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Veteran defensive end Brent Urban has spent seven of his 10 seasons with the Ravens, so he understands the psyche of Baltimore and the defense, particularly against the run.
The Ravens are ranked No. 14 against the rush, allowing 109.4 yards per game and an average of 4.5 yards per carry. That’s not good enough by NFL standards and certainly not in Baltimore. That’s like talking about the top sports icons of this city and not mentioning former Orioles greats Brooks or Frank Robinson, or Colts legends such as Johnny Unitas and Lenny Moore.
Run defense is a tradition in Baltimore.
“It hasn’t been up to the standard probably of how it’s been in recent years, but at the same time I think it’s just been … there’s little things here and there that have kind of hurt us, I guess,” Urban said.
“I think there is always room for improvement. Teams have been creative down the stretch in attacking us with outside runs and switching it up and all that kind of stuff.”
The Ravens (13-4) gave up more than 100 rushing yards in losses to Pittsburgh, Indianapolis and Cleveland. Even in their 37-31 overtime victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Dec. 10, the Ravens allowed 128 yards on 30 carries as running back Kyren Williams had 114 on 25 attempts.
And what does a strong running game do to the Ravens? It keeps quarterback Lamar Jackson, the front-runner for the NFL Most Valuable Player Award, off the field and prevents Baltimore from controlling the tempo.
The Ravens could face several teams with good running games in the playoffs. No. 2 seed Buffalo, led by James Cook and his 1,122 yards, has the No. 7 rushing offense, averaging 130.1 yards per game. Fifth-seeded Cleveland is 12th (118.6), followed by No. 7 seed Pittsburgh (118.2), which is 13th with Najee Harris (1,035 yards) leading the way. In No. 6 seed Miami, Raheem Mostert (1,012 yards) and De’Von Achane (800 yards) are a tough 1-2 combo, too.
That’s why the Ravens spent a lot of time going over fundamentals at Wednesday’s practice.
“It’s just playing our techniques, seeing all those runs that have hurt us and that’s why we’re at a luxury to have the bye,” Urban said. “We can kind of go over that stuff and see what has hurt us and how to kind of improve that moving forward. We got to play technique and just kind of read it on the run.”
Ravens middle linebacker Roquan Smith agreed with Urban.
“We have to take advantage of this week [and] get everything you can out of this week, home in on the fundamentals, make sure your cardio is good and just make sure to keep reminding yourself [to] be ready to rock and roll next week — whatever day that is,” he said.
The Ravens also need to expect the unexpected. They beat Miami, 56-19, but the Dolphins still had success on the perimeter, especially their vintage toss plays to the outside.
Pittsburgh, which has beaten the Ravens twice this season by identical scores of 17-10 and has won six of the past seven meetings, changed up its running game by using traps and counters with its tight ends blocking down to the other side of the line of scrimmage with “wham” blocks.
The Steelers had 155 yards on 39 carries in the regular-season finale, albeit against many of the Ravens’ backups. Their strategy was ideal, especially against defensive tackle Justin Madubuike, who gets a lot of penetration because he is so quick off the ball.
2023 NFL: Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens
Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun“I think there is always room for improvement,” said Ravens defensive lineman Brent Urban, left, shown trying to tackle Bengals running back Joe Mixon alongside Malik Harrison, Patrick Queen and Roquan Smith on Nov. 23. “Teams have been creative down the stretch in attacking us with outside runs and switching it up and all that kind of stuff.” (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff)Steelers coach Mike Tomlin made the Ravens adjust, but they were slow to do so.
“Yeah, I saw that in Pittsburgh. They were definitely gap-scheming, trapping, doing all that stuff to get interior runs and seams through us,” said Madubuike, who leads the team with 13 sacks and is sixth in tackles with 56. “I feel like early on they got us pretty good on it, but I feel like we picked up on it and found ways to counter it. I feel like we got better as the game went on.”
That’s part of what makes the postseason so interesting. The secondary was expected to be Baltimore’s weakness before the season, but the unit has held up well. The Ravens have also gotten a strong pass rush from veteran outside linebackers Jadeveon Clowney and Kyle Van Noy.
The run defense, though, has been inconsistent, and the Ravens have to emphasize to their defensive linemen that they need their offensive counterparts to keep them from reaching Smith and weakside linebacker Patrick Queen in the second level. Those two lead the Ravens in tackles with 158 and 133, respectively.
The Ravens know they have to get better.
“I think that we’ve played pretty good against the run,” Madubuike said. “There’s a few games that we feel like we could have played better. We were talking about that in meetings that there are certain fronts for us as interior linemen, and we have to set up the linebackers to be clean so we can stop the run earlier. I think we have a good defense, but we have a ways to go to get better.”
AFC divisional round
TBD at Ravens
Jan. 20-21, TBA
TV: TBA
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
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Forgive Baltimore fans for being jaded.
Really, they should be confident. The Ravens finished the regular season with the league’s best record and, in the minds of most, are the class of the NFL. Lamar Jackson is the presumptive NFL Most Valuable Player, the receiving corps has been strong and the defense has been even better. Baltimore will rest this weekend — while other teams beat each other up — before hosting the AFC team with the lowest-remaining seed Jan. 20 or 21 in the divisional round.
But the city of Baltimore hasn’t seen a home playoff win since 2013, and the ghost of 2019’s disappointing loss to the Tennessee Titans haunts Ravens fans evermore. Plus, across the street from M&T Bank Stadium, the Orioles fell flat in October’s postseason after a dominant and exhilarating regular season in which they won an American League-best 101 games.
Some fans, citing the 2019 Ravens and 2023 Orioles, might be uneasy heading into the postseason, especially since this year’s Ravens — like those two league-best teams previously mentioned — received a first-round bye.
“I can’t blame people for talking about it,” standout second-year safety Kyle Hamilton said this week of 2019. “Obviously, I wasn’t here, I don’t know too much of what happened, but we were first in the AFC and lost. That’s all people have to go off of right now besides the Ray Lewis [and] Ed Reed days.”
But if Ravens fans are anxious, it should be because, in a win-or-go-home playoff setting, anything can happen. Not because Baltimore has received a bye.
Some blamed the Orioles’ long break before the 2023 postseason for their being swept by the eventual World Series champion Texas Rangers, and some criticized the Ravens’ decision to rest key players, such as Jackson and star inside linebacker Roquan Smith, in last week’s meaningless game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, fearing they’d be out-of-rhythm come playoff time after a three-week hiatus from game action.
Posed with a question about the concept of “rust versus rest” — weighing the advantages of staying sharp as opposed to getting a break — coach John Harbaugh said “it’s not really about that.”
“I think we’re just going to have a great week of practice and try to get better in every single area,” he said.
Sure, the long break is unusual. After months of playing every week, Jackson’s first appearance in an NFL game in 2024 will come, at the earliest, Jan. 20. Asked Wednesday if he’s antsy to play, Jackson quickly nodded yes.
But unlike every other AFC team, the Ravens are guaranteed to advance to the divisional round, a blessing in the postseason. They won’t know their foe until after this weekend, but Harbaugh said it’s helpful to consider which of four possible opponents (the Cleveland Browns, Miami Dolphins, Pittsburgh Steelers or Houston Texans) they could face. What’s more, their risk for injury is low; while Jackson rested during Saturday’s game, Steelers star pass rusher T.J. Watt suffered a knee injury that will keep him out of a wild-card matchup against the No. 2 seed Buffalo Bills.
“Guys were banged up,” defensive lineman Justin Madubuike said of receiving a week of rest, “so it’s another great opportunity for them to get better.”
Bye weeks also give teams time to prepare. An NFL team with a first-round breather is likely to receive a “slight advantage,” according to Jeremy Foreman, a professor at Louisiana-Lafayette who has studied the effects of regular-season bye weeks on NFL teams.
Foreman has found that bye weeks are particularly advantageous when a team faces less familiar, nondivisional opponents. Each additional day of rest a team gets compared with a nondivisional foe is worth 0.37 points, Foreman has found. In the Ravens’ playoff scenario, that would result in a 2.6- to 3.0-point advantage.
“In other words, the bye week advantage is equivalent to about a field goal, when playing against a nondivision opponent,” Foreman wrote in an email to The Baltimore Sun.
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, center, was one of several players to rest during Saturday’s game against the Steelers. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff) The Ravens don’t yet know who they’ll face, which could limit their advantage, and they could very well face a familiar AFC North foe, dulling their edge. Plus, on-field success isn’t measured in 0.37-point increments, but rather in memorable plays that etch themselves into lore — whether in elation or anguish.
But still, at least from an empirical perspective, the Ravens ought to have a slight boost by resting this week.
As for the Ravens’ preparation this week, it mimed the rest of their dominant 2023 campaign. At Wednesday’s practice, there was receiver Odell Beckham Jr. snagging one-handed catches, safety Geno Stone fully participating after an injury scare Saturday, and then, in the locker room, team leader and Pro Bowl linebacker Roquan Smith personifying intensity, as per usual.
“Just a bunch of hungry dogs,” Smith said, describing the team’s mentality. “Like, have you ever been on a safari, [or] have you ever been in the wild and just seen cats that are trying to survive and trying to make their next meal? I feel like we have that mentality, and we know [that] if one gets a kill, we’re all going to share it, at the end of the day.”
Whether it’s Jackson’s health, Smith’s leadership and ferocity or a 0.37-points-per-day boost as evidenced by academic research, the Ravens seem to be on strong footing.
But no one can blame Baltimore fans for their anxiety. The sting of disappointment is too fresh and, as the 2019 Ravens and 2023 Orioles have shown, the postseason is a dangerous wilderness where regular-season wins are as meaningful as the Ravens’ Week 18 loss to the Steelers.
AFC divisional round
TBD at Ravens
Jan. 20-21, TBA
TV: TBA
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
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Dalvin Cook was startled by the attention.
“Holy [expletive],” he said as he slipped on his sneakers and turned around to face the gaggle of reporters that had encircled his locker Thursday in Owings Mills.
He said he could sense the swarm of bodies around him but wasn’t quite sure. He was more certain of his decision to sign with the Ravens after the New York Jets released him earlier this month and the four-time Pro Bowl selection passed through waivers unclaimed.
