbeat.

Should the Texans lose (as well as the Patriots) and the Broncos win, the Broncos would be the one seed and the Texans would be the two seed. Which scenario is better for the Ravens at that point?

The NFL did the Ravens no favors in scheduling, as their tilt with the Bengals will kick off at 1pm Sunday, while the Patriots won’t kick off until some three hours later. The Ravens will not have the benefit of knowing what the Patriots are doing to decide if there’s a point where they want to pull their starters.

Instead, they’ll simply have to channel former NFL coach Herm Edwards and “play to win the game.”

That doesn’t mean they should go crazy.

The Ravens are smart enough to know that the Patriots are unlikely to lose to the Dolphins and will most likely open the postseason by hosting the Colts in a playoff game for the second time in franchise history. That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t try.

As Harbaugh said, merging the two considerations is very plausible.

It would make total sense for the Ravens to consider giving oft-injured DT Haloti Ngata another week off (he rested for the team’s blowout win over the Oakland Raiders in November) and even LB Terrell Suggs (who has played the last two weeks after suffering a torn biceps tendon) the day off. Harbaugh also confirmed LB Ray Lewis wouldn’t be a consideration to return from Injured Reserve until the postseason. It wouldn’t be stunning to see S Bernard Pollard miss a third straight game either, and if WR Anquan Boldin’s shoulder is of significant concern it would be understandable to see him miss the finale as well.

But there is absolutely no reason for the Ravens to spend Sunday’s game with Tyrod Taylor handing the ball off to Anthony Allen all afternoon while Joe Flacco and Ray Rice watch in sweats. It’s one thing to be prudent. It’s quite another to just plain give up.

With something to play for still, there’s no reason the Ravens should do the latter. Judging by John Harbaugh’s comments, I’ll assume they won’t.

-G

Sunday marks the Ravens’ final regular-season contest of the year at M&T Bank Stadium, and they’ll be going out in style as they wear their black jerseys against the New York Giants.

The Ravens announced Wednesday they will wear their alternate tops for the second time this season as they try to snap a three-game losing streak and lock up their second consecutive AFC North title. Baltimore wore the black jerseys in Week 13 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, a game in which the Ravens lost 23-20 on a Shaun Suisham field goal as time expired.

Sporting a 9-3 all-time record wearing their alternate jerseys, the Ravens have yet to decide their pants color for Sunday’s game.

Teams are only permitted to wear their alternate or throwback jerseys twice per season and are prohibited from wearing them in the postseason.

BALTIMORE — Only a few hours after suffering their worst home defeat in over five years, the Ravens officially received their ticket to their fifth straight trip to the playoffs after the Pittsburgh Steelers fell in Dallas.

The Ravens failed to clinch the AFC North title after suffering a humbling 34-17 defeat to the Denver Broncos, but the Cowboys’ overtime win over Pittsburgh officially sent Baltimore to a league-best fifth consecutive postseason appearance. Still one game ahead of the Bengals in the division race, the Ravens can take care of business themselves against the New York Giants in Baltimore with a win next Sunday to secure the AFC North crown.

Clinching the AFC North next week will not be possible if the Ravens lose to the Giants, regardless of what happens in the Week 16 Steelers-Bengals game. A Cincinnati win would set up a Week 17 showdown with the Ravens in which the winner takes the division. A Steelers win over the Bengals would set up a potential scenario in which the three AFC North teams could all finish the season with 9-7 records if Cincinnati would beat Baltimore and Pittsburgh would beat Cleveland in Week 17. This would result in Pittsburgh winning the three-way head-to-head tiebreaker to take the division.

Of course, the Ravens would cure all headaches by beating the Giants and putting all these tiebreaker scenarios to rest.

Regardless of how the next two weeks play out, Baltimore is the only team in the league to win a playoff game in each of the last four seasons, and the Ravens will have a chance to do it once again this January.

Picking up the pieces from a difficult 31-28 overtime loss to the Redskins and the subsequent firing of offensive coordinator Cam Cameron on Monday, the Ravens still have a clear path to the postseason entering Week 15.

