Ravens coach John Harbaugh "isn't pleased with the NFL's decision to move kickoff" for Sunday's game against the Bengals to 4:25pm ET, especially "if it affects the size of the crowd at M&T Bank Stadium," according to Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com. Harbaugh said, "I don't think the NFL did us any favors by moving it back. But they don't care about us. So, we just have to care about ourselves. We have to take care of our own business." Hensley noted the NFL moved five games from 1:00pm to 4:25pm "because of playoff implications." Games involving the Ravens, Titans and Bills were "moved because they wanted all the teams vying for a wild-card berth to be playing at the same time." Since the Chargers begin late in the afternoon, Ravens, Titans and Bills had their kickoffs "pushed more than three hours later." The fear is the crowd in Baltimore "will be smaller because of conflicts with New Year's Eve plans." The Ravens have "already been dealing with an increased amount of no-shows this season" (ESPN.com, 12/26). In Baltimore, Jeff Zrebiec notes of the four teams playing in the late afternoon slot and vying for postseason berth, the Ravens have the "best playoff odds." They will "qualify for the postseason with a victory or tie against the Bengals (6-9); or a Titans loss or tie against the Jaguars (10-5); or a Bills loss or tie against the Dolphins (6-9)" (Baltimore SUN, 12/27).
