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Keeping with the Halloween theme yesterday, ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown crew spent time going through their top-10 scariest players currently in the league.
Ravens defensive tackle Haloti Ngata ranked No. 7, and linebacker Ray Lewis topped the list at No. 1.
Congratulations to those two ... I guess?
When the Ravens' schedule was released this offseason, it looked like if John Harbaugh's group could get through a tough start to the season, they'd have things set up nicely given the layout of the rest of their schedule.
Not so fast, folks. Things won't get too much easier for the purple and black from here on out.
Of Baltimore's remaining nine games, six come against teams that currently have winning records. Of those six teams, four have two losses or fewer and those same four all hold at least a share of a division lead entering today.
The Ravens will face four quality quarterbacks in Matt Ryan, Ben Roethlisberger, Matt Schaub and Drew Brees, two of the league's more dynamic running backs in Arian Foster and Michael Turner, and three of the NFL's top-five defenses in the Saints, Panthers and Steelers.
Their next two games come in the span of five days, and they have a four-game stretch from late-November until mid-December in which they play three teams who have currently have five wins.
Yeah, there's some scary stuff in there.
Still, there are a few positives we can take from the final nine games of the year.
The majority of the Ravens' remaining games come at home. They'll be playing in the friendly confines of M&T Bank Stadium in four of their last six games, and the bulk of their contests against difficult opponents (the Dolphins, Buccaneers, Steelers and Saints) will take place in Baltimore.
The Ravens will also close the season with games against two division opponents who currently have a combined four wins.
But it certainly looks like the Ravens will have to scratch and claw their way into the postseason. With the remaining schedule looking the way it does (here's a link to the full schedule) and the AFC appearing tougher week in and week out, the Ravens will have their work cut out for them down the stretch.
Your weekly Monday morning question is a three-parter:
How many wins do you think it will take for the Ravens to make the postseason, will they get there, and what games concern you the most in the final nine weeks?