Baltimore has done everything but mathematically clinch a trip to the postseason for the fifth straight year. Only one Powerball-like scenario exists in which the Ravens would miss the postseason that involves the Ravens losing their last three games, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati both winning in Weeks 15 and 17, and those two playing to a tie in their Week 16 meeting.

The Ravens can clinch their second straight AFC North division title with a win over the Denver Broncos or losses by both the Steelers and the Bengals this week. Another extremely unlikely scenario exists in which the Raven could secure the division crown with a tie , a Pittsburgh loss or tie, and a Cincinnati loss or tie.

Beating Peyton Manning and the red-hot Broncos won’t be an easy chore, but the Ravens will at least have their ticket for the postseason officially punched by way of a tie with Denver, a Cincinnati loss or tie, or a Pittsburgh loss or tie.

The Bengals travel to Philadelphia Thursday night to take on the struggling Eagles, who just secured their first win since the end of September this past week.

Trying to rebound from an embarrassing home loss to the San Diego Chargers, Pittsburgh will travel to Arlington, Texas to take on the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday afternoon.

Of course, Baltimore must defeat Denver to maintain any legitimate chance of securing the No. 2 seed in the AFC, because it would give them a potential head-to-head tiebreaker over the Broncos and New England. The Ravens currently trail both teams by one game in the race for the second spot in the conference as we enter Week 15.

Below is the entire Week 15 breakdown for the Ravens’ postseason hopes:

Baltimore can clinch the AFC North with:

1. BAL win OR

2. BAL tie + PIT tie or loss + CIN tie or loss OR

3. PIT loss and CIN loss

Baltimore can clinch a postseason berth with:

1. BAL tie OR

2. CIN tie or loss OR

3. PIT tie or loss

Following every Baltimore Ravens game this season, Ryan Chell and I will take to the airwaves Tuesdays on “The Reality Check” on AM1570 WNST.net with a segment known as “The Five Plays That Determined The Game.”

It’s a simple concept. We’ll select five plays from each game that determined the outcome. These five plays will best represent why the Ravens won or lost each game.

This will be our final analysis of the previous game before switching gears towards the next game on the schedule.

Here are the five plays that determined the Ravens’ 23-20 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium…

(Note: not all pictures are always of actual play)

Glenn Clark’s Plays…

5. Joe Flacco pass intended for Tandon Doss incomplete (4th quarter)

4. Charlie Batch pass intended for Isaac Redman incomplete, Ravens challenge and ruling upheld (3rd quarter)

3. Anquan Boldin called for offensive pass interference after 17 yard catch from Joe Flacco on 3rd & 11 (3rd quarter)

2. Paul Kruger called for roughing the passer on Charlie Batch 10 yard completion to Mike Wallace (4th quarter)

1. Ziggy Hood recovers Joe Flacco fumble at Baltimore 27 after James Harrison sack (4th quarter)

(Ryan’s Plays on Page 2…)

I don’t have it in me.

Honestly, I combed over all of my usual spots looking for fun videos, GIFs, etc. for the 15-7-0. I wanted to have one more big roundup to close the college football season. I hope Roofing By Elite will be okay with sponsoring this diatribe instead.

As part of hosting a local sports talk show, I often find myself playing the role of civic therapist. After Baltimore Ravens losses, I’ll regularly hear things like “did you have to spend the day trying to talk everyone off the ledge?”

I’d like to think I’ve been fairly successful in that, although it was certainly come with my share of mini-meltdowns in the process.

I don’t think I’m going to melt down this time. I’m certainly not on the ledge myself.

I don’t think I’m on the ledge, anyway.

Am I on the ledge?

You know what happened. The Charlie Batch-led Pittsburgh Steelers invaded M&T Bank Stadium and used a Shaun Suisham field goal as time expired to pull off one of the more improbable victories of the 2012 NFL season. The Steelers snapped the Ravens’ lengthy win streaks both at home (15) and against AFC North opponents (12). They also prevented the Ravens from clinching a playoff spot in the AFC and pulled within two games of their longtime rival in the race for the division crown.

This one hurt.

With Ben Roethlisberger out again, this was a prime opportunity for the Ravens to vanquish one foe and focus on bigger goals. The Ravens are still in good position to claim the AFC North title this season, but everything the Ravens do this season is being measured by the fact that there is an expectation for them to reach the Super Bowl.

