Jimmy Smith, the most important Raven besides Joe Flacco?

By foxsports
Published

Would the Ravens have made the Super Bowl last year if Jimmy Smith hadn't gone down with a season-ending foot injury?

The answer to that question is a resounding yes, according to Chuck Mills at Baltimore Beatdown. The Ravens finished 10-6 and nearly knocked off the eventual Super Bowl champs in New England. With Smith, Mills believes the Ravens would have been 13-3 and the No. 1 seed in the AFC rather than entering the postseason as a wild card. 

Even if the Ravens weren't the top seed, Mills also believes a healthy Smith would've been the difference against the Patriots. 

There is no doubt that the Ravens secondary took a beating down the stretch in terms of injury and performance. When Baltimore took that 28-14 lead early in the third quarter against the Patriots, it's hard to believe that Smith wouldn't have helped lock things down. Even if you concede the Rob Gronkowski touchdown that made it a one-score game, Ravens fans probably won't need much convincing that Smith's presence would've helped keep the lead in tact.

Instead, we got this, and the rest was history.

h/t: Baltimore Beatdown