“It was a no-brainer,” Cook, 28, said in his first meeting with reporters since Baltimore signed the 2017 second-round draft pick to its practice squad last week.
Asked about the opportunity of joining the AFC’s top seed ahead of the playoffs, he said, “It presents everything. Obviously the situation speaks for itself.
“For me, it’s a new breath, a new opportunity.”
What kind of one, of course, remains to be seen.
Cook rushed for 1,173 yards and eight touchdowns along with tallying 295 receiving yards and two scores in 2022 with the Minnesota Vikings, who drafted the former Florida State star 41st overall seven years ago.
But there were signs during his final season in Minnesota that perhaps his best years were behind him.
Among 42 running backs with at least 100 carries, his rushing yards over expected per carry (-0.1) ranked 30th, expected points added per rush (-0.2) 39th, per NFL NextGen Stats, and defense-adjusted value over average (-10.8%) 33rd, according to FTN Fantasy. And that was behind a Vikings offensive line that ranked as one of the best in the NFL, with a run-blocking grade of 74.1 by Pro Football Focus, the third-highest mark in the league.
Things were even worse in New York. With the Jets, who signed Cook as something of an insurance policy with second-year back Breece Hall coming off a torn ACL, he never found his rhythm. In 14 games with New York, Cook logged just 67 carries for 214 yards and fumbled twice.
That he signed with Baltimore after his release, however, was not a surprise. The Ravens lost their top back, J.K. Dobbins, to a season-ending torn Achilles tendon in Week 1 and emerging undrafted rookie Keaton Mitchell to a torn ACL in Week 15.
That left only Gus Edwards, Justice Hill and little-used veteran Melvin Gordon III as the team’s running backs on the active roster.
Cook, who is from South Florida and friendly with Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson and Zay Flowers, said Thursday that he was “close, real close” to signing with Baltimore before choosing the Jets.
Ravens running back Dalvin Cook, pictured at practice Wednesday, could be part of the team’s rotation in the postseason. (Kevin Richardson/Staff) As for how much action he might see in the postseason, Ravens coach John Harbaugh said Wednesday that he views Cook as a “very valuable or potentially valuable weapon on our offense.” Baltimore’s first playoff game also won’t take place until the divisional round, either Jan. 20 or 21, which gives Cook time to get acclimated to the offense.
“He still has talent and ability, and he’s smart,” Harbaugh said. “I think he’s going to be a valuable part of our team and the playoffs here.”
Cook, meanwhile, is excited for the opportunity.
“Knowing how [Lamar] is, knowing how he operates, a competitor, we just playing ball like we’re back home back in South Florida playing ball. It’s gonna be a great experience.
“I appreciate Harbaugh so much. For me, I’m just gonna work my tail off. Every opportunity that comes my way I’m gonna give it my all for these guys.”
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Save for some self-inflicted wounds early in the schedule, the Ravens exceeded expectations during the regular season, particularly after losing top running back J.K. Dobbins to a season-ending torn Achilles in Week 1 and tight end and security blanket Mark Andrews to an ankle injury in Week 12, as well as a slew of others to less serious injuries the past few months.
Baltimore (13-4) finished with the best record in the NFL to claim the top seed in the AFC, a first-round bye in the playoffs and home-field advantage through the conference championship game. The Ravens also have the presumptive NFL Most Valuable Player in quarterback Lamar Jackson, who is the favorite to win the award for the second time in his career, a historically dominant defense that led the NFL in sacks (60), takeaways (31) and fewest points allowed (16.5) and should be relatively healthy with key starters expected back in time for their divisional round game Jan. 20 or 21.
But the playoffs, of course, are a different animal. One small mistake can end big Super Bowl dreams.
Still, the regular season provided plenty of insight on what awaits the Ravens this postseason. Though Baltimore is just 2-5 in the playoffs and has failed to advance past the divisional round since its last Super Bowl title in the 2012 season, the expectation from fans, rightfully so, is much higher this year.
So with the playoffs about to begin and the Ravens awaiting to see who their opponent will be, Baltimore Sun reporters Brian Wacker and Childs Walker and columnist Mike Preston break down the best and worst from the regular season and look ahead to the postseason.
The Ravens’ 13-4 record surpassed even the most optimistic expectations. What’s your biggest takeaway from the regular season?
Wacker: That this team has been an exquisite blend of hungry, talented veterans often willing to set aside ego for the greater good of chasing a Super Bowl ring, and smart, talented, explosive young players to complement them. Winning helps, of course, but players such as Jadeveon Clowney, Kyle Van Noy and Odell Beckham Jr. have blended seamlessly with rising stars such as Roquan Smith, Kyle Hamilton and Zay Flowers. Jackson, meanwhile, has elevated his game to another level. He’s always been a dynamic generational talent, but his command of the offense seems to have ratcheted up.
Walker: This team can win a lot of different ways and adjusts well within games, traits that will play well in the postseason. The Ravens don’t have a pronounced weakness. Jackson is a more polished passer than he was during his previous MVP season, but coordinator Todd Monken’s offense can still pound out yards on the ground when it’s time to secure a win in the second half. The Ravens’ defense surrendered chunk plays in the first halves of blowout wins over the San Francisco 49ers and Miami Dolphins, but coordinator Mike Macdonald made tactical adjustments that paid off against two of the league’s most dangerous offenses.
Preston: There were two. The first was how the Ravens physically dominated teams. The NFL is filled with average teams but the Ravens just mauled and beat teams that were supposed to be good, such as Detroit, Seattle, San Francisco and Miami. In some cases, they were expected to win, but they took away the other team’s desire to compete. I haven’t seen that in Baltimore since the Ravens won the Super Bowl in 2000 with one of the best defenses in league history.
While on the subject of defense, this group carried the team while the offense was a “work in progress.” The Ravens were expected to be strong in the front seven, but the secondary stepped up despite being riddled with injuries to starters such as cornerback Marlon Humphrey and safety Marcus Williams.
The Ravens entered the season without a shutdown cornerback, but Brandon Stephens has stepped up, as has safety Geno Stone. Combined with pass rushers Clowney and Van Noy, tackle Justin Madubuike and linebackers Patrick Queen and Smith, the Ravens had a strong regular season.
What’s more important during the first-round bye: getting extra rest and healing up for a playoff run, or staying sharp after a strong regular season?
Wacker: Rest, rest and more rest. Sure, there’s always a concern about rust whenever there is a long layoff, and it wouldn’t be stunning if that happened again this year. But the makeup of the roster is what to makes that unlikely. There’s too much of a veteran presence and too much high-level, intelligent talent to bungle the opportunity. Only nine players from the 2019 team that was stunned by the Tennessee Titans in the divisional round after going 14-2 in the regular season remain. One of them is Jackson, and he’s been focused on not letting past playoff failures be his defining legacy.
Walker: Healing is goal No. 1. With essential players such as Hamilton, Smith, Humphrey and Flowers banged up, the Ravens needed the extra week to be in fighting form for the playoffs. But players have made the point that rest cannot come at the expense of losing their edge. So those who could practice did so Wednesday, making sure the detail work they have obsessed over for six months is not squandered with the finish line in sight.
Preston: One doesn’t have more importance than the other. Teams play the regular season to earn a first-round bye and the extra week to heal. Some believe that a team, if peaking, needs to play every week to continue the momentum, but football is physically draining. All you need to do is look at the rash of quarterback injuries this season or the current shape of the Dolphins, who are limping into the postseason with several injuries.
There will be rust, but that will go away quickly. Aside from tight end Mark Andrews, the Ravens should be in good shape for their divisional round game. To keep it in perspective, the Ravens have had virtually three weeks off if you count resting several starters in the regular-season finale against Pittsburgh. The Ravens accomplished all their goals of having the league’s best record, winning the AFC North and earning a first-round bye.
Ravens vs. Browns
Kenneth K. Lam/Baltimore SunBrowns running back Kareem Hunt scores a 3-yard touchdown against the Ravens on Nov. 12. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff)Every playoff team has a fatal flaw. What’s the Ravens’ biggest weakness?
Wacker: Run defense. Teams that have had success against the Ravens this year could run the ball well and command the line of scrimmage. See: the Los Angeles Rams. The Cleveland Browns also shredded the Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium and came away with a win because of it. Being able to grind out yards on the ground, wear out the defense, control the clock and keep the score close puts all the pressure on Baltimore.
Walker: Macdonald has gone with lighter boxes this year, conceding rushing yards, especially in the first half, in the name of preventing big passing plays and creating takeaways. His calculation paid off as the Ravens allowed the fewest points and third fewest yards per play in the league. But it’s fair to wonder how the Ravens, who allowed 4.5 yards per carry, would hold up against an opponent that builds an early lead and runs relentlessly in the second half. That was the formula the Titans used to beat a different Ravens defense, with a different coordinator, four years ago.
Preston: Their biggest weakness is pass protection, especially at offensive tackle. Both right tackle Morgan Moses and left tackle Ronnie Stanley have struggled, but Jackson has made up for it because of his scrambling ability. Both tackles played well against San Francisco and Miami before having trouble again against the Steelers.
The Ravens have done a good job of getting them help with fullbacks, tight ends and running backs chipping on the edges, but that affects the number of receivers in the passing game. In the playoffs, that will be a key decision for offensive coordinator Todd Monken because the quality of opponents will be stronger.
Besides pass blocking, the other concern is stopping the run. It’s not really a weakness but it is something to keep an eye on in the postseason. Before the Week 18 game, the Ravens were allowing 106.5 yards rushing per game. The Steelers pounded them inside, finishing with 155 yards on 39 attempts. In the postseason, opposing teams will exploit your weaknesses.
Lamar Jackson is expected to win his second NFL Most Valuable Player Award, yet he’s struggled in the postseason so far. Why might this year be different?
Wacker: There are myriad reasons to believe that Jackson will be much better in the playoffs this year than in the past: He’s in the sixth year of his career; he has been empowered to take control of a more dynamic offense; he has considerably better talent around him at wide receiver. Talking to teammates, it’s clear he has also paid attention to small details and made smart decisions that have stacked up to a big impact. Some of his numbers were better when he was the 2019 NFL MVP, but overall he is playing the best football of his career right now.
