“We haven’t won the Super Bowl yet,” said Lamar Jackson this week, a factually correct statement, but also perhaps an odd thing to utter for the quarterback of a team that was recently 3-3.
Yet the Baltimore Ravens are quite an odd team, one that no one has fully worked out how to properly view, with a profile that somehow manages to fit the criteria of a serious title contender and also that of a squad that might be disappointed it hasn’t gotten more to show for its efforts.
Coming off a bye week and heading into Sunday’s clash with the Carolina Panthers (1 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports App), John Harbaugh’s group have been described as dominant AFC North champs-in-waiting, lacking in aerial offense, firmly on track, worryingly inconsistent, and, by former NFL receiver Brandon Marshall as the “best team in the entire league.”
To the critics, the hype is nonsensical. To the believers, the skepticism is foolish. There is no middle ground.
“You have got to stop disrespecting the Baltimore Ravens and Lamar Jackson,” former NFL receiver James Jones said on FS1’s First Things First. “They are a team that can beat the Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs. This team right here is going to be a problem in the AFC.”
There are, indeed, multiple ways to look at the Ravens. Their 6-3 record is no trivial achievement in a season where everyone seems to be within a standard deviation point from .500.
Are the Ravens legitimate contenders?
Emmanuel Acho, Joy Taylor, LeSean McCoy and David Helman debate whether the Ravens are a legit AFC threat.
But while the Ravens’ combined margin of defeat across three losses was only 11 points, the reality persists they came unstuck in their most important games of the season so far, throwing away leads of 21, 17 and 10 to the Dolphins, Bills and Giants.
If they were a college program, their biggest issue would be in convincing the committee their strength of schedule passes muster, which is why the opinions are so divided when it comes to evaluation. The best team they’ve beaten might actually be the New York Jets in Week 1, having caught Tom Brady‘s Buccaneers at what was probably the lowest point of Tampa Bay’s dip.
It is entirely possible the Ravens can keep motoring all the way to a simple triumph in the AFC North, and we still won’t know exactly what they’re capable of.
While their schedule hasn’t exactly been overloaded with difficulty to this point, it is only going to get easier — on paper, at least.
Each of Baltimore’s next eight games come against a team that currently holds a losing record, before the Ravens take on the Cincinnati Bengals (5-4 as of now) in Week 18. The Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers look too muddled to pose any sort of divisional challenge, and the Bengals appear prone to slip every time they begin to seem threatening.
Harbaugh is encouraged by what he is seeing, and it should be no surprise he’s his squad’s biggest cheerleader.
“That’s not going to be a problem,” he told reporters this week, when asked if the rest week could endanger his team’s momentum. “The season, it starts right back up again. We get a little bit of rest, and we get right back at it.”
There is a specific formula to what the Ravens are doing. They are overwhelmingly run-heavy, trying to pound their way into a lead that forces alterations in the offensive game plan of their opponent, shifts that tend to play into their own defensive strengths.
They have held a double-digit buffer at some point of every game so far, the only team in the league to do so. That’s why those on board think there is no limit to their potential this season, and the comeback losses have really done nothing more than keep them under the radar.
“Teams are forced to pass when they’re behind,” Harbaugh added. “We have a plan in terms of how we envision our defense.”
Related: Ravens rank sixth in FOX Sports’ Week 11 NFL Power Rankings
It is hard to know what a culture is like within an NFL building, because pretty much everyone says good things about their teammates and keeps most of their gripes under wraps.
But the Ravens do seem to have an especially good rapport, which adds up to a sense of durability and permanence.
Some examples from the defensive line: Calais Campbell, 36, and Justin Houston, 33, could both have retired, but chose to come back for another year because they liked what it going on under Harbaugh.
On offense, Jackson has stayed within the confines of the playbook, except for some third-down freelancing, which is one of the most exciting things to watch in pro football. He already has the fifth-most rushing yards of any QB in NFL history. As for running backs, Kenyan Drake has been a 4.7-yard-per-carry stud in the absences of Gus Edwards and J.K. Dobbins.
What would the conversation be like if the Ravens hadn’t squandered leads? They’d command a lot more of the NFL spotlight, that’s for sure. Another reason why Baltimore’s season seems low-key is the lack of blockbuster games against opponents with glittering résumés. Going forward, it might be an extra factor that helps them cruise along with little intrusion.
They are a steady group. Jackson’s contract limbo has been no distraction at all, and most often, the storylines are about Baltimore’s opponents, not them. Sunday’s clash with the Panthers is headlined by the return of Baker Mayfield, with Carolina QB PJ Walker injured.
The Ravens’ big developments happen quietly. Adding linebacker Roquan Smith from the Chicago Bears at the deadline was impactful. Having Demarcus Robinson and James Proche ease into larger roles since top receiver Rashod Bateman went down has been key.
Things like calm perseverance, stability and attention to detail aren’t sexy, but they’re getting the job done in Baltimore. There is still some convincing to do as to their suitability to challenge for the biggest prize, but the Ravens might be their own greatest believers. If anything, the early-season setbacks may have guarded them against any latent complacency as the business end nears.
“I can’t sleep on our opponents,” Jackson told reporters. “One game at a time, a play at a time.”
