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NFL History: Ranking the 30 best wild card teams in NFL history

By Nick Villano

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - OCTOBER 06: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) Eli Manning #10 and Brandon Jacobs #34 of the New York Giants in action against the Philadelphia Eagles on October 6, 2013 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Eagles defeated the Giants 36-21. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - OCTOBER 06: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) Eli Manning #10 and Brandon Jacobs #34 of the New York Giants in action against the Philadelphia Eagles on October 6, 2013 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Eagles defeated the Giants 36-21. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /
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Timmy Jernigan #97 of the Baltimore Ravens. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images) /

Ranking the 30 best wild card teams in NFL history: 29. 2014 Baltimore Ravens

This one is going to bring back some bad memories for Baltimore Ravens fans. This team was really good, but one of the weirdest playoff games in recent memory led to the team’s season ending earlier than they hoped. Before we get into that game, let’s get into this team. This was the team that saw its season derailed by the allegations and eventual admission of domestic violence by running back Ray Rice. It was an awful situation that the Ravens did not handle well, but they still had a team that was in contention and they had to figure out how to become a team again after cutting Rice.

This felt like the “last hurrah” of Joe Flacco. This was the last year of “elite” Joe Flacco. He had good seasons after this, but they came with a flurry of mistakes. Flacco threw for 27 touchdowns and 12 interceptions this season. It was his career-high for touchdowns. Flacco was clearly a top-10 quarterback in this season, and he would continue that argument in the playoffs.

The Ravens started the season 5-4 which included a surprising season-opening loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. They ended up winning five of their last seven games to make it in the playoffs as a Wild Card. Their first matchup came against the Pittsburgh Steelers, giving us the NFL’s biggest rivalry for the third time. The two split the season series with each team winning its home game. The Ravens would be going to Heinz Field for this one.

After going down early, the Ravens ran away with the game in the second half. They ended up winning the game 30-17 thanks to a late interception by Terrell Suggs that Joe Flacco turned into a touchdown.

The next game came against the hated New England Patriots. The Ravens held two different 14-point leads in the game, but they gave up the lead for the first time in the game with just over five minutes left in the game. They were still down by four, so the win was within reach. Unfortunately, Flacco would throw an interception in the end zone with under two minutes left. It ended a tumultuous season.

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