It was tough to imagine a team that struggled to a 9-6 win over the Kansas City Chiefs making a run to the Super Bowl. It’s equally difficult to fathom a team that lost at home to Charlie Batch making a run to the Super Bowl.

(This is the part where civic therapist Glenn Clark reminds everyone that they’re not moving up the date of the Super Bowl to December and it is absolutely impossible that the Steelers and Ravens will both be playing in the game. Sorry. I had to.)

The truth is that the concerns that stem from the Ravens’ loss aren’t dissimilar to those we had experienced earlier in wins and losses. The truth is that those concerns will likely pop up again, perhaps as early as next week in a visit to face Robert Griffin III and the Washington Redskins. The truth is that as long as the Baltimore Ravens were winning games, those concerns weren’t REALLY issues.

The Ravens simply needed to put themselves in the best possible situation to make a playoff run. If the Ravens continued to struggle offensively on the road but won, they’d still be in perfect shape to have to win no more than one road game in the postseason to get to New Orleans.

That’s the NFL. Your issues are only as significant as the record you carry them with. In that way, the Ravens are still in good shape at 9-3; but the nature of how this one went awry makes you worry about the ability for the team to keep winning through struggles.

In a game the Ravens only lost by three points, this one had a little bit of everything…

-Questionable play calling
-Poor clock management decisions
-Shaky quarterback play
-Offensive line lapses
-Inconsistent rushing
-Untimely drops
-Non-existent pass rush
-Awful tackling
-Secondary miscommunication
-Game changing turnovers
-3rd down struggles
-Red zone issues
-Potentially season changing injuries
-A partridge in a pear tree

Okay, maybe not the last one. But the rest were accurate at one point or another.

(Continued on Page 2…)

BALTIMORE — The Ravens were searching for answers in the locker room after squandering a second-half lead to lose 23-20 to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, suffering their first loss at M&T Bank Stadium in nearly two years.

There would be no earning a 16th consecutive home victory or clinching of an AFC North title or even punching their ticket to the playoffs — at least this week. Instead, offensive struggles and a defensive collapse in the fourth quarter pushed the Ravens’ record to 9-3, snapping a four-game winning streak and renewing concerns as they begin the final quarter of the season.

“It sucks to let this one go,” safety Bernard Pollard. “We let this game go. Right now, we’re just trying to figure out how and why.”

If it’s any consolation, there’s plenty of blame to go around as the Baltimore offense was held to just seven points and 97 yards in the second half. The performance did nothing to alleviate chronic concerns of inconsistency as the Ravens finished 3-for-11 on third down and Joe Flacco turned in a road-like performance for the first time all season at M&T Bank Stadium, finishing 16-for-34 for 188 yards with a touchdown, an interception, and a critical fumble. Even when an erratic Flacco was able to deliver on-target throws, Baltimore receivers dropped several passes at critical junctures.

The defense failed to pressure geriatric backup Charlie Batch as he threw for 276 yards and a touchdown to pick apart a pass defense that was exposed repeatedly over the middle intermediate portion of the field. The Ravens managed only two sacks against a patchwork offensive line for Pittsburgh after a combined 12 sacks in their previous three games.

Baltimore even fell short in the coaching department as two timeouts were burned early in the second half, one a result of a befuddling challenge of a Charlie Batch incomplete pass that head coach John Harbaugh hoped would be ruled a fumble.

It all added up to failing to lock up a playoff spot and to put the Steelers’ postseason hopes on life support in the process. Instead, the Ravens now find themselves two games behind the AFC-leading Houston Texans — who also own the head-to-head tiebreaker — and tied with Denver and New England for the second-best record in the conference.

Sunday’s game could have been a means of separating themselves and remaining on Houston’s heels, but the Ravens instead came back to the pack and saw their hopes of a No. 1 seed take a catastrophic hit with four games remaining.

“We had an opportunity,” Flacco said. “I said it before, the more games we win, the more important each game becomes and this was an important one. We just didn’t capitalize on the opportunities. You have to give them a little bit of credit, too.”