Walker: Jackson is a better mechanical passer, and as he said this week, he has seen so many more defensive tricks than he had as a 23-year-old, finishing up his first full season as a starter. He has managed games expertly this year, giving the Ravens what they need, when they need it, even against the toughest opponents. If we did not know his playoff history, there would be no reason to think he’s due for a fall based on the way he played in December with a division title and No. 1 seed hanging in the balance.
Preston: There are several reasons why that might not happen. First of all, Jackson is now in his sixth year. He missed virtually the final two months of the past two seasons because of injuries, but this year he has played in big games down the stretch against Miami and San Francisco. That experience will help because Jackson has appeared nervous in previous postseason games.
Then there is the addition of first-year coordinator Monken. Jackson previously ran without a purpose, but now he runs to buy time and allow his receivers to get open. Monken’s running game concepts are similar to his predecessor Greg Roman’s, but the passing game concepts are different, better developed and more sophisticated.
The Ravens have more big-play potential compared with previous years with the additions of Beckham, Flowers, Nelson Agholor and tight end Isaiah Likely. They are the most complete and balanced team in the NFL.
Does this guarantee Jackson will succeed in the playoffs? No. But overall, his chances are better because the team invested a lot in the offense during the offseason. Despite the big contract and MVP awards, Jackson has to win in the postseason to cement a legacy in Baltimore and around the NFL.
Great quarterbacks win big games in the postseason.
Ravens inside linebacker Roquan Smith returns an interception against the Dolphins on Dec. 31. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff) Other than Jackson, who is the Ravens’ most important player entering the postseason?
Wacker: No one’s even close to Jackson in terms of importance — without him, the season is over. Next in line, though, is inside linebacker Smith. Hamilton is perhaps just as important given his versatility, but it’s Smith who sets the tone for the league’s best defense and quickly dissects opposing offenses and communicates the call to the rest of the team. He makes everyone around him better.
Walker: If Jackson is the most important player by far, the guys most responsible for keeping him upright, tackles Stanley and Moses, have to be near the top of the list. Both have struggled with injuries (Stanley to his knee and Moses to his shoulder) at times this year, but both did a good job keeping the heat off their quarterback in those dominant wins over the 49ers and Dolphins. It will be interesting to see if the Ravens continue rotating Patrick Mekari and Daniel Faalele to keep the veterans fresh. That unorthodox strategy seemed to pay off, but the offensive line’s ceiling is still highest with Stanley and Moses holding down the edges.
Preston: It’s Smith. He is to the defense what Jackson is to the offense.
Go back and look at the first half of the Steelers game last week. The defense was out of sync and the Ravens were lost without him. As far as leadership, he has become the voice of the team. He is calm and has great wisdom and influence on his teammates. He delivers the pregame speech or “boomalacher,” as Ray Lewis did.
Smith has a quiet charm about him and is a true professional. When he speaks, everybody listens because he commands that kind of respect.
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We made it.
The Ravens wrote a glorious preamble. Have they ever delivered a more perfect couplet of regular-season performances than they did in dismantling the San Francisco 49ers and Miami Dolphins? But we have reached the hour upon which they, especially quarterback Lamar Jackson, will truly be judged. Four years ago, they dominated up to this point only to come up short on the playoff stage. All those who care about this franchise, internally and externally, want to know: Will this time be different?
With that in mind, here are five questions still looming as the Ravens prepare to host their postseason opener.
Will we see MVP Lamar Jackson in the playoffs?
There’s not a lot of justice in using three poor performances to undermine a brilliant athlete who has won 75% of his regular-season starts and who’s favored to win his second NFL Most Valuable Player Award shortly after his 27th birthday. But those are the terms Jackson set for himself when he promised Baltimore a Super Bowl victory the night he was drafted, a vow he reaffirmed when he signed his extension with the Ravens in April.
The fact is that for all those victories, for all his unforgettable highlights, Jackson has played a few of his worst career games in the playoffs.
Toss aside his rookie year, when home fans booed and called for Joe Flacco to be inserted in the Ravens’ 23-17 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. This tale of disappointment truly began after a mighty 2019 season in which Jackson stormed to his first MVP award only to throw an interception, falter in the red zone and squander two third-quarter drives with turnovers in a 28-12 divisional-round loss to the Tennessee Titans.
Jackson avenged that defeat in the 2020 wild-card round but played poorly again on a chilly, blustery night in Buffalo, where the Ravens scored just three points and he threw away their best scoring chance on a red-zone interception.
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, left, hands off to running back Gus Edwards against the Dolphins on Dec. 31. (Jerry Jackson/Staff) Jackson has not played in the postseason since. After that loss to the Bills, fans and analysts outside Baltimore locked on to a narrative — bold winner in the regular season, skittish loser in the playoffs — he still has not outrun.
There’s reason to believe Jackson is set to revise this tired story. In his sixth season, he’s in greater charge than ever before of an offense designed by swearing, swaggering coordinator Todd Monken. He’s throwing to more dynamic targets in Zay Flowers and Odell Beckham Jr., with tight end Isaiah Likely serving as a nifty stand-in for Mark Andrews, who might be working toward a playoff comeback. Coach John Harbaugh has repeatedly used the word “mature” to describe this year’s team, and that starts with its on-field leader.
The vibes could not be better. Jackson played his best games of the season against the Ravens’ toughest opponents and when they could smell the AFC’s No. 1 seed. But he has to do it with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.
Can the Ravens avoid coming out flat three weeks after their last meaningful game?
Comparisons to 2019 — similarities extend from the Ravens’ closing dominance, to Jackson’s MVP brilliance, to their resting of key starters in a meaningless regular-season finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers — are unavoidable.
Jackson seems exhausted with this plot. Others, such as left tackle Ronnie Stanley, say that loss to the Titans sticks with them as a reminder of what not to do this time around.
“I remember we came out really, really slow in that Titans game,” nose tackle Michael Pierce said.
He’s not wrong. The 2019 Ravens were used to trampling opponents before halftime, but the Titans scored first after Jackson’s pass tipped off Andrews’ outstretched hands into the arms of Tennessee defensive back Kevin Byard, whose interception set up a 35-yard touchdown drive. The Titans built their advantage to 14-0 on a 45-yard play-action bomb one snap after Jackson failed to convert on fourth-and-1. In a matter of moments, Tennessee turned the tables on the league’s brawniest bully.
The Ravens would mishandle opportunities to get back in the game, but the die was cast early in the second quarter. Did this have something to do with the way Harbaugh and his players had handled the previous three weeks after they clinched home-field advantage and a first-round bye? Did they lose their edge as starters rested in the finale against Pittsburgh, as they took a weekend off while the Titans fought to advance?
Harbaugh does not see the experience that way. He’ll tell you the Ravens had the right plan for Tennessee, that they outgained their opponent 530 yards to 345 and lost because they simply did not execute properly on a few plays that should have produced touchdowns. Though he’ll make some tweaks, he has indicated he will not coach this year’s team in reaction to 2019. He again opted to rest Jackson and several other key players against the Steelers, acknowledging the risk of injury outweighed any potential gain.
No matter what the Ravens say between now and the opening kickoff, we won’t know what any of it meant until they play the next game. Even then, causality will be elusive, just as it was four years ago.
“We have a good plan, and Coach ‘Harbs’ has a good plan,” Pierce said. “We’ll be working mostly through the break and obviously getting guys healthy, but we’ll be working, and we’re definitely mindful [of] what happened last time.”
How healthy are they?
The Ravens needed this week off.
They dealt with significant injuries — Andrews’ ankle, J.K. Dobbins’ torn Achilles tendon, a season-ending knee injury to scintillating rookie Keaton Mitchell — at various points of the season without being derailed. But they became noticeably more battered in those victories against Miami and San Francisco, brilliant as they were. They finished off the Dolphins without starting cornerbacks Marlon Humphrey and Brandon Stephens or Pro Bowl safety Kyle Hamilton. Pro Bowl linebackers Roquan Smith and Patrick Queen are nursing pectoral and shoulder injuries, respectively. They took the unusual step of rotating their offensive tackles in hopes of getting veterans Stanley and Morgan Moses across the finish line. Their most dependable blocker, Kevin Zeitler, tried to fight through knee and quadriceps pain to face the Dolphins but could not make it. Outside linebacker Odafe Oweh and safety Geno Stone left the Steelers game with ankle and knee injuries, respectively.
The good news, Harbaugh said, is that all those who were out or questionable against Miami and Pittsburgh are expected to be ready for the playoff opener. He has not ruled out an Andrews return if the Ravens keep winning. Jackson, who could not finish the 2021 and 2022 seasons, is the one player this team cannot go without, and he’s fit.
But playoff football is a war of attrition, with everyone hurting to some degree and catastrophe always one awkward step away. We can’t know if Hamilton’s sprained knee and Humphrey’s sore calf will cost them a few steps of mobility, if persistent pain will make it harder for Queen and Smith to secure the middle of the field or for Stanley and Moses to keep Jackson safe.
The Ravens aren’t the most wounded team in the playoffs. In fact, they might go into their divisional-round matchup with a healthier roster than possible opponents such as the Dolphins and Cleveland Browns. But they’re dealing with enough issues that we’ll all be playing amateur trainer as we watch the next week of practices.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh, left, speaks with defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald at practice Dec. 28. (Kevin Richardson/Staff) Might they be at a disadvantage in a slugfest?
This question seems to defy logic because we’re talking about the league’s most productive ground attack and a defense that prides itself on beating up high-concept offenses.
The numbers don’t lie, however. The Ravens, in part because of coordinator Mike Macdonald’s tactical concessions, have not smothered the run in recent weeks. The 49ers’ Christian McCaffrey averaged 7.4 yards per carry against them. Miami’s De’Von Achane averaged 7.6. Pittsburgh pounded out 155 rushing yards.
In most cases, opponents have fallen behind the Ravens, making it impossible to keep grinding. This suggests Macdonald’s gambit of going with lighter boxes to minimize big plays and maximize takeaways is a smart one. His defense has allowed the fewest points of any in the league. The modern adage that teams run because they’re winning instead of winning because they’re running has held up.
But what if a playoff opponent strikes first and strikes hard as the Titans did four years ago, before handing the ball to Derrick Henry to carry them home? Are the Ravens, with so many of their most important defenders playing through injuries, primed to stand up to such a frontal assault?
