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Old Friends Face Old Foes In Divisional Round

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The Ravens won't be playing in this weekend's divisional-round matchup, but they certainly still have rooting interests in the AFC meetings.

The Kansas City Chiefs will travel to Foxboro Saturday afternoon to take on the Patriots, and it's not much of a question who the Ravens will be pulling for. John Harbaugh still has a close relationship with Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid, he might even have to break out a Chiefs sweatshirt for the game.

Harbaugh said during the regular season after Baltimore's Week 15 meeting with the Chiefs that he would be pulling for his old boss the rest of the way. 

"I'll be rooting for the Chiefs, absolutely," Harbaugh said. "[Reid] is a great friend. All those guys are; you see all the different people on that staff, all the way through. We'll be friends for life, just like people here [who] we'll be friends for life with going forward.

"I'm an Andy Reid fan. I respect their program, respect all the people in that organization, and he's a great coach. He has done a great job with that team – just a really, really good coaching job, solid all the way around."

Ravens fans will also have their eye on Sunday's matchup between the Broncos and Steelers.

Wide receiver Steve Smith Sr. appropriately summed up the feelings of Baltimore fans last week ahead of the Steelers-Bengals meeting. That sentiment for an AFC North rival to lose hasn't changed going into the matchup with Denver.

Plus, the Ravens can pull for former Offensive Coordinator Gary Kubiak. He led the Ravens to the best offense in franchise history during his one year in Baltimore, and he had incredibly high praise for Baltimore's organization when he left to take his dream job in Denver.

"I really want to thank Steve [Bisciotti], Ozzie [Newsome], John [Harbaugh], the players, the organization," Kubiak said at his introductory press conference last year in Denver. "I was proud to be a part of them, and I appreciate the opportunity they gave me. It was a wonderful experience and I learned a great deal."

Victories by Kansas City and Denver would also prevent the Ravens' two biggest rivals from squaring off with each other in the AFC championship next week with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.

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