Baltimore is 12-3, the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC, and they’ll enter Week 18 against the Steelers with nothing to officially play for.
Such a scenario offers the opportunity for John Harbaugh to rest his starters.
Still, as the week of preparation begins, the Raven’s head coach is noncommittal on the status of MVP candidate Lamar Jackson.
No personnel decisions have been made for Week 18: pic.twitter.com/YHl3zHvjJs
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) January 1, 2024
The Ravens clinched the AFC North title and the AFC’s No. 1 seed in Sunday’s 56-19 win over the Miami Dolphins.
“We’ve got to kind of work through the injury part of it first,” Harbaugh said. “That’ll take us probably 24 to 48 hours to get a real handle on that and then we’ll make those decisions. We’re not going to keep it a secret. We’ll let you know what we’re going to do once we start practicing [on Wednesday].”
One perceived benefit of earning the first-round bye is that if Jackson doesn’t play, he and other Baltimore starters would have at least a 19-day break between games.
The Ravens will host a divisional round game on Jan. 20 or 21.
