Plus, our writers discuss what stood out most about this week's episode of "Hard Knocks" and make game predictions.

Baltimore’s 31-2 rout of Houston on Wednesday capped a sweep of a grueling stretch of three games in 11 days. Baltimore looked like a Super Bowl contender while handling the Giants, Steelers and Texans. A win next week would give the Ravens the AFC North title — and a third MVP award for Jackson seems to be very much in play.

Just three weeks ago, the Baltimore Ravens appeared unlikely to repeat as AFC North division champions. Baltimore entered their Week 14 bye with two losses in their past three games, including a gut-wrenching loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 11.

Wednesday's matchup between the Houston Texans and Baltimore Ravens won't come with a Christmas miracle regarding postseason chatter since both teams clinched a spot in

The Ravens will finish no worse than the No. 7 seed in the AFC playoffs. Their Week 16 win also prevented Pittsburgh from locking down the division. Now, the Ravens need one more win than the Steelers in the final two weeks of the season to lock down an AFC North title and host a first-round playoff game.