NFL Playoff Scenarios: Ravens' Epic Fail in San Diego Will Cost Them AFC North

The Baltimore Ravens are living proof that the "trap game" exists, and that it is just as dangerous as all of us think it is.

Most weeks, the Ravens look like one of the very best teams in the NFL. Then they'll turn around and lose to teams they have no business losing to, such as the Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars and Seattle Seahawks.

On Sunday night, the Ravens did it again, losing to the San Diego Chargers, 34-14. They were badly outplayed from start to finish, and the loss pretty much cost them a chance to earn home-field advantage in the AFC playoffs.

It also knocked them out of the driver's seat in the AFC North. The Steelers now have the edge in the division, and they can secure first place with a win at the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night.

It's going to be a tough game for the Steelers to win, but they can do it. They won't be able to run away and hide from the 49ers, but their defense should be more than up to the task of shutting the 49ers down much like the Ravens were able to do on Thanksgiving night.

I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that the Steelers will get it done, in which case they will be alone at the top in the AFC North.

If the Ravens want to regain first place in the division, they're going to need the Steelers to drop at least one of their two remaining games; while simultaneously taking care of their own business, of course.

That's not going to happen. The Steelers will have a fight on their hands on Monday night in San Francisco, but their two remaining opponents don't have much fight left in them. In Week 16, the Steelers host the St. Louis Rams. In Week 17, they play at the Cleveland Browns.

If the Steelers lose either one of those games, it will be an absolute shock.

The Ravens should also finish strong, as they have games remaining versus Cleveland and at the Cincinnati Bengals, but it will be a moot point. The division crown will once again go to the Steelers, and the Ravens will be forced to enter the AFC playoffs as a wild card team.

Right now, that projects as a game on the road at the Denver Broncos in the wild card round. The Ravens could ask for worse draws, but that definitely doesn't sound as appealing as a first-round bye and home-field advantage.

But hey, the Ravens have nobody but themselves to blame for that. They lost games they shouldn't have lost, and they must pay the price.

That they will be looking up at a team they beat twice this season will be insult to injury.