A week ago, a reporter asked Baltimore Ravens strong safety Kyle Hamilton a question about his team’s problems defending the pass.
His answer referenced how good the Ravens are in shutting down the run:
“I don’t think we get caught up too much in numbers, but I think we’re knocking the run out so much that teams kind of abandon it,” he said.
“And that skews the passing numbers a little bit…because once you can’t run the ball, you got to pass it, or punt it.”
Looking at the chart below, you can see how much Hamilton is understating it all.
It’s not just that the Ravens are the top defense against the run but also dead last against the past.
It’s the fact that Baltimore is the best against the run by such a wide margin while also being the worst versus the pass by (again) a big gap.
Only a chart can genuinely do this phenomenon justice.
Here is a look at defensive passing yards allowed vs. rushing yards allowed.
The #Steelers are an elite defense.
The #Colts and #Rams, on the other hand, cannot stop anything. The #Ravens can stop the run, but not the pass.#NFL pic.twitter.com/sHrN3wBDTi
— Brad Congelio 🏈📊🧑💻 (@BradCongelio) September 23, 2024
You see that purple bird logo, way off by itself, down in the right corner. The Ravens have allowed just 150 yards rushing this season, or 50 yards per game.
That’s very much elite!
Meanwhile, they’ve yielded 875 yards passing, or 291.7 yards per game. That’s very much abysmal.
They’re given up 1,025 total yards, or 341 ypg, which ranks 23rd overall.
That’s very much below average.
However, the Ravens average 430.3 yards per game, which is the top in the NFL.
They’re not just first; they’re first by a big margin, as the second-ranked Philadelphia Eagles put up 411.7 ypg.
When you add it all up, Hamilton is right—it’s not time to panic. This team could still be excellent.