On the other side of the ball, Jackson will hand off to Gus Edwards, who does not run through contact as consistently as he did a few years ago, and Justice Hill, who played brilliantly against the Dolphins but has carried just 26 times over the past eight games. The Ravens found an electric threat in Mitchell to mitigate the loss of Dobbins, but he’s gone until next season. Ex-stars Melvin Gordon III and Dalvin Cook seem unlikely to deliver home runs. Which means the overwhelming burden will fall on Jackson when the Ravens need tough yards. He guarantees a potent running game, no matter who’s back there with him, but he also needs to manage risk.
The Ravens have out-rushed opponents in 14 of 17 games this season, but they’re vulnerable enough on defense and down enough bodies on offense that this customary advantage is no given for the games ahead.
Is this both the first and last best chance for this version of the Ravens?
More than 20 Ravens, including Queen, Beckham, Stone, Zeitler, defensive tackle Justin Madubuike and edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney, will become free agents after this season. They’ll keep some of those — Madubuike figures to be the priciest and most likely to be kept in place using the franchise tag — but can’t afford them all with Jackson, Stanley, Humphrey, Andrews and safety Marcus Williams each eating up at least $15 million of their 2024 salary cap.
The road ahead is also uncertain for key non-playing figures in the franchise. Macdonald and Monken, along with defensive line and associate head coach Anthony Weaver, have popped up on interview lists for coaching vacancies. Their staffs — the Michigan-Ravens defensive think tank is particularly hot at the moment — could be raided to fill pro and college coordinator openings. Vice president of football administration Nick Matteo and director of player personnel Joe Hortiz could end up running front offices in other NFL cities.
This is the nature of success in the NFL. Poachers take from the fleshiest carcasses. The cap forces painful choices.
We should not overstate the speed with which the Ravens’ window is closing. Harbaugh, general manager Eric DeCosta and owner Steve Bisciotti still lead one of the most stable brain trusts in the sport. They paid Jackson all that money because when you have a franchise quarterback, the window stays open. Stars such as Hamilton, Smith, Flowers and center Tyler Linderbaum are just beginning their runs.
But the Ravens’ next dominant team won’t look exactly like this one. We need only look back to 2019 to realize how quickly NFL life proceeds. About 80% of the players from that roster are playing elsewhere or retired four years later. Offensive coordinator Greg Roman, one of the league’s most lauded assistants that year, did not coach in 2023. Defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale just resigned from the New York Giants, the team he joined after he departed Baltimore.
So yes, urgency is called for as the Ravens prepare for this Super Bowl push.
AFC divisional round
TBD at Ravens
Jan. 20-21, TBA
TV: TBA
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
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Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald continues to draw interest from other teams around the NFL.
On Tuesday, Titans general manager Ron Carthon told reporters hours after coach Mike Vrabel was fired that Tennessee was “going to hit the ground running” in its search for a replacement. A day later, the team requested permission to interview Macdonald for the opening, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
After the Ravens (13-4) finished with the NFL’s best record during the regular season, becoming the first team in NFL history to lead the league in sacks (60), takeaways (31) and points allowed per game (16.5), Macdonald has become one of the hottest head coaching candidates in the league.
Already, the Washington Commanders and Carolina Panthers have requested permission to interview the 36-year-old, who is in his second year as the Ravens’ defensive coordinator and has transformed Baltimore’s defense into the best in the NFL. He was already viewed across the league as one of the game’s brightest young minds coming into this season, and that reputation has only been enhanced since.
“I think we have a bunch of coaches who are going to be coordinators and head coaches on this staff who are going to be very successful for a long time,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said Wednesday as the team began preparations for the divisional round Jan. 20-21. “Any opportunity they get I support, and I’m excited for them to have those opportunities.”
Harbaugh also alluded to some coaches on his staff as having one, two or three interviews, which would point to Macdonald.
The Ravens have a long-standing policy of not commenting specifically on whether another team has requested an interview with a member of their organization, though several staff members have been targeted for interviews by other teams, including offensive coordinator Todd Monken and associate head coach/defensive line coach Anthony Weaver. The Panthers also announced they have sought permission to interview Ravens vice president of football administration Nick Matteo for their general manager opening, while Baltimore’s director of player personnel, Joe Hortiz, has also been rumored to be a candidate for general manager openings.
While no in-person interviews with a coach currently working for another team can be held until after the divisional round of the playoffs, virtual interviews can take place. General manager interviews, meanwhile, can begin immediately.
Macdonald, who began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Georgia in 2010, joined Baltimore as a coaching intern in 2014 and has quickly worked his way up the ranks. After two years as a defensive assistant, he was promoted to defensive backs coach in 2017, then linebackers coach the next year. In 2021, he took a job as Michigan’s defensive coordinator under Harbaugh’s younger brother Jim and built one of college football’s best defenses before returning to the Ravens in 2022 to be their defensive coordinator following the departure of Don “Wink” Martindale.
When asked late last month if he’d received any calls from interested teams, Macdonald simply shook his head and laughed.
“It’s hard to ignore, and it’s an honor to hear about it,” he said then. “It’s such a unique opportunity when it does come up. For guys that know me, I’m a one-track guy. It’s very difficult for me to do two things at once, so you try your best to focus on the things we need to focus on, which is the next game and getting our guys in position to win. To have that opportunity or have your name come up like that, it’s really a reflection of our coaches and our staff together.”
The Titans were 54-45 over six seasons under Vrabel, though just 13-21 the past two seasons, missing the playoffs both times.
The departure of Vrabel, a former linebacker and assistant coach with the New England Patriots, also comes four years after Tennessee stunned the top-seeded Ravens in the divisional round of the 2019 playoffs, 28-12, after quarterback Lamar Jackson led Baltimore to a 14-2 mark in the regular season and was unanimously chosen as as the NFL’s Most Valuable Player.
Others the Titans have reportedly requested permission to speak with include Las Vegas Raiders interim coach Antonio Pierce, Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn and New York Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka.
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Ravens rookie wide receiver Zay Flower did not practice Wednesday, the team’s first of the postseason, as he continues to recover from a calf injury.
Cornerback Marlon Humphrey (calf) also did not practice but was present in street clothes, and linebackers Del’Shawn Phillips and Malik Harrison, tight end Charlie Kolar, and outside linebacker Odafe Oweh missed practice, too.
Several other players — including quarterback Lamar Jackson and inside linebacker Roquan Smith — who rested Saturday against the Pittsburgh Steelers returned to practice as the Ravens readied for the playoffs. Kyle Hamilton (knee), Kevin Zeitler (quad/knee) and Geno Stone, who left Saturday’s game with a knee injury, all returned to fully participate in practice.
As the No. 1 seed in the AFC, the Ravens receive the postseason bye through this weekend. They’ll play at home on Jan. 20 or 21 against a team to be determined in the divisional round.
Despite a loss to the Steelers in a less-than-meaningful game in Week 18, the Ravens managed to avoid significant injury. They’ll hope to enter the playoffs with a strong bill of health, including from Humphrey and Flowers, who tallied a team-high 858 yards and five touchdowns during the regular season.
Practice squad running back Dalvin Cook also made his first appearance on Wednesday after the four-time Pro Bowl selection was signed by the Ravens last week.
“Dalvin Cook is a high pedigree player, a highly decorated player, and he’s still got talent and ability,” coach John Harbaugh said.
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By TOM CANAVAN (AP Sports Writer)
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Defensive coordinator Wink Martindale and the New York Giants have parted ways after coach Brian Daboll fired two of his most trusted assistant coaches.
The Giants, coming off a disappointing 6-11 season, announced the separation on Wednesday after more than a day of talks on how to work around the final year of Martindale’s contract. He was supposed to earn in the neighborhood of $3 million in 2024.
No details of the split were released. A separation agreement could limit which teams the long-time coordinator could join if he was hired elsewhere next season.
There were reports that the 60-year-old Martindale had submitted his resignation on Monday after the dismissals of outside linebackers coach Drew Wilkins and defensive assistant Kevin Wilkins, brothers whom Martindale worked with in Baltimore and were hired by him after he got the Giants job. But Martindale never submitted a resignation, according to general manager Joe Schoen.
The rift between Daboll and Martindale emerged publicly in November when FOX NFL insider Jay Glazer reported their relationship had soured and Martindale might leave the team after the season. Both Daboll and Martindale denied the report. Martindale several times said he wanted to return in 2024, but last week the affable veteran acknowledged he still wanted to be an NFL head coach.
The departure of Martindale, whose defense shared the NFL lead with Baltimore in turnover differential (plus 12) but struggled against the run, means Daboll has to replace two coordinators and four assistants in the wake of injury-plagued season.
Daboll fired special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey and offensive line coach Bobby Johnson on Monday morning and the Wilkins brothers in the afternoon meeting with the defensive coaches. Running backs coach Jeff Nixon has left to become the offensive coordinator at Syracuse.
The changes came after the team stumbled horribly after making the playoffs in 2022 for the first time since 2016. New York won a wild-card game and expectations soared after the team reached agreement with quarterback Daniel Jones following a career season, acquired tight end Darren Waller in a trade and got star running back Saquon Barkley to sign a one-year deal after franchising him. Moves in free agency and the draft fueled those expectations.
A bad start, injuries, little offense and early struggles on defense led to a 2-8 start to the season and New York never recovered.
The only coordinator expected to return is offensive coordinator Mike Kafka, although Daboll might consider taking over the play-calling part of the job.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
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BEREA, Ohio — Joe Flacco knows the ins and outs, the perils and pitfalls of the road in the NFL playoffs as well as anyone.
He’s sharing his top travel tips with the Browns.
As Cleveland’s quarterback and his new-ish teammates prepare for Saturday’s AFC wild-card game in Houston, Flacco’s experience — and success — on the road in the postseason is giving the Browns (11-6) an extra boost of confidence.
Flacco has won seven road playoff games, tying him with Tom Brady for the most in league history. There don’t seem to be any secrets to his impressive mark as Flacco said it simply comes down to following the fundamentals.
“It just goes back to doing the basics the right way, not overthinking what it means to go on the road, just going and playing a good football game,” Flacco said before Wednesday’s practice. “And when the dust settles, pick your head up and see where you are.”
Flacco has been having those types of moments for weeks. After all, he’s been on an extended personal road trip for nearly two months.
