2011 NFL Playoffs: Which Team Poses the Biggest Threat to the Baltimore Ravens?

The Baltimore Ravens enter Week 17 with an 11-4 record.

With a win at Cincinnati in the 2011 regular season finale, the Ravens will clinch a first-round bye in the AFC playoffs (that coupled with a Patriots loss vs. Buffalo will give the Ravens the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC).

Still, with one week to go, there are many playoff scenarios that could unfold.

In the AFC, the No. 4 seed (AFC West champion) and the No. 6 seed are still up for grabs.

But for the Ravens, it's simple: beat the Bengals, get a much-needed week off, then see who you will host in the divisional round.

Who will they play in the postseason?

If you're a Ravens fan, who do you want them to play in the postseason?

This slideshow will rank the five teams the Ravens will likely have to contend with in the AFC playoffs (5-easiest, 1-hardest), and how the Ravens might fare against them.

5. Denver Broncos

If the Ravens played the Broncos in the playoffs, it would probably be in Denver.

Baltimore is 1-3 all-time in Denver. The Broncos won their three games by an average of seven points.

The Ravens' lone win at Mile High was also by seven points.

Of course, Tim Tebow wasn't involved in any of those games.

Ask any Ravens fan, and they'll tell you they want the first-round bye.

However, if the Ravens do have to go on the road, fans probably won't mind playing against Tim Tebow.

This season, Tebow has as many turnovers as he's averaging completions: 10.

Denver's strength is their defense, and so is their running game, led by Willis McGahee.

Baltimore let McGahee go before the 2011 season began, so you know the Ravens haven't forgotten his tendencies.

Were this matchup to take place, it shouldn't strike fear in the hearts of Ravens fans.

4. Houston Texans

The Ravens beat the Texans in Baltimore in Week 6 by the score of 29-14.

Although Andre Johnson and Mario Williams were inactive for the Texans, QB Matt Schaub was starting, and the Ravens still took it to the Texans.

Houston boasts the No. 2 overall defense (280.7 ypg) and the No. 4 scoring defense (17 ppg).

Arian Foster is third in the league in rushing (1,224 rushing yards).

However, I find it hard to believe that the Texans would come to Baltimore in the second round of the playoffs and beat the Ravens with a significantly worse quarterback than they had going for them in Week 6.

In that matchup, Joe Flacco didn't throw for a touchdown, and Ray Rice didn't rush for a touchdown.

The odds of those things happening again are slim.

3. Cincinnati Bengals

Without his Pro Bowl rookie wide receiver A.J. Green, Andy Dalton threw for 373 yards, one TD and three interceptions in Baltimore in Week 11.

With a playoff berth on the line this Sunday, Dalton hopes to have similar success against the Ravens.

If these two teams happened to meet for a third time, it would be in Baltimore for the AFC Championship game.

For the Bengals to even get to that point, they don't even have to win on Sunday (although a win guarantees them a postseason berth).

While the strength of the Bengals is their defense (defensive line in particular), Dalton has showed he's well beyond his years in terms of being adroit and organizing the offense.

The Bengals downfall could be their running game, as Cedric Benson has fumbled five times in his last two games (two lost fumbles).

Going against an opportunistic Ravens defense is likely not something he's looking forward to.

The Ravens sealed the win against the Bengals in Week 11 with a Pernell McPhee sack on the second to last play of the game (go to 7:31 in the clip).

To secure their first-round bye and potentially knock the Bengals out of the playoffs, they will have to do more of the same.

2. New England Patriots

If the Ravens wind up facing the Patriots, it would probably be on the road in the AFC Championship.

However, the personnel matchup definitely favors the Ravens.

Baltimore has the third-ranked overall defense (285.7 ypg) and are second in the NFL in sacks (47.0).

New England has the worst overall defense (411.7 ypg) and are 13th in the league in sacks (38.0). However, the Patriots leader in sacks, Andre Carter (10.0), is out for the year.

Although the Ravens are 0-6 all-time versus the Patriots in the regular season, the only time the two teams met in postseason play resulted in the Ravens running away with the win, 33-14, in New England.

In that game, the Ravens were plus-two in turnovers (including three Brady interceptions). They also out-rushed the Patriots, 234-64, sacked Brady three times and held Randy Moss to five receptions for 48 yards.

Tom Brady is unquestionably the most difficult quarterback the Ravens will potentially have to face in the AFC playoffs.

That said, the Ravens know what it takes to beat Brady and Belichick in Foxborough.

1. Pittsburgh Steelers

If you were to take the pulse of 100 Ravens fans, 50 would likely say they want to play Pittsburgh in Baltimore for the AFC title game and make the Steelers offseason long and miserable.

The other 50 are likely to say they want nothing to do with the Steelers.

Either way you slice it, these two teams make up the best rivalry in the NFL.

Since Mike Tomlin and John Harbaugh started coaching against each other in 2008, Tomlin has a 6-4 edge in the win column.

In that same span, Harbaugh's Ravens have outscored Tomlin's Steelers, 192-184.

Tomlin has a Super Bowl.

Harbaugh has won the last two matchups in the series.

These teams are so similar. Baltimore is poised to be the No. 2 seed in the AFC with a 12-4 record (if they win on Sunday). The Steelers would be the No. 5 seed with the same record as the Ravens.

The key for Baltimore is that they are one of only two teams in the NFL (Packers) to be undefeated at home (8-0) and in their division (5-0) in 2011.

It seems like, albeit slight, the momentum in this rivalry is now with the Ravens.

Another huge factor that goes in the Ravens' favor is health.

The Ravens are expected to have every starter available for the playoffs.

In addition to a myriad of injuries to critical players, Pro Bowlers Maurkice Pouncey and Ben Roethlisberger are both nursing high-ankle injuries that may cause them to be out for their regular season finale at Cleveland, and potentially longer.

Pouncey missed the Super Bowl last year due to a high left-ankle sprain (an injury he dealt with in college).

This season, Pouncey is dealing with a high right-ankle sprain (similar to the injury Roethlisberger sustained at San Francisco).

What adds more intrigue to this situation is that either team could be the No. 2 or the No. 5 seed in the AFC. They could meet in the divisional or the conference championship round of the playoffs.

However it shakes out, no matter who's healthy or who's hurt, if the Steelers face the Ravens for a third time, it figures to be another epic battle.

Who Will Present the Biggest Challenge for the Ravens in the Playoffs?

To recap, here is who I think will challenge the Ravens the most in this year's playoffs (5-easiest, 1-hardest):

5. Denver Broncos

4. Houston Texans

3. Cincinnati Bengals

2. New England Patriots

1. Pittsburgh Steelers

What do you think?

Let us know.