It’s just the Baltimore Ravens are so damn swaggering. Call it poise, call it grit, but they’re doing something right. The Ravens have been electrifying after the regular season ended at 12-5 and they are on a four-game winning streak.

They’ve made it their business to make us gasp all week — Lamar Jackson twisting ankles, Derrick Henry ramming defenders and, of course, Zay Flowers whipping DBs to the ground. That group is not afraid of a dance. But this time it’s a Pittsburgh Steelers game, and the stakes are even higher. And just when we thought everything was perfect, the Harbaugh squad was hit with a curveball when everyone thought they’d seen it all.

Well, John Harbaugh is not a guy to back down from a challenge. As the longest-tenured head coach in the AFC, Harbaugh is the architect of Baltimore’s culture of grit, versatility and relentless focus on excellence. Since arriving in 2008, he’s taken the Ravens to 11 playoff games, four AFC Championship games, and one Super Bowl in 2013.

But he’s not just in effect when his team loses — Harbaugh is a master motivator, a coach who knows how to motivate his guys when they’re down. And it couldn’t be said more simply heading into Saturday’s wild-card game. “We are who we are, based on what we have done, and how hard we have worked,” Harbaugh declared in a recent press conference. “We wanna keep building on that and play our best football right now.”

Not just talk, though, it’s the gospel in the locker room of the Ravens. It is a message that players have embraced from Harbaugh and it is being delivered in the game. He’s saying things that remind you of the grind-it mentality that got this team to the postseason and tell fans they aren’t taking it easy. But as his words made waves, he gave Ravens Nation the news in a tease that made Ravens Nation wait.

Now the real test: can the Ravens keep their edge without one of their most potent weapons? It’s a good team, They’ve been bringing us to our knees week in and week out with a new game every week—Lamar Jackson tearing ankles with 1,327 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns, Derrick Henry crushing defenses for 1,225 yards on the ground, Zay Flowers spinning defenses into hives with 1,059 receiving yards. They’ve averaged 28.5 points per game during this stretch, which is 5th in the league in scoring defense. — but there is now a missing piece.

John Harbaugh’s woes: A playmaker lost at the worst time

Electrifying rookie wide receiver Zay Flowers is not coming against the Steelers in the Ravens’ awaited wild-card game. Coach John Harbaugh announced Thursday that Flowers has a knee sprain he suffered in last Saturday’s win over Cleveland. “Zay Flowers is not going to be able to make it to the game this week,” Harbaugh admitted, “so he’ll get started again next week, and we’ll move forward with the guys we have—and we’re excited about the guys we have, which is everybody else.”

That’s not a knock Baltimore wanted to receive coming into the postseason. Flowers, Ravens’ best receiver this season, has made his name heard. Taking second place in targets (108), receptions (74) and receiving yards (1,059), Flowers has thrown for 26% of Baltimore’s passing yards. His prowess at spreading the ball and making routine catch plays crucial to a team that is 5th in the league in scoring.

One number stands out as Flowers’ steal: his 486 yards among rookies in the league. Whether it’s flipping screens into chunk gains or a long shot to the house, Flowers has been Lamar Jackson’s go to.

He’s gone from Baltimore because they don’t lose a receiver, they lose a player that makes defenses change their game plan. Because Flowers just is on the field, double-teams and safety assistance over the top are needed to get other playmakers such as tight end Mark Andrews and wide receiver Rashod Bateman. The Ravens now face the Steelers and the question is: can this offense continue to run the ball at the speed and power it did without its rookie phenom?

And Harbaugh believes they have a good group, and Jackson knows how to make people look good, and the Ravens want to show that they can survive — and succeed — without one of their brightest lights.