Regular season records and awards mean nothing to Lamar Jackson. It’s a Super Bowl ring he’s after.

Maybe you’re the same way. Maybe seasons and seasons of success have lulled your fandom into complacency, and it only rears its head once the playoffs start. Or maybe you’re new here.

With only three days until kickoff, there’s nowhere near enough time to catch up on a season’s worth of coverage, especially in a year like this one that featured some crazy twists and turns.

That’s what this bandwagon guide is for.

Whether you want to keep up with conversations about the Ravens happening throughout the region or are a fan who wants a refresher, we’ve got you covered.

How the playoffs work

Seven teams from each conference go to the playoffs. The teams with the best record in the AFC and NFC get the top seed and a first-round bye. The winners of the three remaining divisions in each conference get a spot, and the final three wild-card spots go to non-division winners based on their records.

This weekend, the opening wild-card round, the second-best team plays the worst team, the third-best plays the second-worst, and No. 4 and 5 seeds play each other. In the second round, the divisional round, the best team will play the worst remaining team and the middle two remaining teams play each other. The winners of those games play each other for the conference title, and then the winner of that goes to the Super Bowl.

In this case, the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs (who knocked the Ravens out of the playoffs last year) have the top spot in the AFC and the bye. The Buffalo Bills are second and host No. 7 Denver Broncos. The No. 3 Ravens host the No. 6 Pittsburgh Steelers, and the No. 4 Houston Texans host the No. 5 Los Angeles Chargers.

Here’s the full bracket:

The opponent

On top of the stakes that come with a playoff game, the Ravens will play their fiercest rival, the Steelers, on Saturday.

The teams, who are both in the AFC North division, have already played twice this season and split the two matchups. Even though the Ravens did not give up a touchdown on the road in Week 11, the Steelers took the first game, largely due to kicker Justin Tucker’s struggles.

The Ravens got them back on their home turf in Week 16, and they will have home-field advantage again. The rivals have met four times in playoffs — the Steelers are 3-1 in the postseason series — but this is the first time the Ravens will host.

These are two teams that know each other very well, and these are two coaches in John Harbaugh and Mike Tomlin who have gone up against each other for years. The Steelers have had the Ravens’ number in recent history, winning eight of the last 10 matchups, but the Ravens may have broken the curse with their most recent win.

Records tend to go out the window in these games, but it’s worth noting that the Ravens are currently on a roll with four straight wins while the Steelers have four straight losses.

Main characters

• Quarterback Lamar Jackson will be the main character of this franchise until he’s gone. The team’s chances rise and fall with the two-time MVP’s performance. Jackson, who just turned 28, came into this season with a lighter frame in an effort to be quicker on his feet. The result? A historic season full of crazy highlight reels punctuated by entertaining moments off the field.
• Running back Derrick Henry, the Ravens’ biggest free agent addition, has powered the offense to another level. Defenses can’t afford to focus solely on containing Jackson when Henry is also in the backfield. He’s also set records and hit milestones, like 10,000 career yards with the Ravens this year, and he’s shown off his iconic stiff arm. He tends to get better as the season goes on.
• Tight end Mark Andrews got off to a slow start but returned to his role as one of Jackson’s favorite targets. Like Henry, he has been setting Ravens records. He is balanced nicely by tight end Isaiah Likely, who took off last season while Andrews was injured.
• Safety Kyle Hamilton remains one of the team’s most impressive players. He has played a variety of roles as the Ravens defense tried to find its identity amid early season lapses. His move to deep safety in Week 11 helped settle the struggling passing defense. In just his third year, he has emerged as one of the defense’s leaders.
• Outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy had a career resurgence with the Ravens last year after joining the team midseason. He returned in free agency and has now set career records, including his first double-digit sack season. The 33-year-old has given the pass rush a boost through some ups and downs.
• Cornerback Marlon Humphrey has returned to form after dealing with injuries last season. He has set a career-high for interceptions, and he’s come up with big plays at critical times. He has shifted into the nickel role that Hamilton was playing, and he is contributing in every phase of the defense.
• Kicker Justin Tucker has had a season to forget. After years of consistency, Tucker shook fans’ faith when he missed field goals in the first two games. He missed two in a single game twice this year, which was historically bad for him. Although he has made every field goal attempt since the team’s Week 14 bye, he has only had three attempts, so it is unclear if he has returned to form.