The 38-year-old was out of football, pondering the next chapter in his life, when the Browns signed him in November after they lost Deshaun Watson for the remainder of the season with a fractured shoulder.
All Flacco has done since coming to Cleveland is go 4-1 as a starter, throw for 1,616 yards and 13 touchdowns and give Browns fans temporary amnesia about the franchise’s dreadful history with quarterbacks.
A win on Saturday and Super Bowl whispers will grow louder.
Joe Flacco and Ravens coach John Harbaugh celebrate after beating the Patriots in the AFC championship on Jan. 20, 2013 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Staff file) The Browns are making just their third postseason appearance since 1999, and there are only a few players on their roster with extensive playoff experience, led by Flacco, the Super Bowl 47 MVP with Baltimore.
This will be Flacco’s 17th postseason game — he didn’t play in his final one with the Ravens in 2019 — and 16th playoff start. He’s 10-5 overall with a 7-5 road record, which includes wins at Miami, Tennessee, New England (2), Kansas City, Denver and Pittsburgh.
He’s hoping to add Houston to his playoff road resume in his second visit in three weeks. Making just his fourth start for the Browns, Flacco threw for 368 yards and three touchdowns in Cleveland’s 36-22 win over the Texans on Dec. 24.
Flacco’s Super Bowl MVP came when he led the Ravens to the title after the 2012 season. That run included road wins in Denver against Peyton Manning and the following week in New England over Brady.
He’s pleased to share the road mark with Brady, who went 7-4 on the road in the playoffs, but made it clear that every win is special — regardless of location.
“Any time you get to be in the playoffs and win football games, there’s some part of you that takes pride in that no matter where it is,” he said. ”This is what we go to work for every day — to be in this position and to play these types of games.
“We earned the right to be playing this Saturday and you should gain something from that. But once you lace him up and once you’re actually out on the field, none of that matters.”
On Monday night, Flacco was one of a handful of playoff-tested Browns players who spoke at a team meeting about what lies ahead.
“Everybody puts so much thought into what it takes to win these games and it’s doing the simple things the best you can and just playing good fundamental football,” Flacco said. “This is the time of the year where that stuff shows up.
“Obviously there’s going to be plays made and guys are going to make a name for themselves, something’s going to happen over the next five weeks that we’re going to remember forever. But it’s just about playing fundamental, physical football and playing a full 60 minutes. And no matter what’s going on at the moment being able to keep the blinders on and keep moving forward.”
AFC wild-card round
Browns at Texans
Saturday, 4:30 p.m.
TV: NBC
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Lamar Jackson already has a spot picked out in his house for a Super Bowl trophy.
“Absolutely,” the Ravens quarterback told The Baltimore Sun, his eyebrows furrowing and a wry smile stretching across his face. “I got that planned out.”
He’s not ready to reveal the plan yet. He does not want his thoughts to get too far into the future because it’s a futile exercise. After all, he’s been here before.
Four years ago, Baltimore finished the regular season 14-2, was the top seed in the AFC and had home-field advantage through the conference championship game. Jackson was the unanimous choice to be named NFL Most Valuable Player that season, with the award announced the day before the Super Bowl. But the Ravens never got that far in the postseason, getting stunned at home by the Tennessee Titans, 28-12, in a divisional-round game in which Jackson was intercepted twice and fumbled once. Afterward, he said Baltimore beat itself and that he made a lot of mistakes but noted that it was just his second year in the league.
Translation: He’d learn from his errors, and there would be other opportunities.
After another playoff exit in the 2020 season and two injury-marred years that followed, the Ravens are finally on the precipice of the promise that Jackson made the night Baltimore drafted him in 2018. At 13-4 after the regular season, they are the No. 1 seed in the AFC, have home-field advantage and Jackson is the presumptive MVP.
But this time is different. Jackson’s game and attention to detail, in the words of teammates, have “matured,” he has a dynamic offensive system at his fingertips and there is significantly more talent surrounding him than he had the last time Baltimore was in this position.
“I don’t really get bothered by much [in my career] and I wouldn’t say I’ve had a lowest point, but I’ve had disappointments,” Jackson told The Sun. “Not finishing the season how we wanted, getting that first-round bye [in 2019] then losing before the AFC championship, that’s disappointing. We have a special team and hopefully we make it happen this year.”
First, there is the offensive scheme under new coordinator Todd Monken, who helped lead Georgia to national championships each of the previous two seasons.
In addition to more spread formations and an up-tempo pace, the Ravens have emphasized getting the ball out of Jackson’s hands quicker and into those of the playmakers around him. Monken has also empowered the quarterback in play-calling, both in planning and at the line of scrimmage. That has allowed Jackson to excel within the framework of what he sees on the field as it is taking place and adjust accordingly.
The result has been career highs in passing yards (3,678) and completion percentage (.672), along with 24 touchdown passes and dominant victories over the playoff-bound San Francisco 49ers, Miami Dolphins and Detroit Lions, among others.
“I think we all grow, we evolve [and] circumstances change,” coach John Harbaugh said. “We find ourself in a different place, and I’ve always admired Lamar for every part of what he’s doing. He’s always done his best and he’s doing his best right now.
“I would say this: He’s an A-plus leader right now. He’s been glue for the guys, and it’s been great to see.”
Of course, it helps to have players who can catch the ball in the first place. After Ravens wide receivers were last in the NFL in yards per game three of the previous four years and last in total yards in 2022, general manager Eric DeCosta made upgrading the position a priority in the offseason.
With the addition of playmakers such as rookie wide receiver Zay Flowers, right, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, left, has enjoyed one of the best seasons of his career. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff) Baltimore used its first-round draft pick on Zay Flowers and signed free agents Odell Beckham Jr., a three-time Pro Bowl selection, and veteran Nelson Agholor, both of whom have also won a Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles, respectively. The additions, along with incumbent receiver Rashod Bateman, a 2021 first-round pick, have given Jackson easily the best pass-catching corps he’s ever had.
Flowers has been one of the best rookie receivers in the league and leads the team in yards and receptions. Beckham has flashed the big play and one-handed capabilities that made him famous earlier in his career with the New York Giants. Agholor has made several clutch grabs, and like Beckham has imparted his knowledge to the younger receivers.
It’s worked both ways with Jackson, too.
“The only way for someone to feel comfortable [with a quarterback] fully is to see it come through in a game,” Beckham told The Sun. “I’ve started to understand what he’s thinking, when he’s thinking so I know where he wants me to be and how he wants me to be.”
Added Agholor: “There’s a brotherhood here that is second to none thus far. It’s really fun in terms of the guys we’ve assembled. We respect each other, feed off each other.”
Still, there has been criticism. About Jackson’s accuracy at times, particularly on deep passes. About his fumbling, something he did seven times in the first five games this season. About his decision-making. And, perhaps most notably, about a 1-3 career playoff record that includes five interceptions and five fumbles.
Fans reach out for Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson before a game against the Dolphins on Dec. 31 at M&T Bank Stadium. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff) At times, the 27-year-old quarterback has hit back on social media. After the Ravens blew a 27-20 lead with just over two minutes remaining in a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars late last season, he took profane umbrage with one Twitter comment about his then-ongoing contract dispute.
Jackson says his competitiveness sometimes spills over into his emotions, but he maintains that the criticism doesn’t bother him.
“My rookie year was my first time being in the playoffs and people already had us doubted,” he told The Sun. “My second season, the Titans just had our number. We had a lot of drops, unfortunate things like that happened when we didn’t need them to. Third year, we won a game and lost in Buffalo. The past two years, I was hurt.
“Hopefully this year it’ll be something different.”
It is much different. Including Jackson, only nine players from that 2019 team are still on the Ravens’ active roster. But he is reluctant to say one is better than the other.
“Different guys bring different things to the table,” Jackson told The Sun. “These guys bring something different [than them]. Hopefully we go further than those other years.”
Jackson says he’s different, too.
“I always say maturity,” he told The Sun. “As I get older, the more things I learn.”
He’s also enjoying how he has evolved, and his message since training camp has been singular: win a Super Bowl in Baltimore.
“It’s been fun,” Jackson told The Sun. “But we gotta stay locked in. It’s not about having fun. It’s about getting what we’re chasing.”
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Nearly 65 years ago, the Baltimore Colts selected an offensive lineman by the name of Ernie Barnes out of all-Black North Carolina College (now North Carolina Central) during the 1960 NFL draft. He didn’t make it past the final cuts of training camp and his unremarkable career lasted only five years and spanned five teams, including the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League, where his playing days came to an unceremonious end with a fractured right foot suffered in an exhibition game.
Barnes’ second career, however, turned out to be far more enduring. His painting “Sugar Shack” appeared on the cover of Marvin Gaye’s 1976 album “I Want You” and was featured throughout the television sitcom “Good Times.” Among his other achievements, he also served as the official artist of the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
An artist since childhood in segregated Durham, North Carolina, Barnes referred to himself in an interview with The New York Times as “Buster Brown, big, fat, shy, and I loved to draw,” who at a young age turned to the solitary endeavor as refuge from being bullied. His professional works often depicted the life he saw all around him, a vibrant flow of bodies in leisurely pursuits in churches and pool halls and athletic fields. Long after his death in 2009, it would also serve as inspiration for artist and Towson University graduate Jordan Lawson.
“When I looked up who he was, I saw that he was a football player and it blew my mind because I didn’t even put two and two together that you could be a football player and a painter,” Lawson told The Baltimore Sun. “I thought that was so cool because it shows the talents that we have as humans.
“I enjoy his style in terms of portraying shapes and forms in an elongated way thats’ very expressive, and I try to use that in my work as well.”
Lawson’s work can be seen all around Baltimore — on the basketball courts at Patterson Park, on a half-dozen murals in Mondawmin Mall, at the Henderson Hopkins school — and now as part of the Ravens’ “Paint the State Purple” program, with the first of what the team hopes to be several murals around the state unveiled in November. The goal of the initiative is to connect the organization with the communities that support them.
“A lot of NFL teams have done mural projects around their city and inside their stadium, and in April we started thinking how it could make sense for us,” Ravens senior director of brand strategy and advertising Josh Lukin told The Sun. “We have a really strong artistic community in Baltimore. How could we connect the dots? Art and football don’t always go together.”
