With the Ravens coming off the latest bye week in franchise history and aiming to advance to the postseason for the sixth time in seven years, I’ve offered a dozen thoughts, each in 50 words or less:
1. Christmas is two weeks away. On the verge of beginning a daunting stretch of three games in 11 days, Baltimore could find itself clinging to a wild-card spot at best or moving into first place in the AFC North by then. Given its brutal schedule, Pittsburgh’s two-game cushion looms large.
2. How successful have the Ravens been in the regular season with a healthy Lamar Jackson? Their five losses already mark their most in a season in games he’s started and finished. With Jackson having the best year of his career, it’s underwhelming to be a good but not great 8-5.
3. Though Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman said the Diontae Johnson saga hasn’t been a distraction in the locker room, I’m not convinced he’ll play again for Baltimore after the one-game suspension. On Monday, John Harbaugh had no interest addressing Johnson’s post-ban future. How do you trust him as a teammate?
4. Justin Tucker indicated he was “in and out of the building” during the bye week, but when is it helpful to take a step back and try “easier” when going through such immense struggles? At the very least, you hope Tucker was able to reset mentally during the break.
5. Through Week 10, the Ravens ranked 27th in yards per play allowed (5.7). Over their last three games, they’ve surrendered only 4.5 per play and a total of just four plays of 20 or more yards. Since Week 11, Baltimore’s defense ranks sixth in EPA per play. That’s encouraging progress.
6. Many were doubting the future of Marlon Humphrey after his injury-plagued 2023, but the 28-year-old has responded with arguably the best season of his career with Pro Football Focus grading him third out of 118 qualified cornerbacks. His five interceptions are already a career high.
7. Speaking of players who’ve dealt with injuries, Ronnie Stanley has played 99% of the offensive snaps with PFF grading him 32nd out of 80 qualified offensive tackles. His play hasn’t been quite as impressive the last several weeks, but Stanley, 30, has remained dependable, making his pending free agency interesting.
8. The changes at safety have been obvious, but it’ll be interesting to see what happens with the inside linebacker spot next to Roquan Smith down the stretch. Trenton Simpson played a season-low 22 defensive snaps against Philadelphia while veteran Chris Board sees more and more action.
9. Derrick Henry has had an outstanding year, of course, but he’s averaged 2.2 yards before contact per attempt over the last six games compared to a whopping 3.7 yards before contact per attempt over the first seven weeks. That’s a reflection on less consistency from the offensive line.
10. Josh Allen is the favorite to be the NFL MVP, but a third award isn’t drastically altering Jackson’s legacy that’s already worthy of Canton anyway. It’s Super Bowl or bust for him and this entire football team, and I think Jackson would agree.
11. Since the road to Super Bowl LIX goes through Kansas City, I have to laugh at discourse surrounding the “unimpressive” 12-1 Chiefs like we’ve forgotten last year when they lost four of six and looked dead at Christmas. Their defense appears more vulnerable, but none of this matters until January.
12. The Ravens face an uphill climb just to host a first-round playoff game. But after watching them again fail to capitalize on a bye and home-field advantage last January, I’ve wondered if they’re meant to break through as more of an underdog like the 2000 and 2012 teams. We’ll see.
