The Baltimore Ravens have gone with a somewhat unconventional offensive strategy over the last seven weeks. It’s not utilizing rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson in run/pass option plays; that’s being done all over the league right now. No, it’s the idea of running the football heavily and by being more physical than their opponent.

If you weren’t around in the late 90s and early 2000s, you missed the era of hard-nosed offensive football. High-flying passing attacks were still around, but the ground game was a cornerstone of most impressive offenses. Teams would pound the football more often to wear down defenses and set up bigger passing plays. It’s a strategy not often seen in the NFL now but it carries with it a Super Bowl legacy in Baltimore — one the Ravens are riding to success with right now.

Many in the NFL are left wondering if that strategy is sustainable in this era though. Sure, it’s one thing to beat up on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons, but it’s another to go up against some of the best teams in the league now that Baltimore is in the postseason. But for coach John Harbaugh and the Ravens, it’s a strategy they feel can work no matter the opponent.

“We already are sold on that, or we wouldn’t be running the offense,” Harbaugh said when asked if the offense is sustainable. “We already believe that, and this is not some fly-by-night offense. This is not something that somebody just made up in their head. This type of an offense has been around for decades and decades.”

Those that doubt this style of offense can find success should look at what Baltimore was able to do to the Cleveland Browns. Granted, the Browns don’t have a great run defense, but they sold out on stopping it Sunday, often putting extra guys near the line of scrimmage to try to limit the gains. The end result: 296 rushing yards for the Ravens in Week 17.

Every week, there’s talk wondering if Baltimore can continue to run the ball effectively now that everyone knows they’re going to do it. Over seven weeks with this strategy, the Ravens have 1,607 rushing yards. Five of those seven games have seen Baltimore go over 200 rushing yards. The ninth-ranked Los Angeles Chargers’ run defense can’t say they didn’t know the Ravens’ strategy in Week 16, yet Baltimore still ran for 159 yards on them in a 22-10 victory.

Offensive lineman Marshal Yanda sees a return to the type of football he started his career with. Drafted in 2007, Yanda and the Ravens rode this style of offense to the most rushing attempts in 2008 all the way to the AFC championship game with a rookie quarterback. He’d have it no other way a decade later.

“We love this kind of football,” Yanda said following Sunday’s game against the Browns. “It’s ground and pound, smash-mouth football. We get stronger as the game gets longer, and we relish that. To see [Ronnie] Stanley and [James] Hurst pull like that and make things happen, for a lineman that’s what it’s all about.”

Running backs Kenneth Dixon and Gus Edwards have been leading the charge along with Jackson. It’s a switch up from earlier in the season that saw Dixon on injured reserve and Edwards on the practice squad.

“Our backfield is very dangerous,” Dixon said following the game.

Added Edwards: “There is no slack out there.”

With two fresh running backs taking the brunt of the carries, Jackson adding to the mix and a defense that is playing well, the Ravens have something special brewing.