Breakout characters

• Wide receiver Rashod Bateman came in with high expectations from the front office after several seasons marred by injuries. There were questions about his chemistry with Jackson, and a slow start in terms of production did little to assuage outsiders’ worries. But Bateman has stepped up when called on and has put together a career-best season. And he’s having fun, celebrating and mimicking his quarterback on one of his touchdowns.
• Right guard Daniel Faalele switched from tackle to guard this training camp to help fill in a line that lost three starters. Through training camp and preseason, he looked like a potential weak link. However, he kept the starting job all season and was even named a Pro Bowl alternate. He graded out as an average lineman on PFF with a 60.5 overall grade.
• Safety Ar’Darius Washington was an undrafted rookie who, like Bateman, has been limited by injuries the past few seasons. After a good camp, Washington played very limited snaps on defense. But as the secondary floundered, his opportunities increased. After winning a starting job alongside Hamilton, Washington has helped stabilize the secondary, and he’s come up with some big plays, like two goal-line stops, one against the Steelers.
• Outside linebacker Tavius Robinson was mostly a special teams player last season with a limited role on the defense, and the hype around him was very quiet. But he has done the little things right and has been rewarded. He’s a regular part of the rotation at outside linebacker, and he has the fourth-most sacks on the team (3.5).

On-field storylines

The Ravens started the season with a very difficult slate, kicking off the season with the reigning Super Bowl champions and two 2023 playoff teams in the next three games. Due to a surprisingly bad pass defense, among other things, the Ravens dropped the first two games before going on a five-game winning streak.

Out of their five losses this season, two were to teams they could have easily beaten (the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 2 and Cleveland Browns in Week 8), but every single game was close. They have not lost by more than one score.

One of the biggest wins this season was over the Steelers in Week 16. The Ravens entered the game having lost eight of the last nine against their rivals, and the victory vaulted them to a tie atop of the division. Their Week 4 victory over the Bills, who ended up finishing second in the AFC, was their most dominant win against a good team.

The offense has led the way with a historical season. Among many firsts, it is the first offense to pass for 4,000 yards and rush for 3,000 yards. Multiple players set personal, franchise and league records. Offensive coordinator Todd Monken utilizes all the talent at his disposal and gets the most out of players. However, the team’s top receiver, Zay Flowers, was injured in the final game, and his status for Saturday is uncertain.

Defensively, the Ravens took a while to start playing up to the franchise’s standard. There was always going to be a learning curve for first-year coordinator Zach Orr. While the run defense has been outstanding all year, the pass rush has been inconsistent and the secondary was atrocious until the Hamilton-Washington duo took over and starting safety Marcus Williams was benched. Since Week 11, when the new safety duo took over, they have been one of the league’s best defenses.

The special teams have been uncharacteristically bad. The woes are spread among all the special teams units, but they’re headlined by Tucker’s career-worst season. They’ve been through a series of returners, and they’re plagued by penalties.

Penalties were a problem for all three phases of the game. They extended defensive drives and put the offense behind the chains too often. The Ravens finished tied for the second-most penalties.

Off-the-field storylines

• The Ravens have a bunch of new and young coaches after teams hurried to hire away members of the 2023 Ravens staff. Most notably, linebackers coach Orr was promoted to defensive coordinator. A former Raven, Orr’s playing career was cut short due to a medical condition, but he has quickly risen through the coaching ranks.
• The Ravens started the first phase of a series of stadium upgrades, which were headlined by the luxurious Blackwing Suites. They also added a beer hall with a rooftop deck that is open to general ticket holders. The renovations will continue through 2026.
• Jackson is a household name despite not doing much to promote himself. For years, he has let his play speak for him, but this year he finally started to put himself out there. He did a shoot with GQ, a sit-down with Complex Sports and commercials with Gatorade. He also has various business ventures, including his own cologne, which reporters and teammates tried out.
• For the first time ever, NFL Films’ “Hard Knocks” is following an entire division instead of just one team, and the AFC North is the lucky group to kick it off. Since Week 13, there has been an episode every Tuesday, and we’ve reviewed each one. However, the “behind the scenes” docuseries failed to cover the biggest storyline for the Ravens: the Diontae Johnson drama.
• That’s something we can call off-the-field drama because of his refusal to go on the field. Johnson was the Ravens’ splashiest trade at the deadline. In the offseason, the Steelers traded the wide receiver to the Carolina Panthers, where he was their top receiver target. He could have slid in as the Ravens’ third receiver and been a part of a much better offense and team. But after failing to make an impact in the first few weeks, he refused to enter the game against the Eagles, according to general manager Eric DeCosta. He was suspended and eventually released. Johnson was the third veteran who was cut by the Ravens during the season. They also released safety Eddie Jackson and defensive end Yannick Ngakoue.
• The Ravens announced a new alternate helmet, called Purple Rising, ahead of the season, which they paired with their purple “Color Rush” uniforms. The helmets are a matte metallic purple and have two gold talon claw marks across the top and face masks of the same color and the Ravens’ front-facing bird logo staring out from the side. They debuted the Purple Rising helmets against the Cincinnati Bengals.
• If you’re looking for Justin Madubuike, the team’s sack leader last year, you may be confused. He now goes by Nnamdi, which is his Nigerian name. He isn’t the first Raven to change his name. Odafe Oweh decided to go by his Nigerian name when he entered the NFL. Both their decisions had an impact on the local African community.