The Pain of Missed Opportunities — 2024 AFC North Preview

The Baltimore Ravens once again failed in the NFL Playoffs during the Lamar Jackson era, and it's starting to look like they'll never get it done

Fans of the Belgian National team will forever remember the warm summer evening in Saint Petersburg. Their beloved Red Devils were set to take on France in a World Cup semi-final. The biggest match in the nation’s history, against their neighbor for which they share a language and a 400 mile border. It was a meeting of two powerhouses, and the best chance for the Belgian “golden generation” to take down one of the sport’s giants and play in a World Cup final.

It was Belgium’s best ever chance at taking advantage of the team they had stumbled upon. With top level players at every position, and global stars such as Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Thibaut Courtois leading the charge. In 2014 they were too young, and ran into Lionel Messi’s Argentina in the quarterfinal, ending a promising run. In the 2016 Euros, they crashed out against Wales in one of the biggest upsets in European soccer history. After repeated missed opportunities, this truly felt like Belgium’s best chance.

The Red Devils fell 1-0 to France, with the lone goal coming when center back Samuel Umtiti - who has scored just nine goals for club and country in more than 300 games played - nodded a corner past Courtois in the 51st minute. Just like that, another opportunity was extinguished for the small Western European nation. In the 2021 Euros they’d crash out against eventual champions Italy in the quarterfinal. The 2022 World Cup was a disaster that saw them exit in the first round. At the 2024 Euros, the final gasp of the golden generation, they once again exited after losing a match 1-0 to France. A late own goal by golden generation stalwart and the nation’s all-time appearance leader Jan Vertonghen put a nail in the Red Devils’ coffin. After a decade, it is clear Belgium will not win anything, and never have even played in a final, despite the unbelievable collection of talent it had.

So how should Belgian fans look back at this era? A great collection of talent, the best in the nation’s history, without a true signature moment. They won a lot of games, but not the games they needed to win silverware. Having a great team with great players - maybe the best collection in the world - is great, but does it matter if they never win?

It’s a feeling Baltimore Ravens fans surely have creeping in as they head into the 2024 NFL season. Lamar Jackson is coming off of his second MVP campaign. He is not only one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL right now, but among the greatest of all time. Baltimore has won at least eight games in eight straight seasons, with double digit win totals in five of the last six. The Ravens were the AFC’s top seed last season with an all-time quarterback, elite offensive line, great skill players, an elite front seven and elite secondary. Nothing could stop them - until they stopped themselves in the AFC Championship game against the Kansas City Chiefs. They went away from the dynamic rushing attack, and a goal line fumble by Zay Flowers will live in infamy.

So what now for the Ravens? They bring back much of the same roster that led them to the AFC”s top seed, and a first ever conference championship in the Charm City, but the cracks are beginning to show. Baltimore was only able to retain many of its free agents because of a cap spike this offseason, and they won’t be able to depend on that again going forward. The team is cap strapped and aging. Jackson, like Belgium’s Hazard later in his career, is still an elite talent but the injuries are starting to stack up.

The Ravens should expect to compete for a Super Bowl once again in 2024, but if they don’t, then fans may begin to fear that the opportunity to win a Lombardi trophy with this talented team is slipping away.

AFC North preview

1. Cincinnati Bengals