The first step was finding a location. They started with areas closest to Baltimore and selected Towson, where the mural appears on the northern wall of the Dulaney Plaza shopping center on the corner of Dulaney Valley Road and Fairmount Avenue, across from the Towson Town Center.
Then there was the task of selecting an artist. The team’s brand design manager, Nick Prevas, used to work for the American Visionary Art Museum and was familiar with Lawson’s work.
“It’s got a vibrancy to it,” Lukin said. “It’s a unique style. It’s playful, and it encourages fans to take pictures in front of it.”
It didn’t hurt that Lawson, 30, grew up in Woodlawn and has been a diehard Ravens fan since childhood.
“It was one of those things that I guess was bred in me,” Lawson said. “Growing up, my favorite player was Ray Lewis, and that’s portrayed in the mural as well as the Ravens fan has the number 52 jersey on, which is my personal favorite.”
The main focus of the mural shows a fan descending into the city with balloons that spell out the team’s name. The balloons are meant to give a sense of nostalgia and the carefree tendencies of children, Lawson said.
It also depicts other prominent landmarks in the city, including the courthouse, Fresh Market, The Rec Room and Johnny Unitas Stadium.
“I thought that was the perfect icing on the cake because John Unitas was a Baltimore Colt as well,” Lawson said of the Hall of Fame quarterback. “And he resided in Towson, too.”
As for the process of actually creating the art, it’s a laborious one that took 18 days to complete.
It started with Lawson coming up with a concept, sketching it out by hand then drawing it into an Adobe software program to digitize it. From there, he presents the imagery to the client and gathers supplies.
For this mural, Lawson began by painting the entire background baby blue, then projecting his image at night onto the wall, where he painted in the buildings and clouds. But the balloon letters that spell out Ravens, as well as other smaller elements, had to be painted freehand. He also applied two coats of paint so the mural would stand up to the weather and used an anti-graffiti coating that prevents it from being marked up and protects it from the sun’s ultraviolet light.
“It gives us a chance to do something new in areas we might not always visit,” Lukin said. “We do caravans for purple Fridays but can’t get everywhere. This gives us a flag in the sand in these areas.”
Already, there are plans in the works for another mural to be painted, potentially in Howard County, next spring.
And officials from Salisbury have reached out expressing their interest in one being painted there as well.
Meanwhile, the Ravens will begin the first of their $430 million in renovations to M&T Bank Stadium in 2024, a process that will take place incrementally over the next three years. One possibility among them is adding the artists’ work from the murals.
“I could definitely see a world where we’re starting to build relationships with artists across state,” Lukin said. “It would be great to bring their artwork to the stadium at some point.”
It’s a prospect that Lawson said would be a dream.
“I would definitely love to be a part of it,” he said. “I’m definitely going to put my proposal in to see if there’s any space for more art because I think that always makes the spaces more vibrant and more inviting.”
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It’s finally that time of year.
No, not the NFL playoffs. Mock draft season. After the end of the regular season Sunday, the top 18 picks are set for when the first round begins April 25 in Detroit.
There’s plenty of intrigue at the top, with the Chicago Bears receiving the No. 1 overall pick courtesy of last year’s blockbuster trade with the Carolina Panthers. What the Bears decide to do will have a trickle-down effect on the rest of the draft, with quarterback-needy teams in the Washington Commanders and New England Patriots waiting right behind them.
With the help of Tankathon, which projected the final draft order based on expected playoff results, here are The Baltimore Sun’s projections for the first round:
1. Chicago Bears (via Carolina Panthers): Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Ohio State
With coach Matt Eberflus expected to return, doesn’t it make sense for the Bears to bring back quarterback Justin Fields and continue to build around him? He showed enough flashes in his third season to believe the addition of a standout wide receiver such as the 6-foot-4, 205-pound Harrison could take this offense to the next level. There’s also the locker room dynamic to consider, with many players advocating for Fields’ return. Chicago has a tough decision on its hands, but neither Caleb Williams nor Drake Maye showed in their final college seasons that they’re locks to be better than Fields.
2. Washington Commanders: Caleb Williams, QB, Southern California
Washington, on the other hand, should not think twice about drafting a quarterback. Sam Howell’s poor play down the stretch — he finished with a league-leading 21 interceptions and was sacked 65 times — helped push the Commanders up the draft board to pick his successor. The 6-1, 215-pound Williams, a former high school star in the Washington area at Gonzaga, brings both the talent and star power this franchise has lacked for a long time.
3. New England Patriots: Drake Maye, QB, North Carolina
There seems to be no debate about what the Patriots should do with this pick after Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe produced some of the worst quarterback play in the league. The question is whether Bill Belichick will be around to coach the new face of the franchise. The 6-4, 230-pound Maye can be too aggressive sometimes, but he has the size, athleticism and arm strength to become a great player.
4. Arizona Cardinals: Malik Nabers, WR, LSU
If the Cardinals miss out on Harrison, Nabers is a fine consolation prize. The 6-foot, 200-pound receiver is explosive and would give quarterback Kyler Murray the consistent big-play threat Marquise Brown and Rondale Moore have often failed to deliver in recent seasons.
5. Los Angeles Chargers: Joe Alt, OT, Notre Dame
The Chargers will have a new coach and general manager when they make this pick, so it’s anyone’s guess what the incoming regime will prefer. But for a team that has holes all over its roster, Alt would be a smart selection. The 6-8, 322-pound left tackle is a cornerstone type of player who could protect quarterback Justin Herbert for a long time.
6. New York Giants: Olu Fashanu, OT, Penn State
Just how committed are the Giants to quarterback Daniel Jones? General manager Joe Schoen and coach Brian Daboll have said all the right things, but actions speak louder than words. New York might come to regret passing on a quarterback here, but it doesn’t matter who’s throwing the ball if the offensive line doesn’t improve. The 6-6, 317-pound Fashanu oozes potential as one of the youngest prospects in this draft class. Putting him at right tackle would kick underperforming 2022 first-round pick Evan Neal to guard, perhaps solving two problems at once.
7. Tennessee Titans: Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia
With quarterback Will Levis taking over for Ryan Tannehill and running back Derrick Henry likely on his way out, the Titans need playmakers to reshape their offense. The 6-4, 240-pound Bowers has been one of the nation’s best pass catchers, regardless of position, since he first stepped on the field as a freshman at Georgia.
Heisman Trophy finalists, from left, LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels, Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., Oregon quarterback Bo Nix and Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. could all be first-round draft picks. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez) 8. Atlanta Falcons: Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU
With the firing of coach Arthur Smith, the Falcons will have a new identity on offense next season. That likely means the end of Desmond Ridder’s rocky audition at quarterback. The 6-4, 210-pound Daniels would be able to grow alongside talented young playmakers such as wide receiver Drake London, running back Bijan Robinson and tight end Kyle Pitts.
9. Chicago Bears: Dallas Turner, EDGE, Alabama
Here’s the other benefit to the Bears passing on quarterback at No. 1: They can add talent on both offense and defense with their top two picks. The 6-4, 245-pound Turner is an incredible athlete who can take some attention away from star edge rusher Montez Sweat and strengthen an ascending defense.
10. New York Jets: JC Latham, OT, Alabama
The Jets are all-in on quarterback Aaron Rodgers next season, and that means protecting him to avoid another catastrophic injury. The 6-6, 335-pound Latham, a two-year starter at right tackle for the Crimson Tide, has the size and strength to step in immediately on either side of the line.
11. Minnesota Vikings: Jared Verse, EDGE, Florida State
With Danielle Hunter headed for free agency and few capable replacements behind him on the roster, improving the pass rush should be one of the Vikings’ top priorities (assuming quarterback Kirk Cousins returns). The 6-4, 248-pound Verse has been one of the nation’s best edge defenders over the past two seasons after transferring from Albany to Florida State.
12. Denver Broncos: Nate Wiggins, CB, Clemson
Quarterback is certainly in play for the Broncos after they benched Russell Wilson, but is coach Sean Payton going to want to build his offense around a rookie? Pairing the 6-2, 185-pound Wiggins with star cornerback Patrick Surtain II would help shore up one of the league’s worst defenses.
13. Las Vegas Raiders: Michael Penix Jr., QB, Washington
There are plenty of reasons to be concerned about the 6-3, 216-pound Penix, who suffered two season-ending knee injuries in college and throws with an unusual left-handed sidearm delivery. But there’s no arguing with the results, as he led Washington to the national championship game in his sixth season with an FBS-leading 4,648 passing yards. The Raiders need to take a big swing at quarterback to keep up with Patrick Mahomes and Herbert in the AFC West.
14. New Orleans Saints: Amarius Mims, OT, Georgia
The Saints’ offensive line was a disaster this season, entering Week 18 ranked 25th in the league according to Pro Football Focus. To make matters worse, star right tackle Ryan Ramczyk might not return because of a cartilage defect in his knee. The 6-7, 330-pound Mims is raw and doesn’t have a lot of experience, but he has the physical tools to become a dominant player.
Washington wide receiver Rome Odunze catches a touchdown pass against Stanford cornerback Collin Wright on Oct. 28. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu) 15. Indianapolis Colts: Rome Odunze, WR, Washington
If the Colts bring back pending free agent Michael Pittman Jr., they have a bright outlook at wide receiver. But if he leaves, the position becomes a glaring need. The 6-3, 215-pound Odunze has top-end speed and can make contested catches, giving young quarterback Anthony Richardson a big-play threat alongside standout rookie Josh Downs.
16. Seattle Seahawks: Troy Fautanu, OT/G, Washington
With guards Damien Lewis and Phil Haynes entering free agency and right tackle Abe Lucas struggling to stay healthy, the Seahawks’ offensive line is in dire need of reinforcements. The 6-4, 317-pound Fautanu played two seasons at left tackle for Washington but could be a standout guard at the next level.
17. Jacksonville Jaguars: Keon Coleman, WR, Florida State
Quarterback Trevor Lawrence deserves plenty of blame for the Jaguars’ late-season collapse, but he could use more help from his receivers. Christian Kirk is set to return from injury, but Calvin Ridley is entering free agency, potentially opening a hole on the outside. The 6-4, 215-pound Coleman has the size, strength and contested-catch ability this offense has lacked from its smaller receivers.
