Ravens Beat 49ers, Can Clinch No. 1 Seed Next Week
The Baltimore Ravens beat the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night in a game of potential No. 1 seeds, and that victory means they can clinch the AFC North, and wrap up the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC next week — potentially good news for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Ravens forced five turnovers from San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy and cemented themselves as Super Bowl contenders, and potentially favorites, with a dominant 33-19 victory over the top squad in the NFC.
The Ravens will clinch the AFC North with either a win or a Cleveland Browns loss in either of the next two weeks. But if the Ravens win this week, they will also wrap up the No. 1 seed in the entire AFC.
That’s because the Ravens are hosting the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. The Dolphins are currently the second seed at 11-4, and are the only other team besides Cleveland that can catch the Ravens.
If the Ravens can beat the Dolphins, they will have everything wrapped up ahead of their Week 18 meeting with the Steelers at M&T Bank Stadium. That means the Ravens could rest their starters, such as MVP candidate Lamar Jackson, for that game.
The Steelers first need to beat the Seattle Seahawks this Sunday to stay alive and make the Jan. 7 meeting with the Ravens meaningful for them. Pittsburgh currently has a 14% chance of making it to the postseason, according to the New York Times playoff predictor. The Steelers got some of their needed help in the form of Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos losses this weekend. If they win out, they have a 90% chance of making the playoffs.
AFC NORTH STANDINGS
| Overall | AFC North | AFC | Head-to-head | |
| Ravens | 12-3 | 3-2 | 7-3 | CIN 2-0, CLE 1-1, PIT 0-1 |
| Browns | 10-5 | 3-2 | 7-3 | BAL 1-1, CIN 1-0, PIT 1-1 |
| Steelers | 8-7 | 4-1 | 6-5 | BAL 1-0, CLE 1-1, CIN 2-0 |
| Bengals | 8-7 | 0-5 | 3-7 | CLE 0-1, BAL 0-2, PIT 0-2 |
AFC PLAYOFF PICTURE
1 Baltimore Ravens 11-3
2 Miami Dolphins 11-4
3 Kansas City Chiefs 9-6
4 Jacksonville Jaguars 8-7
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5 Cleveland Browns 10-5
6 Buffalo Bills 9-6
7 Indianapolis Colts 8-7
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8 Houston Texans 8-7
9 Pittsburgh Steelers 8-7
10 Cincinnati Bengals 8-7
11 Las Vegas Raiders 7-8
12 Denver Broncos 7-8
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13 New York Jets 6-9
14 Tennessee Titans 5-10
15 Los Angeles Chargers 5-10
16 New England Patriots 4-11
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