The Baltimore Ravens earned a ticket to the AFC Championship Game on Saturday afternoon, and they did it in pretty impressive fashion.
While things may have looked like they were going to be dramatic in the first half of the game, Baltimore played like the team they had seen for most of the season in the second half, erasing any doubts time and time again.
Ravens fans sat pretty comfortably throughout the fourth quarter and likely started making plans for the AFC Championship Game, which will officially be held in Baltimore. This is obviously important for the Ravens, but it will be the first time the Ravens will play a conference championship game at home.
The Ravens as a franchise have only been around for 28 years, but they've now reached the penultimate game of the season an astounding five times. They are currently ahead of perennial teams like the New York Jets, Los Angeles Chargers and Cincinnati Bengals, each of which only has four teams.
From a coaching standpoint, John Harbaugh currently leads the team in conference championship game appearances by a dramatic margin over any other coach in team history. All but one of those belong to Harbaugh, and his other was his 2000 team, led by Brian Billick, that won Super Bowl XXXV.
If the Ravens win today, John Harbaugh will become the second coach in NFL history to go more than 10 years between conference championship appearances.
And considering the 15 years Dick Vermeil hasn't coached, I think the tiebreaker will go to Harbaugh.
— Mookie Alexander (@mookiealexander) January 20, 2024
The Ravens are participating. Who else will be participating?
The Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs will face off on Sunday to determine the answer to that question.
