Ravens enter 2024 with the number one seed locked up
BALTIMORE -- The Baltimore Ravens rang in the new year with a golden playoff ticket in hand: top seed.
Now, the team is enjoying a week of extra rest and home-field advantage in any games they play in the lead-up to the Super Bowl.
The Ravens celebrated a resounding win over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.
The newly crowned AFC North Division champs celebrated on the field in front of their fans and in their locker room after the game.
There is one more regular season game to play on Saturday, but it has no bearing on the Ravens' post-season standing, so they can approach it with no pressure.
The record is 13-and-3 best in all of the NFL. Having earned the prime playoff position is something to celebrate, Ravens coach John Harbaugh reflected today on the out-pouring of excitement among his guys.
"They're genuinely happy for one another when they do well," Harbaugh said. "And so, when they do well [with an opportunity] they're able to celebrate it because they're really happy for each other, and that was what you saw, especially in a moment like that – a defining moment – when you win a division title."
The Pittsburgh Steelers will be in Baltimore to play the Ravens on Saturday afternoon. Backup quarterback Mason Rudolph will start for the Steelers who are fighting to secure a post-season spot.
Rudolph has led Pittsburgh to consecutive wins while filling for injured starter Kenny Pickett.
Pickett was medically cleared to play today, but head coach Mike Tomlin says he'll stick with the backup.
The outcome of the game doesn't matter to the Ravens, and Harbaugh says players nursing nagging injuries will sit it out.
He'll soon announce how much quarterback Lamar Jackson will play on Saturday—if at all.
