John Eisenberg explains the Ravens’ mystique going into showdown with Steelers…

RAVENS AT STEELERS Sunday, December 25 | 4:30 pm EST Heinz Field NBC/WBAL-TV (Ch. 11) | NFL Network 98 Rock | WBAL-1090 AM

This is it for Ravens fans—Division title on the line, and as usual over the past decade or so the road to glory must go through Pittsburgh.

For the Ravens (8-6)  it’s a blessed chance for redemption after an up-and-down regular season filled with inconsistency in every phase except the kicking game.

John Eisenberg, the great local sportswriter emeritus now contributing to the Baltimore Ravens’ official website, had the best take I’ve seen on the overall scenario culminating in the Christmas Day matchup:

“…I’m guessing few would have believed the Ravens could still be in playoff contention on Christmas after experiencing the following:

• A four-game losing streak culminating with a loss to the lowly New York Jets.

• A 20-point deficit in Cleveland … in the first quarter.

• An alarming meltdown in the final minutes of a mid-December game against the Philadelphia Eagles that they had to win.

• A rushing attack ranked in the bottom five of the league in yards per game.

• Not one, not two, but three injuries to Jimmy Smith, their top cornerback and most indispensable player other than quarterback Joe Flacco.

• A starting quarterback ranked No. 5 in the league in passing yards, but No. 25 in quarterback rating.”

“How did they do it? Avoiding (for the most part) the injury bug that derailed them in 2015 certainly helped. They’ve also raised their level of play since that loss to the Jets, winning five of their last seven games, with the only losses coming against the current No. 1 seeds in the NFC and AFC, the Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots. That’s actually a pretty decent run.”

“Yes, they needed help to get to this point. The Bengals, their nemesis lately, are having a down season after winning the division title in 2015. The Steelers started slowly, losing five of their first nine games before coming on. That helped a Baltimore team with six losses find itself still very much in play on Christmas.”

“The Steelers also have everything to play for – they’re a game ahead of Baltimore in the standings and can clinch the division title by winning Sunday. They’re on a roll, having won five straight games, and they’re playing at home, so they’ll be solidly favored. The line is 5½ points right now.”

“But the fact that the Ravens are still in the mix is a long-odds proposition in itself, so disregard them at your peril. They tend to find a way to do just enough to keep hanging around, which doesn’t sound like a compliment but does reflect important qualities such as persistence and resourcefulness, which can’t be tabulated but do come in handy.”

That’s it in a Christmas nutshell. The Ravens who are comprised of a bunch of underachieving big names and a slew of overachieving no-names somehow manage to hang around and sneak out of the stadium with a W just when they need it the most. Sometimes they do it in spite of some very questionable coaching decisions which tend to err on being over-aggressive. Sometimes they do it in spite of being one of the most penalized teams in the league. Sometimes they do it because QB Joe Flacco steps up and somehow ups his game under playoff-like pressure.

It may not feel like a team of destiny based on all the reasons and circumstances John Eisenberg tells us, but here are the Ravens now, warts and all, in a position to control their own fate in a season of many “What the…?” moments.  A win in Pittsburgh would be the Christmas gift that keeps on giving as far as Ravens fans perceive them and the team’s 2016 quest to redefine themselves as a winning organization is concerned.
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Meanwhile, four Ravens were selected for the Pro Bowl:

FB Kyle Juszczyk  (1^st Pro Bowl)

LB C.J. Mosley  (2^nd Pro Bowl)

K Justin Tucker  (2^nd Pro Bowl)

G Marshal Yanda  (6^th Pro Bowl)