Pittsburgh played the Ravens close early in the season. How is Baltimore different now?
The roster is dramatically different. That was the first game for both L.J. Fort and Josh Bynes, two players that solidified the linebacker play both in run support and coverage. The Ravens have also added defensive end Jihad Ward, defensive tackles Domata Peko and Justin Ellis. Plus we can’t forget the trade for cornerback Marcus Peters, who has two pick-sixes with Baltimore since arriving in Week 7.
Beyond the changes to the players themselves, the defense has tightened up quite a lot. In Week 5’s contest, Baltimore started five players that hadn’t been starters last season and three players that hadn’t even been on the roster in 2018. With such a huge turnover on defense, it was always going to take this unit some time to work out their kinks and get on the same page. As we’ve seen over the last handful of games, the defense has finally hit that mark and is playing far better football with far fewer major lapses, especially in coverage.
Offensively, this is pretty much the same team we saw back then. But much like the defense, I think they’ve jelled together over the course of the season and play better as a unit. It also helps that Jackson is playing so well and the entire team is feeding off that energy.