Ravens Tied to Rivals In Shouldering Pressure to Succeed

The vice that the Kansas City Chiefs have held the AFC in for the last half-decade may be slipping.

The mileage that one accrues in reaching seven consecutive AFC title games, including five Super Bowl appearances, showed in a team with a core that's looking more weathered than ever. They got waxed 40-22 in the championship game, opening the door for other teams in their conference to jump the battered contenders while they're down.

The Baltimore Ravens are as well-positioned to swoop in as they've ever been during the Lamar Jackson administration, viewed by the vast majority as an inner-circle championship favorite behind their perennial MVP at quarterback in Jackson and his loaded roster that looks ready to compete at every position.

NFL.com writer Tom Blair compiled a list of the teams with the most pressure to succeed in this upcoming season, a ranking which the AFC dominated at the top. The magnifying glass on the Ravens wasn't named as the biggest, with the unproven, Aaron Rodgers-led Pittsburgh Steelers and the often-disappointing Cincinnati Bengals taking the top two spots on the list, but Baltimore drew even with a familiar foe of theirs at No. 3.

The Buffalo Bills stunned the Ravens in the second round of the playoffs to end their most recent title bid, but the two teams the Chiefs have spent the most time foiling drew even as they each prepare to take over the conference. Jackson and Bills quarterback Josh Allen have their individual accolades, but they've yet to conquer their biggest rival.

"They would not, of course, be the first great players in sports history to have the bad luck of being overshadowed by a dynasty," Blair wrote. "And that's exactly the kind of desperate rationalization Ravens and Bills fans will have to cling to if neither QB ever conquers the mountain for their team.

"But as Baltimore and Buffalo, the Chiefs did look pretty human for much of last season (except for, well ...), and Jackson and/or Allen can prevail over Mahomes in any given January. Finally pulling it off this postseason would be monumental for the legacy of either player and franchise. (And yes, I realize that overcoming the Bills looms perhaps even larger for Jackson, whose playoffrésumé in general could still use some burnishing, but at this point, K.C. is still the biggest bully in the conference.)"

Life is good for contenders with a realistic chance at dominating the NFL entering the season, but the added stress of a team looking to finally climb the mountain means that for all of the excitement the Ravens and Bills are receiving in July, the criticism they'll hear should they once again fall short will be inescapable for players and teams.