The defense relapsed after playing so well in recent weeks and will now wait on the status of linebacker Terrell Suggs, who left in the fourth quarter with a right arm injury. Needless to say, an extended absence for the intimidating pass rusher would be a major blow to a defense that appeared to finally be hitting its stride after the bye.

The offense has now struggled for large portions of each of the last three games as Flacco appeared out of sync for most of the day against the Pittsburgh defense. But unlike the first game against the Steelers, the Baltimore quarterback even failed in protecting the ball.

Following an interception of Batch by safety Ed Reed, the Ravens had a third-and-5 with just under 10 minutes to go at their own 32. Finding no one open, Flacco held the ball entirely too long and allowed linebacker James Harrison to come from the blind side to strip him as the fumble was recovered by Ziggy Hood.

The costly turnover led to a touchdown pass to Steelers tight end Heath Miller a few plays later to tie the game.

“Everybody was covered downfield,” Flacco said. “I was getting ready to tuck it and chalk it up as a loss. The guy came around and hit my wrist; he hit the ball and just got it out. I tried to hold on, but I couldn’t.”

The response after the score wasn’t much better as Flacco went 1-for-4 and the Ravens gave it right back to Pittsburgh with 6:14 remaining. They wouldn’t get another possession back as the Steelers orchestrated a 12-play, 51-yard drive that ended with a 42-yard field goal by Shaun Suisham to win the game for Pittsburgh, snapping the Ravens’ three-game winning streak against their biggest rival.

It was the polar opposite of what we witnessed in San Diego a week ago when the defense stepped up its game in the second half and Flacco and the offensive attack came alive late. And the Ravens found themselves on the losing end this time around.

The questions will once again be asked about the offense finding consistency and the defense being able to pressure the quarterback.

After still managing to win two of three in a brutal stretch that included a pair of Pittsburgh games sandwiching a trip to San Diego, the Ravens now hit the final quarter of the season with three games against 2011 playoff teams and a trip to Landover next week against arguably the hottest quarterback in the league in Redskins rookie Robert Griffin III.

Games against the red-hot Denver Broncos and the defending Super Bowl champion Giants won’t be any easier, though they’ll both be played in Baltimore. The Ravens will then finish with a tough test at Cincinnati as the Bengals could be fighting for their playoff lives.

A playoff spot and the division title are still within their grasp barring a catastrophic collapse, but the Ravens will need to move past a bitter loss quickly in order to keep themselves in position for a first-round bye. It was only one loss and they remain in excellent position with a 9-3 record, but after so much good fortune and doing the little things well in narrow victories throughout the season, you can’t help but feel the pendulum swung in the opposite direction on Sunday.

“It’s going to take us to not to fall apart after a game like this, especially after [losing] to a team like this, playing against Pittsburgh,” Reed said. “Guys are frustrated, because we hate to lose. That’s the thing that eggs you – we hate to lose. So, to see these guys frustrated, I know it’s there, but at the same time you have to be able to talk about that in the mirror when you get home.”

Only the final four weeks will prove how costly it may have been as their postseason picture unfolds.

After Baltimore Ravens victories, Ryan Chell and I award players who made positive contributions with “Pats on the Ass” during the “Nasty Purple Postgame Show” on AM1570 WNST.net.

The Ravens fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers 23-20 Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium, meaning there were no Pats to be awarded.

So instead of offering “Pats on the Ass”, Ryan and I again offered “Slaps to the Head” postgame. A slap on the side of the head from a coach tends to come along with them saying something along the lines of “you’ve gotta do better than that.”

Same rules as there were with Pats. Two offensive players, two defensive players, and a Wild Card (Special Teams player, coach, or another Offensive or Defensive player). One player gets “two slaps” (or a slap on both sides of the head), it’s the opposite of a “Player of the Game” honor.” Ryan and I select five different players/coaches after each game.

Here are our five Ravens that have “gotta do better than that.”

Glenn Clark’s Slaps…

5. Tandon Doss

4. Haloti Ngata

3. Torrey Smith

2. Terrell Suggs

1. Joe Flacco (Two Slaps)

(Ryan’s Slaps on Page 2…)