All aboard the hype train folks.
With the Baltimore Ravens beating the Indianapolis Colts, 24-10 in Week 9, they finally answered the biggest question facing them this season. In true Baltimore fashion, it wasn’t the prettiest win and the Ravens didn’t make themselves known as the best team in the league. But they did get over their biggest hurdle and showed they can still have the talent to bully other good teams.
I’ve been very critical of this Ravens team this season but for good reason. With Super Bowl aspirations popping up almost immediately after getting beat by the Tennessee Titans in the playoffs last season and most of the starting lineup returning in 2020, there was little room and patience for Baltimore to dilly dally this year. Through the first seven games, the Ravens looked like a shadow of last season’s unit that couldn’t win a playoff game, giving little hope of Baltimore getting to their final goal this time around.
While things haven’t been great this season, or this year for that matter, I was never looking for perfection. Instead, I wanted to see the Ravens truly get tested in a game and then rise above that to win. In fighting terms, I wanted Baltimore to get rocked, regain their composure, and properly beat down an opponent on every phase of the game. On Sunday against the Colts, Baltimore finally did that, taking their lumps only to absolutely bully their opponent for the final 30 minutes. That’s the type of performance they can build off of to become better than they were last season. That’s what they were missing in the playoff loss to the Titans and in losses to the Steelers and Chiefs this season.
Make no bones about it, the Ravens still have a ton of questions and things they need to improve right now. The offense has been wildly inconsistent and the defense seems to be an injury away from starting me at a number of positions. They still have far too many penalties, coming in droves at the worst possible times. However, those things are correctable and there have been some flashes of brilliance on all sides of the ball, giving hope Baltimore will do so in the coming week. But having some heart isn’t something the team can fix, trade for, or sign; and up until now, there has rightfully been some worry about how much heart this team truly has.
With eight games down, the Ravens are officially at the midpoint of the season, and there’s plenty of games left. But by getting up off the turf, dusting themselves off, getting mad, and playing better ball in the second half, no one should be counting Baltimore out of anything the rest of the way. Phew, is it great to finally be able to say that.
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