The Ravens officially have matched the all-time record for success in meaningless games.
Saturday’s 20-3 win over the Panthers gives Baltimore 19 straight preseason wins, equally the achievements of Vince Lombardi’s Packers from 1959-62.
“There’s going to be people that are going to say this doesn’t mean anything,” coach John Harbaugh said after the game, via ESPN.com. “There’s going to be people that are going to look at it and say, ‘Wow, that’s something.’ I’m of the belief that everything has meaning in life.”
The winning streak for the Ravens dates back to 2015.
“All those guys who were a part of that over those years should be proud tonight of that because it’s something only one other team has ever done -- the Vince Lombardi Green Bay Packers,” Harbaugh said. “I’d say that’s notable.”
Still, until any aspect of the preseason carries over to the regular season, it truly does mean nothing. Several years ago, I suggested that preseason records should supplant a coin toss as the final of a dozen or so tiebreakers for postseason positioning, and people lost their minds over that effort to infuse any/some meaning into the exhibition slate. Thus, preseason performance truly and actually means nothing.
The Ravens can tell themselves it has meaning, and if it has meaning for them so be it. As far as the broader NFL is concerned, it has no relevance whatsoever to the goal that every team has of qualifying for the postseason and eventually playing in the Super Bowl.
