Baltimore Ravens head into Jacksonville for crucial AFC battle on Sunday night

BALTIMORE - The Baltimore Ravens are currently the team on top of the AFC.

But, there's still a tough road ahead for the Ravens over the final four games of the regular season. Their remaining games are against teams who would qualify for the playoffs if they started today.

The Ravens (10-3) can clinch a playoff spot on Sunday, but they would need to win, plus receive some help. Here's a look at the playoff scenarios for the Ravens heading into Week 15.

The Ravens are, mostly, healthy as they head into Sunday night's big showdown in Jacksonville. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:15 p.m.

Jacksonville (8-5) is the leader in the AFC South and sits as the fourth seed in the AFC. However, the Jaguars have lost two straight games, including last week's 31-27 loss in Cleveland. 

The Ravens are two games up in the AFC North over Cleveland (8-5) and lead Miami (9-4) by one game for the top overall seed in the conference.

"There's no number one seed, there's no such thing as that right now," head coach John Harbaugh said. "Our guys understand that we have to earn everything we get. If we earn it, then we will get it. We are going to try to win as many games as we can, but really, play just one play at a time, compete as hard as we can, every single play, quarter, and game, that we can."

After Jacksonville, the Ravens travel to San Francisco for a Christmas night game, host Miami on New Year's Eve and then host Pittsburgh. According to most rankings, that is the most difficult remaining schedule in the NFL.

But, as they have done all season, the Ravens say they are approaching each game with the utmost importance.

"I think, at the end of the day, you just want to be great," Ravens linebacker Patrick Queen said. "You don't want to be lax, you don't want to go out and play in their battlefield and have someone say, 'We got one on you.' You want to be dominant, you want to be fierce, you want to be feared."

Plus, last season when the Ravens played in Jacksonville, Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence threw a game-winning touchdown with 14 seconds remaining.

Baltimore has won three straight games, including last week's 37-31 win over the Los Angeles Rams, when Tylan Wallace returned an overtime punt to the end zone for the game-winning touchdown.

Quarterback Lamar Jackson passed for 316 yards with three touchdowns and an interception, while rushing for 70 yards, He connected with rookie Zay Flowers on a go-ahead touchdown with 1:16 remaining in the game.

Jackson has passed for 2,934 yards with 16 touchdowns and six interceptions. He also leads the Ravens with 644 rushing yards. Gus Edwards has 10 rushing touchdowns.

"Lamar is already confident in his ability, and I don't mean overconfident," offensive coordinator Todd Monken said. "He loves playing football. Those moments never get too big for him."

The Ravens lead the league in rushing with 157 yards per game, and sixth overall on offense.

Flowers as a team-best 673 receiving yards, but surging is Odell Beckham Jr. with 505 yards and touchdowns in three of the past four games.

The Ravens rank second in overall defense, and first in sacks with 49.

Roquan Smith leads the defense with 136 tackles, followed by Patrick Queen's 108. Justin Madubuike has 11 sacks and Jadeveon Clowney has 7.5.

Jacksonville ranks 11th in overall offense, putting up 342 yards per game, led by Lawrence, running back Travis Etienne, wide receiver Calvin Ridley and tight end Evan Engram.

In last week's loss in Cleveland, Lawrence attempted 50 passes, and despite three touchdown passes, he threw three interceptions and was sacked four times.

Defensively, the Jaguars rank 24th in the NFL.

BALTIMORE (10-3) at JACKSONVILLE (8-5)

Sunday, 8:20 p.m. EST, NBC

OPENING LINE: Ravens by 3, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

AGAINST THE SPREAD: Baltimore 8-5; Jacksonville 8-5.

SERIES RECORD: Jaguars lead 13-10.

LAST MEETING: Jaguars beat Ravens 28-27 on Nov. 27, 2022, in Jacksonville.

LAST WEEK: Ravens beat Rams 37-31 in OT; Jaguars lost at Browns 31-27.

RAVENS OFFENSE: OVERALL (6), RUSH (1), PASS (19), SCORING (4).

