OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The NFL Playoffs.
That special time of year when pressure mounts and the margin for error shrinks.
"It’s not like we can go out there, lose a game, and then prepare for another game. It’s win or go home, so we’re already [built up]," says Lamar Jackson, Ravens quarterback.
"This is three [or] four weeks for the rest of our lives. Why not give it everything you have to be the best that we can? I think just the focus and the energy and the camaraderie of this group is buying in, and they’re all in," says Mark Andrews, Ravens tight end.
"It's not so much that it's the opportunity to advance or the downside of not advancing; it’s more the fact that you're playing one of the best teams in the National Football League. So, you feel that way in those types [of] games, like, every possession is really going to make the difference, and you want to make the most of every play [and] every possession," says John Harbaugh, Ravens head coach.
The Ravens and Bills have had tremendous seasons. Both are tied atop the league in point differential at +157. Protecting the ball on Sunday is key.
"Coach [John Harbaugh] is overemphasizing that on us. Making sure that ball security—this and that—and that plays a part with me, not just fumbling, but keeping the ball out of the defender's hands as well. Put the ball where only my receiver can catch the ball and make moves, so that’s pretty much been an all-around emphasis for us," says Jackson.
The temperature is expected to be in the teens around kickoff this Sunday in Buffalo. That's a challenge the Ravens are not only preparing for but embracing.
"We have it as cold as we can in here right now, and it’ll be colder in here tomorrow when I get all the water shut off in here so the pipes don't freeze, so we can be colder. So, we’ll have it cold. [I’d] love to be outside, but we just can't. The fields are too hard, and they're too frozen. We’ll get the work in. We’ve had a lot of work in the cold. We have had a lot of work in the wind. And the elements are a part of it, and the other thing’s going to be the footing on their field. We’re thinking about that, too. We want to make sure we have good footing on that field. It's a turf field, and it'll be hard and kind of frozen. We’re trying to think about all of that, but really what we're thinking about is just executing our plays at the highest level we possibly can,” says Harbaugh.
“It’s wartime. It’s time to go to war. It’s accepting anything and everything," says Andrews.
"I'm trying to win, so it really doesn’t matter. I can’t go into a game and be like, ‘It’s too cold; I can’t make things happen," says Jackson.
"I’ve always wanted to play in like three feet of snow, to where all they can do is run the ball. It won’t be that snowy, but [it’s] really no different. I know they’re used to the cold, but it gets cold enough in Baltimore, so I don’t think it will be much different," says Marlon Humphrey, Ravens defensive back.
Kickoff is this Sunday at 6:30 ET.
