Ravens, Chiefs And Lions Amidst Crucial Stretch For Their Postseason Lives

DETROIT,MICHIGAN-January 5: Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs #26 celebrates with teammate wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown #14 after his touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Detroit Lions at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan USA, on Sunday, January 5, 2025. (Photo by Jorge Lemus/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

NurPhoto via Getty Images

In the past two seasons, the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens and Detroit Lions have been major mainstays in the NFL postseason.

In 2025, each of these franchises would be outside the postseason picture if the playoffs were to start today.

With the NFL season entering Week 12, it’s of vital importance for each of these teams to reassert themselves back into the postseason conversation. How they place themselves back there will depend on a variety of factors.

Kansas City Chiefs: (5-5, 9th Place in AFC)

How They Got Here: The NFL’s latest great dynasty has fallen victim to closing out one score games in 2025. After accumulating 12 double-digit one possession victories during their 15-win 2024 campaign, the Chiefs have fallen to 0-5 in such scenarios this season.

Much of it can be attributed to the team’s leaky offensive line that’s struggled in pass protection, but three-time Super Bowl Champion Patrick Mahomes hasn’t been the best in clutch situations. It’s also been no secret that the team’s ground game has been middling at best due to a lack of game-breaking young talent residing in the backfield.

How Can They Save Their Season: The good news for Kansas City is that they will be facing just three teams with records over .500 in its final seven games. Their matchups versus the Indianapolis Colts, Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Chargers are all home games which is where Kansas City has posted four of its five victories.

The bad news is that the Chiefs have little room for error when it comes to making its playoff push. They own zero tiebreakers against the Jaguars and Bills due to road losses this season and pretty much need to beat the Chargers and Texans to gain a leg up on them in the standings.

A 12-5 or 11-6 finish may be needed for the Chiefs to make the postseason for a tenth consecutive season, and that potentially could be only good enough to make it as a fifth or sixth seed in the AFC playoff standings.

Baltimore Ravens (5-5, 10th in AFC)

How They Got Here: The start to Baltimore’s 2025 season was marred with underperformance and injuries on the defensive side of the ball. The once vaunted unit surrendered forty-plus points two times in the team’s first five games while also giving up 37 and 38-point outings as well.

Each of those lowly performances resulted in Baltimore defeats and through five games, the franchise had only one 2025 regular-season victory. During that stretch, the team lost nose tackle Nnamdi Madubuike for the season to a neck injury along with other defensive players such as corner Marlon Humphery and middle linebacker Roquan Smith for substantial periods of time.

After a strong start to the first three games of the year, two-time MVP Lamar Jackson suffered a hamstring injury that caused him to miss three games. During that span, Baltimore went 1-2 with a crucial double-digit victory after its bye against the Chicago Bears.

Since Lamar’s return, the Ravens offense hasn’t been able to regain its early-season dynamic form. Jackson has had consecutive games where he’s thrown for under 200 yards and just last week threw his first zero touchdown, multi-interception game of the season.

Despite this, Baltimore’s defense has begun rounding into form. They’ve put together four consecutive matchups where they held opposing offenses under 20 points and have won each time while forcing three turnovers in two of those victories.

How Can They Save Their Season: Baltimore embarks on two crucial AFC North matchups versus the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals during its regular-season home stretch. Each could actively shape the franchise’s division-winning chances.

During those games and the others, the Ravens defense needs to continue its consistent level of high play while running the ball more on offense to take the pressure on a rusty Lamar Jackson.

Detroit Lions (6-4 overall, 8th in NFC)

How They Got There: After a slow Week 1 start, the Detroit Lions won four straight and seemed primed to march to the top of the NFC.

Since then, they’ve lost three of their last four due to a spotty offense that head Coach Dan Campbell has been forced to call plays for in recent weeks. Last week’s result led Detroit to post its second-lowest scoring output of the season in a 16-9 defeat against the Philadelphia Eagles.

While Detroit’s defense is operating at a top-10 clip, the offense has lost substantial juice from a play-calling perspective. In their two November losses against the Vikings and Eagles, the Lions mustered just 305 and 317 yards of total offense. In each of its four losses, they’ve rushed for under 100 yards as a team.

How Can they Save Their Season: Establishing a creative and efficient ground game could go a long way in opening up the team’s offense. Jahmyr Gibbs is totaling over five yards a carry but has been made into a downhill rusher more than he should be especially with David Montgomery as his backfield mate.

The Lions are approaching a three-game homestand that features two underwhelming run defenses in the Giants and Cowboys. How the team fares against stiffer run defenses such as the Vikings, Los Angeles Rams and Pittsburgh Steelers could be the tell-tale sign of a Detroit postseason push.