Why the Baltimore Ravens losing in the NFL Playoffs is not a surprise

Many Baltimore Ravens' fans will certainly be upset after reading this but there are reasons why the Ravens lost yet again in the Divisional Round of the 2019 NFL Playoffs and none of them come as a surprise to anyone.

After all, the Ravens were being hyped up throughout the year. They went 14-2 in the regular season, beating the New England Patriots dynasty and several other hot teams in the league. Their only losses came to the disappointing Cleveland Browns and the Patrick Mahomes-led Kansas City Chiefs. However, after beating the Patriots, it is pretty much a guarantee that they will win the Super Bowl right? Not necessarily.

Even though they were considered the 'favorites' for the most part, I believed they could be exposed easily in a game. Ravens fans can't say much, as they had all their starting players with them for the game. Since the beginning of the season, many knew that this so-called 'Super Bowl caliber' team would be exposed. After all, they have a history of being defeated in the playoffs, especially the Divisional Rounds.

Just last year, the Ravens entered the wild-card round Playoffs. Thanks to the league seeding, the Ravens hosted the Los Angeles Chargers. Typically, home-advantage helps teams in moving further in the playoffs, but this was not the case for the Chargers.

The 12-4 Chargers took down Lamar Jackson and the Ravens 23-17, sending them home early in the Playoffs. This year, the Tennessee Titans took down the Ravens in the Divisional Round of the Playoffs. Looking back at the history under Ravens' head coach John Harbaugh, there is a clear fact; Divisional Rounds are where the Ravens don't do well.

Under Harbaugh, the Ravens have been in the Divisional Round Playoffs 7 times. Of those 7 times, the Ravens have lost 4 times in that round. It can clearly be said that the NFL Divisional Round is the Ravens' kryptonite when it comes to winning. However, Harbaugh led the team in 2012 to a Super Bowl win, which should be considered one of the better Super Bowl games in the last decade.

If that is not enough to convince anyone, this Ravens team is still young. Quarterback Lamar Jackson is still learning and may have shown MVP-style play, but he was overhyped and exposed by the Titans who were not even thought of coming this forward into the Playoffs. If the Titans can do it, so can several other teams.