RAVENS DEFENSE: OVERALL (2), RUSH (12), PASS (4), SCORING (2).

JAGUARS OFFENSE: OVERALL (11), RUSH (24), PASS (9), SCORING (9).

JAGUARS DEFENSE: OVERALL (24), RUSH (4), PASS (31), SCORING (T20).

TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Ravens plus-4; Jaguars plus-2.

RAVENS PLAYER TO WATCH: DT Justin Madubuike has at least a half-sack in 10 consecutive games, one shy of the NFL record held by Jared Allen, Chris Jones, Trey Hendrickson and Shaun Ellis. Madubuike has 11 sacks on the season, and Baltimore has a league-high 49.

JAGUARS PLAYER TO WATCH: TE Evan Engram has 20 receptions for 177 yards and three touchdowns in Jacksonville's past two games. He's clearly become Trevor Lawrence's go-to guy amid the absence of WR Christian Kirk, who had surgery to repair a core muscle injury last week. Engram most recently scored in three consecutive games as rookie with the New York Giants in 2017.

KEY MATCHUP: Ravens WR Zay Flowers versus Jaguars CB Darious Williams. Flowers has scored three times in Baltimore's past two games and surely will be a focus for a defense that has given up six lengthy scoring plays in its past three losses. Williams, who ranks second in the NFL with 19 pass defenses this season, will end up covering Flowers early and often.

KEY INJURIES: Ravens S Kyle Hamilton (knee) was hurt against the Rams and was limited in practice this week. WR Devin Duvernay (back) also went down in that game, but Tylan Wallace replaced him on punt returns and ran one back 76 yards for a score in overtime. TE Mark Andrews (ankle) went on injured reserve last month. ... The Jaguars could be without two secondary starters. CB Tyson Campbell (quadriceps) and S Andre Cisco (shoulder/groin) missed practice Wednesday. LT Walker Little (knee) and WR/PR Jamal Agnew (shoulder) are expected back this week.

SERIES NOTES: The teams have alternated wins and losses since 2003, a 10-game back-and-forth that, if the trend continues, would mean the Ravens are due to win this matchup. … Jacksonville won the first eight meetings between 1996 and '99 while both were members of the AFC Central. … The Jaguars rallied from a 19-10 deficit in the fourth quarter to win last season's game in Jacksonville.

STATS AND STUFF: Baltimore will know before the game whether it can clinch a playoff spot with a victory. The Ravens have nine scenarios that would get them in. ... This is the first of three straight games for the Ravens against current division leaders. They face San Francisco and Miami after the Jaguars. ... Baltimore has a sack in 34 straight games and at least two sacks in 11 in a row. Those are the longest active streaks in the league. ... The Ravens have 22 rushing TDs, two shy of their franchise record. ... Baltimore has rushed for at least 100 yards in 29 consecutive games, the NFL's longest active streak. ... The Ravens have allowed a league-low 19 TDs. ... Baltimore QB Lamar Jackson is 14-4 as a starter in prime time. ... Jackson has 252 completions this season and 2,934 yards passing. His career highs are 265 and 3,127, set during his MVP campaign of 2019. ... Jacksonville has to win to keep alive hope of being the AFC's No. 1 seed in the postseason. ... The Jaguars are trying to avoid a three-game skid against the AFC North, having already dropped games to Cincinnati and Cleveland. ... Lawrence has accounted for seven TDs — four passing, three rushing — and no interceptions in his past two home games. He also accounted for seven TDs — also four passing, three rushing — and no INTs in five prime-time starts. ... RB Travis Etienne need a rushing TD to become the fourth player in franchise history with 10 or more in a season. ... Engram tied his career high with 11 catches last week and had the second two-score game of his NFL career. ... LB Josh Allen is tied for third in the NFL with 13 1/2 sacks.

FANTASY TIP: Ravens TE Isaiah Likely should start considering the Jaguars allowed Cleveland TE David Njoku to score twice last week.