18. Cincinnati Bengals: Jer’Zhan Newton, DT, Illinois
If the Bengals don’t feel comfortable re-signing Tee Higgins to a big contract or bringing him back on the franchise tag, wide receiver vaults to the top of the offseason priority list. Defensive line is a big need as well, especially if D.J. Reader signs elsewhere. The 6-2, 295-pound Newton is the rare interior lineman worthy of a top pick because of his pass-rushing potential.
19. Green Bay Packers: Cooper DeJean, CB/S, Iowa
The Packers’ secondary needs help just about everywhere. Enter the 6-1, 209-pound DeJean, who has experience at outside cornerback but could also thrive as a deep safety or slot defender. His versatility, athleticism and instincts — not to mention his game-breaking skills as a punt returner — should make him a highly sought-after prospect.
20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Bo Nix, QB, Oregon
A reunion with quarterback Baker Mayfield seems likely after he led the Bucs to the NFC South title, but that doesn’t mean the team shouldn’t plan ahead. The 6-2, 213-pound Nix, 23, is only five years younger than Mayfield, but his eye-popping numbers, athleticism, arm strength and intangibles make him a worthy first-round pick who could take over as the starter sooner than later.
21. Arizona Cardinals (via Houston Texans): Kool-Aid McKinstry, CB, Alabama
The Cardinals have had a revolving door at cornerback in recent seasons and have yet to find a reliable starter. The 6-1, 195-pound McKinstry has the talent and experience to help solidify coach Jonathan Gannon’s defense.
UCLA defensive end Laiatu Latu, left, pressures Arizona State quarterback Trenton Bourguet on Nov. 11 in Pasadena, California. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun) 22. Los Angeles Rams: Laiatu Latu, EDGE, UCLA
Latu’s production alone makes him worthy of being a top-10 selection, but he’s not an exceptional athlete and has medical concerns after suffering a neck injury that ended his career at Washington before making a return at UCLA. Still, the 6-4, 265-pound Latu has been the most productive pass rusher in the country over the past two seasons, and the Rams would likely pounce on that potential.
23. Pittsburgh Steelers: Taliese Fuaga, OT, Oregon State
The Steelers have a solid building block in rookie right tackle Broderick Jones, but left tackle Dan Moore Jr. does not look like a long-term solution. The 6-6, 325-pound Fuaga is an exceptional run blocker who can help set the tone for a Pittsburgh offense that started to find its identity late in the season.
24. Miami Dolphins: Graham Barton, G/C, Duke
With left tackle Terron Armstead struggling to stay healthy and right guard Robert Hunt entering free agency, there are some question marks on the Dolphins’ offensive line. The 6-5, 314-pound Barton started two seasons at left tackle but projects as a standout guard or center at the next level.
25. Philadelphia Eagles: Terrion Arnold, CB, Alabama
The Eagles’ track record under general manager Howie Roseman is clear: premium positions only in the first round. The 6-foot, 196-pound Arnold has standout athletic traits and good instincts, recording five interceptions this season. With Darius Slay and James Bradberry perhaps on their way out, Philadelphia might need immediate help at corner.
26. Kansas City Chiefs: Brian Thomas Jr., WR, LSU
It’s clear that the Chiefs can’t enter 2024 with the same group of receivers after they dropped more passes than any other team in the NFL. The 6-4, 205-pound Thomas emerged as one of the nation’s best deep threats this season, averaging 17.3 yards per reception and leading the country with 17 touchdown catches.
27. Houston Texans (via Cleveland Browns): Quinyon Mitchell, CB, Toledo
DeMeco Ryans’ defense made tremendous strides in his first season as coach, but it’s nowhere near a finished product, especially in the secondary. The 6-foot, 196-pound Mitchell forced more incompletions (36) over the past two seasons than any other cornerback in the country, according to PFF.
28. Detroit Lions: Bralen Trice, EDGE, Washington
With brothers Romeo and Julian Okwara and veteran Charles Harris headed for free agency, the Lions need another pass rusher to pair with Aidan Hutchinson. The 6-4, 267-pound Trice would be a perfect fit for coach Dan Campbell with a relentless and aggressive play style that led to 76 quarterback pressures this season, according to PFF.
Miami defensive lineman Leonard Taylor III sheds a block against Temple on Sept. 23 in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton) 29. Buffalo Bills: Leonard Taylor III, DT, Miami
The Bills could lose a lot of talent on the defensive line in free agency, including tackle DaQuan Jones and edge defenders Leonard Floyd and A.J. Epenesa. The 6-3, 305-pound Taylor is a former five-star prospect who’s still a bit raw but flashes rare explosiveness for his size.
30. Dallas Cowboys: Tyler Guyton, OT, Oklahoma
With 33-year-old left tackle Tyron Smith and center Tyler Biadasz entering free agency and right tackle Terence Steele struggling this season, the Cowboys have some question marks on the offensive line. The 6-7, 327-pound Guyton needs some refinement, but he moves incredibly well for his size and has the tools to become a longtime starter.
31. San Francisco 49ers: Kingsley Suamataia, OT, BYU
The 49ers don’t have many holes to fill on one of the league’s best rosters, but they could stand to upgrade along the offensive line. The 6-6, 315-pound Suamataia is only 21 years old and needs time to develop, but he would be a scheme fit in San Francisco and could be an early standout with his physical tools.
32. Ravens: Adonai Mitchell, WR, Texas
The Ravens have their long-coveted playmaker in rookie receiver Zay Flowers, but the depth behind him is uncertain. Odell Beckham Jr. and Nelson Agholor are pending free agents, and 2021 first-round pick Rashod Bateman has been inconsistent. The 6-4, 196-pound Mitchell, nicknamed “AD,” played for Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken at Georgia before transferring to Texas and could be a dangerous red zone threat for quarterback Lamar Jackson.
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Baltimore Ravens cornerback Arthur Maulet helps Cindy Davis of Pigtown who tries on a winter coat during “Coats & Cuts,” an annual community charity event developed by Baltimore Ravens cornerback Arthur Maulet and held at Paul’s Place. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff Photo) 
Baltimore Ravens cornerback Arthur Maulet gives an autographed jersey to Tori Golbourne, manager at Hair Cuttery as friends capture the exchange during “Coats & Cuts,” an annual community charity event developed by Maulet and held at Paul’s Place. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff Photo) 
Christopher Jones, of Southwest Baltimore, getting his hair styled Monday at Paul’s Place by Keisha Ames, left, and Takaisha Hamiltton, is visited by Ravens cornerback Arthur Maulet during “Coats & Cuts,” an annual community charity event developed by Maulet to provide haircuts and winter gear.(Karl Merton Ferron/Staff photo) 
Jackie White of Pigtown smiles as Ricky Bowser, known as Rick The Barber, trims his beard during “Coats & Cuts,” an annual community charity event developed by Baltimore Ravens cornerback Arthur Maulet and held at Paul’s Place. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff Photo) 
Baltimore Ravens cornerback Arthur Maulet watches Chiffon Scruggs of Pigtown try on a coat during “Coats & Cuts,” an annual community charity event developed by Baltimore Ravens cornerback Arthur Maulet and held at Paul’s Place. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff Photo) 
Chiffon Scruggs of Pigtown is helped by Bravvion Roy, who\’s on the Baltimore Ravens practice squad during “Coats & Cuts,” an annual community charity event developed by Baltimore Ravens cornerback Arthur Maulet and held at Paul’s Place. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff Photo) 
One of many visitors attending for meals, haircuts and winter weather clothing, Monique Rogers of West Baltimore looks through the glass toward hundreds of coats available at no cost during “Coats & Cuts,” an annual community charity event developed by Baltimore Ravens cornerback Arthur Maulet and held at Paul’s Place. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff Photo) 
Madge Ensey of West Baltimore gets a sweatshirt from Sarah Harrison with Morgan Stanley during “Coats & Cuts,” an annual community charity event developed by Baltimore Ravens cornerback Arthur Maulet and held at Paul’s Place. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff Photo) 
Esther Vasquez hands out salads to those wanting a hot meal during “Coats & Cuts,” an annual community charity event developed by Baltimore Ravens cornerback Arthur Maulet and held at Paul’s Place. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff Photo) 
Attendees enjoy lunch in the dining room during “Coats & Cuts,” an annual community charity event developed by Baltimore Ravens cornerback Arthur Maulet and held at Paul’s Place. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff Photo) 
Baltimore Ravens cornerback Arthur Maulet developed “Coats & Cuts,” an annual community charity event held at Paul’s Place. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff Photo) -
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And so it begins for the Ravens and their assistant coaches.
On Monday, the Washington Commanders fired coach Ron Rivera after four seasons in which he failed to produce a winning record. He was already on the clock when the team was sold in July, and it ran out a day after the Commanders were blown out, 38-10, by the Dallas Cowboys in their regular-season finale on Sunday.
Among potential candidates to replace him: Baltimore associate head coach/defensive line coach Anthony Weaver, whom Washington has requested to interview, according to multiple reports.
After the Ravens finished 13-4 and as the AFC’s top seed as well as becoming the first team in NFL history to lead the league in sacks (60), takeaways (31) and points allowed per game (16.5) this season, several Baltimore assistants are expected to draw interest from other teams. While no in-person interviews with a coach currently working for another team can be held until after the divisional round of the playoffs, Weaver can have a virtual interview with the Commanders.
Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, as well as Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris are among other candidates Washington is reportedly interested in. The Commanders are also looking for a new head of football operations.
Weaver, 43, is a former defensive end who was a second-round pick by the Ravens in 2002. He played four seasons in Baltimore, totaling 144 tackles, 14 1/2 sacks, 14 pass breakups, an interception, five forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries in 57 games, 54 of them starts.
He then signed with the Houston Texans as a free agent in 2006, starting in 44 games over three seasons before turning to coaching, first as a graduate assistant at Florida in 2010 and then as linebackers coach at North Texas the following year.
In 2012, Weaver joined the New York Jets as linebackers coach before being hired by the Buffalo Bills as defensive line coach in 2013. He held the same position with the Cleveland Browns in 2014 and 2015, then the Texans from 2016 to 2019 before being promoted to defensive coordinator in 2020.
