Ravens, after a long struggle, finally grab AFC's final playoff spot

The Baltimore Ravens were the final team to grab a playoff spot in the AFC. They did not make it easy.

The Houston Texans came into Sunday needing a lot of help to get the last remaining spot in the AFC playoffs. The Kansas City Chiefs needed so much help, getting a playoff spot would have counted as a holiday miracle.

But as the early Week 17 games went to the fourth quarter, the Chiefs and Texans were looking at the out-of-town scoreboard and feeling good about their chances.

The Chiefs needed to beat the Chargers to give themselves, the Texans and the Ravens hope. The Chargers were in with a win. But the Chiefs took control of that game early and led 19-7 for most of the fourth quarter.

The real shocker was happening in Baltimore. A Ravens win and a Chargers loss and Baltimore was in. But Baltimore trailed 10-3 in the fourth quarter to a Browns team down to its third quarterback, undrafted rookie Connor Shaw.

When the Chargers threw incomplete at Kansas City on a fourth-and-goal with 8:32 left in the fourth quarter, trailing 19-7, the field was wide open.

The Texans would get in with a win, a Chargers loss and a Ravens loss. But even they were struggling with the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars at home. Houston trailed 17-14 going into the fourth quarter. That’s what gave the Chiefs hope. The Chiefs needed a win and the Ravens and Texans to both lose, which seemed really improbable until both trailed early in the fourth quarter.

The Texans took a lead early in the fourth quarter and then J.J. Watt, who deserves to be NFL MVP, got his 20th sack of the season on a safety. But even with the best player in football this season doing his best to get the Texans in the playoffs, the Ravens came alive and finally took the playoff spot.

Torrey Smith caught a 16-yard touchdown to put the Ravens ahead 13-10. Then the Ravens put the shorthanded Browns away with a 2-yard touchdown catch by Kamar Aiken with 3:44 remaining. The Ravens won 20-10. All of the excitement over a really unlikely playoff entrant ended a bit anticlimactically. The Chargers ended up losing 19-7. The Texans held on to win 23-17.

The Ravens will have to go on the road as the AFC’s sixth seed. After Sunday’s tougher-than-expected test to get in the playoffs, Baltimore should already feel like the postseason has begun.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdowncorner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab

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