Baltimore Ravens are Super Bowl contenders... if they don't blow it

The Ravens' record (6=3) isn't indicative of that, and until they prove they can stay out of their own way against playoff-caliber quarterbacks, they won't fully shake that stigma.

Baltimore has blown 10-, 17-, and 21-point leads, a model the Las Vegas Raiders have replicated to perfection. 

The Ravens, meanwhile, are getting hot at the right time, winning their last three games. On Monday night, the team barely broke a sweat in an all-too-easy 27-13 win against the New Orleans Saints. 

After trading for linebacker Roquan Smith on Oct. 31 in a deal with the Chicago Bears, Baltimore has the pieces in place to make a serious run toward a championship. The Ravens have a defense with elite players on all levels -- secondary (Marlon Humphrey), linebacker (Smith), and edge rusher (Justin Houston). 

On Monday night, the Ravens did all the things a contender should do against a team trending in the wrong direction. Baltimore dominated the line of scrimmage on offense and defense. They ran for 188 yards and gave up 48. New Orleans QB Andy Dalton was sacked four times.

They'll have much tougher competition from the Bills and Chiefs if they want to get to the Super Bowl, but other teams provided a blueprint this weekend on how to slow down both offenses. The Ravens have the right build to play that style.

The Titans ran at will against the Chiefs, gaining 172 yards on 29 attempts. Patrick Mahomes was too much in the end, but the Titans never made it easy.

Against the Jets, Buffalo got into a grind-it-out slugfest in the second half, and the Jets outplayed the Bills upfront. New York won 20-17 and finished with 34 carries for 174 yards.

Baltimore is better than both New York and Tennessee. Lamar Jackson is a former MVP who is trending in that direction while the Jets (Zach Wilson) and Titans (Ryan Tannehill or Malik Willis) aren't led by QBs anywhere near the same tier. 

After struggling to close out games against Miami, Buffalo, and the New York Giants, the Ravens' biggest enemy might be itself.

The team allowed frustrations to boil over Monday; Jackson was visibly frustrated after a delay of game penalty and cornerback Marcus Peters was upset with Harbaugh during another point.

Those moments look like passionate players wanting to win when things are going right and a sign of dysfunction when they're going south.

As we've seen, it doesn't take much time for players like Allen and Mahomes to inflict damage. It could ultimately not matter if the Ravens control time of possession with a dominant running game. It doesn't matter how long a team holds the ball, only what it does with it. With Jackson at QB, they have a better chance than any other AFC contender to go toe-to-toe with the Ravens and Chiefs.

The Dolphins just got carved by Justin Fields, so until they improve on defense it's hard to see them winning against the AFC elite. As good as the Jets' defense is playing, offensive limitations will hurt them in the playoffs.

Jackson didn't have to do much against New Orleans -- he threw for 133 yards and a touchdown and added 82 yards rushing -- and he certainly will need to do more when facing Allen and Mahomes. The Ravens have all the pieces, as long as they don't trip over themselves.