With an offense that has made dramatic improvements and a pass rush that has been dominant, the Ravens might just be the hottest AFC team
I’d be lying if I said the Baltimore Ravens lived up to the expectations I had for them this season. Between an outbreak of the coronavirus and a ton of injuries — especially in the secondary — there are plenty of excuses to be made. But as the regular season winds down and the hunt for the postseason has begun, the Ravens are red hot and looking to right some wrongs.
On the back of a four-game winning streak, Baltimore has seemingly answered the questions everyone had for them entering this season. The offense is humming along nicely with some changes to the offensive line and the running back stable, the pass rush has finally closed the gap and is now getting sacks instead of pressures, and the coaching staff has things dialed in. It took nearly a full season to get to this point, but the Ravens have found quite a sweet spot and look to get even better as they get healthier.
Quarterback Lamar Jackson has become far more efficient with the football, making better decisions with his arm and legs, and regaining the MVP form we saw last season. Over these four wins, Jackson has completed 69.51% of his 82 pass attempts for 696 yards, eight touchdowns, and two interceptions, while adding another 333 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns on 45 attempts. He’s shown poise in the pocket with subtle moves to avoid pressure and enough sense to know when he should run and when he just needs to buy a little more time for guys to get open.
With Mark Ingram out of the starting role, Baltimore has leaned on their better running backs, J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards. Over the last four games, Dobbins and Edwards have combined for 542 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns on 87 carries — good for a 6.2 yards-per-carry average. They’ve also had six receptions for 94 yards, offering not just a dump-off option for Jackson, but big-play ability through the air too.
Dobbins and Edwards are the perfect complement to Jackson and offer enough change of pace between them to force opposing defenses to cater to each differently, creating better matchups for offensive coordinator Greg Roman to take advantage of. Both Dobbins and Edwards can run with force up the middle, while Dobbins’ speed, patience, and vision on the edge make him a threat to take every run to the house. Roman has been putting Dobbins in motion more, causing a little chaos and misdirection among opposing defenses, opening more lanes on the ground and through the air. Roman is also setting up some tendencies in the run game at the end of the regular season that could be played on in the postseason to catch opponents off guard and create big gains.
Baltimore’s pass catchers have started to be a little more clutch in recent weeks as well. Tight end Mark Andrews remains the clear-cut leader of the group but wide receiver Marquise Brown has turned his season around and has been playing far better football over this year-end stretch. Willie Snead and Dez Bryant might not be focal points of the offense but both have shown solid hands and a knack for getting open, especially when Jackson scrambles.
The defense, while showing some concerning signs of slipping, have still been downright dominant at times. Despite having impact players like cornerbacks Marcus Peters, Jimmy Smith, and Anthony Averett, defensive end Calais Campbell, outside linebacker Matthew Judon, and others out with injuries or on the Reserve/COVID-19 list, the Ravens have been haunting their opponents, stopping the run, and harassing quarterbacks.
The pass rush was arguably the biggest concern for this team this year, seeing Baltimore trade for Yannick Ngakoue as a potential midseason remedy. And while the offense has found its stride in recent weeks, it doesn’t hold a candle to the production the pass rush has been getting. Over the last two weeks, the Ravens have notched 11 sacks, 17 quarterback hits, and 15 tackles for a loss. Regardless of the opponents, those types of numbers mean Baltimore’s defense is playing dominant football up front.
With many of the Ravens’ defensive players returning to the lineup and guys like Peters and Smith hopefully returning soon, Baltimore’s ailing secondary should get a massive boost right as they hit the postseason. As we saw earlier in the year, the Ravens’ secondary is capable of being a shutdown unit even when paired with a lackluster pass rush. Now the pass rush has found its footing and the secondary is getting healthier, there’s no reason to believe Baltimore’s defense can’t be even better than their current fourth-place ranking in points allowed.
The obvious counterpoint to the argument the Ravens are the hottest team in the AFC is simply looking at the schedule and their opponents. The Giants, Jaguars, Browns, and Cowboys hold a combined 22-38 record entering Week 17. But if this odd season has taught us anything, it’s that a team’s record means very little when they line up and play football.
We’ve seen massive upsets like the Bengals over the Steelers, the Jets over the Browns, the Jets over the Rams, the Giants over the Seahawks, and Washington over the Steelers in just the last four weeks. Looking beyond just the win/loss column, teams with bad records have kept games close against the supposed elite team in the conference far more often than you might think. Just look at the Kansas City Chiefs’ schedule since their bye — barely beating teams like the Raiders (7-8 right now), Broncos (5-10), and Falcons (4-11).
Sure, the Ravens haven’t gone against the cream of the crop recently, so it’s hard to know exactly how they’d fare when doing so in the playoffs. But Baltimore has been handling their business to an impressive degree and the swagger is beginning to come back. The Ravens are answering the questions everyone had for them, albeit against teams with bad records, at the same time the rest of the conference is showing major flaws.
Time will tell if Baltimore can not only cement their playoff berth in Week 17, but go and win a postseason game. But if you’re looking for a team that is finding its groove and getting hotter every week, the Ravens are your answer. You better believe the rest of the AFC is looking at them with fear in their eyes.
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