But Weaver left the Texans two years ago to rejoin Baltimore, this time as run game coordinator/defensive line coach under coach John Harbaugh. Last year, he was promoted to associate head coach.
With the Ravens’ success this season, it’s possible other assistants and front-office members could be sought after by other teams. Joe Hortiz, the team’s director of player personnel, has been rumored to be a candidate for general manager openings, while defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald and offensive coordinator Todd Monken could also be pursued to be head coaches.
This story might be updated.
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The NFL playoffs are here, and with them begin the Ravens’ quest for their third Super Bowl title.
Led by star quarterback Lamar Jackson and the league’s best defense, Baltimore finished the regular season 13-4 and secured the top seed in the AFC for the second time in five seasons. That means not only a first-round bye, but also home-field advantage through the conference championship game. If the Ravens do indeed make it that far, M&T Bank Stadium would host for the first time.
Before the wild-card round begins this weekend, here’s everything you need to know about the postseason:
Who’s in the playoffs, and when are the games?
After the Bills’ victory over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday night, which clinched a fourth straight AFC East title for Buffalo, the wild-card matchups are officially set.
AFC
No. 1 seed Ravens (13-4, first-round bye)
No. 7 Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7) at No. 2 Buffalo Bills (11-6): Sunday, 1 p.m., CBS
No. 6 Miami Dolphins (11-6) at No. 3 Kansas City Chiefs (11-6): Saturday, 8:15 p.m., Peacock
No. 5 Cleveland Browns (11-6) at No. 4 Houston Texans (10-7): Saturday, 4:30 p.m., NBC
NFC
No. 1 seed San Francisco 49ers (12-5, first-round bye)
No. 7 Green Bay Packers (9-8) at No. 2 Dallas Cowboys (12-5): Sunday, 4:30 p.m., Fox
No. 6 Los Angeles Rams (10-7) at No. 3 Detroit Lions (12-5): Sunday, 8:15 p.m., NBC
No. 5 Philadelphia Eagles (11-6) at No. 4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-8): Monday, 8 p.m., ESPN, ABC, ESPN2
When do the Ravens play?
With a dominant regular season, including wins over six teams that reached the playoffs, the Ravens secured a bye through the wild-card round and will host the lowest remaining seed in the divisional round on either Saturday, Jan. 20, or Sunday, Jan. 21.
The last time the Ravens had a first-round bye, they lost, 28-12, to the visiting No. 6 seed Tennessee Titans after a painfully slow start. Coach John Harbaugh said the team will treat the bye like a normal game week and hold practices Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, as well as a planned stadium practice over the weekend.
Who will the Ravens play?
Depending on the results of wild-card weekend, the Ravens could host the No. 4 seed Texans, the No. 7 seed Steelers, or any team in between.
It will not be a unique matchup. The Ravens have already played Houston, Cleveland, Miami and Pittsburgh this season, and have a combined 3-3 record against those teams.
While Baltimore dominated the Texans (25-9 in Week 1) and Dolphins (56-19 in Week 17) at home, it has not fared as well against its AFC North rivals, splitting with the Browns (28-3 road win in Week 4; 33-31 home loss in Week 10) and losing twice to the Steelers (17-10 road loss in Week 5; 17-10 home loss in Week 18) — though the Ravens sat quarterback Lamar Jackson and several key players in the regular-season finale against Pittsburgh having already clinched the AFC’s top seed.
There’s another big storyline worth following. Quarterback Joe Flacco, who played 11 seasons with the Ravens and was named Super Bowl MVP in the victory over the 49ers in February 2013, could return to Baltimore with the rival Browns. The soon-to-be 39-year-old veteran was signed to the practice squad late in the season and helped lead Cleveland to just its second playoff appearance since 2002, going 4-1 as the starter while passing for 1,616 yards and 13 touchdowns.
When are the conference championship games and the Super Bowl?
Both the AFC and NFC conference championship games take place Sunday, Jan. 28. They will be hosted by the higher-seeded team.
Super Bowl LVIII kicks off at 6:25 p.m. Feb. 11 at Allegiant Stadium, home of the Las Vegas Raiders. The game will be televised on CBS, with Jim Nantz calling play-by-play and Tony Romo providing the analysis. Grammy-winning artist Usher will headline the halftime show.
Who are the favorites to win the Super Bowl?
Only the 49ers, whom the Ravens beat, 33-19, on Christmas night, have better odds to win the championship than Baltimore.
Led by quarterback Brock Purdy, coach Kyle Shanahan, a host of star playmakers and one of the league’s best defenses, San Francisco is the favorite at +225, according to Vegas Insider. The Ravens are second at +320, followed by the Bills (+650), Cowboys (+750), Chiefs (+900), Eagles (+1,600) and Dolphins (+2,000). The Steelers (+12,500), with Mason Rudolph starting at quarterback and star pass rusher T.J. Watt dealing with a knee injury, are by far the biggest long shot.
According to ESPN’s Football Power Index projections, the 49ers have a 59.6% chance to make the Super Bowl, followed by the Ravens (55.4%), Bills (26.8%), Cowboys (25.1%), Chiefs (8.2%) and Lions (5.1%).
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The Ravens earned themselves an extra week to rest, heal and prepare for their playoff opener at M&T Bank Stadium. They’ll have to wait another week to learn the identity of their divisional round opponent.
That won’t stop us from speculating and debating which matchup — the unkillable Steelers, Joe Flacco’s Browns, the Dolphins with their explosive upside? — would be least welcome.
Now that we know the AFC field, Baltimore Sun reporters Brian Wacker and Childs Walker rank the teams, least scary to most, that the top-seeded Ravens could host in their playoff opener Jan. 20 or 21.
Brian Wacker
4. Houston Texans (10-7)
Rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud has improved exponentially since these teams met in Week 1, and first-year coach DeMeco Ryans is a candidate for Coach of the Year after taking a team that went 3-13-1 last year and turning it into the AFC South champions. As inspiring as the turnaround has been, though, Houston’s offense can’t compete with the Ravens’ defense. And while the Texans’ defense is stout against the run, it’s also one of the worst in the league against the pass. Houston got to where it is in part because of its schedule, which ranked in the bottom third of the league in terms of difficulty.
3. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7)
The Steelers have won seven of their past eight against Baltimore, including both meetings this season, and beating a division rival three times in the same season actually happens more often than not. But Baltimore’s Week 5 debacle in Pittsburgh feels so long ago that it might as well have been in a different season, and forget about Saturday’s loss at M&T Bank Stadium, in which the Ravens sat several starters. Pittsburgh can run the ball against Baltimore, sure, but the Ravens’ defense has been a lot better this season.
2. Miami Dolphins (11-6)
Miami has too much talent to get annihilated the way it did the last time it came to Baltimore. They’d also likely have running back Raheem Mostert and receiver Jaylen Waddle back. There’s no denying the Dolphins have struggled on the road against good teams, but they have a ton of explosive playmakers and that makes them a dangerous opponent.
1. Cleveland Browns (11-6)
Imagine quarterback Joe Flacco striding back into M&T Bank Stadium with a chance to end the season of his former team and the quarterback who supplanted him. It’s Hollywood stuff, but could easily become reality. If it does, all the pressure will be on Lamar Jackson and the Ravens with the Browns having nothing to lose. Aside from that, Cleveland brings the best defense the Ravens would face and a tough, physical running game that can wear them down and set Flacco up to be the hero.
Childs Walker
4. Houston Texans
It doesn’t matter that the Ravens handled the Texans, 25-9, in the season opener. Stroud was a rookie playing in his first game. Now, he’s perhaps a top-10 quarterback who guided his team through a must-win playoff clincher on hostile turf against the Indianapolis Colts. The Texans shut down the run (though they gave up 227 rushing yards to the Colts) but have struggled against the better quarterbacks they’ve faced despite a productive pass rush. Their offense is not built to challenge the Ravens on the ground. The bottom line is that the Texans were scraping by mediocre opponents while the Ravens were smashing some of the league’s best teams. Houston is on the rise but not ready to upset the AFC’s No. 1 seed on the road.
Ravens running back Gus Edwards reaches out to stiff-arm Steelers cornerback Levi Wallace as defensive tackle Isaiahh Loudermilk chases during the second quarter Saturday. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff) 3. Pittsburgh Steelers
We can’t ignore the Steelers’ 7-1 record against the Ravens over the past four seasons. We can’t deny their mystical gift for keeping these rivalry games close and strange. But these teams have not been of comparable quality, no matter what the head-to-head record says. The Steelers have been outscored and outgained on the season. Yes, they have unlocked something on offense since they dumped coordinator Matt Canada and installed Mason Rudolph at quarterback. But they struggled to put away the JV Ravens in the regular-season finale, and it’s possible they will be without their best player, outside linebacker T.J. Watt, who injured his knee in that victory. Whatever dark magic exists in those “Terrible Towels,” the Ravens would be favored by at least a touchdown if the Steelers make a return trip to Baltimore.
2. Miami Dolphins
It would be easy to look at that 56-19 score from New Year’s Eve and write the Dolphins off as no threat to the Ravens, but there’s too much talent on Miami’s roster for a return engagement to be quite so simple. The Dolphins would likely have Waddle and Mostert for the rematch, and the Ravens could not count on Tyreek Hill to bobble away another touchdown catch. There are real reasons to doubt the Dolphins given their poor road record against quality opponents and the void left by injured pass rushers Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb. The Ravens would go in enormously confident but not overconfident given their divisional round stumbles in 2019 and 2020.
1. Cleveland Browns
This is the matchup that has kept Ravens fans up at night since Flacco emerged as the Saint of Lake Erie. The narrative winds will whip if Flacco returns to Baltimore with a chance to end his former team’s dream season. He has played well, no question, but his lack of mobility and high interception rate would not serve him well against a Ravens defense that leads the league in sacks and takeaways. Of greater concern is Cleveland’s defense, which has held up as one of the league’s best despite a slew of injuries. The Browns picked off Jackson twice and sacked him three times in their Nov. 12 win in Baltimore. The Browns out-rushed the Ravens 178 yards to 106 that day. Cleveland’s upside can’t match what we saw from the Ravens in their wins over the 49ers and Dolphins, but there’s no reason to think Flacco, Myles Garrett and company would be dispatched with ease.
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The NFL playoff field is set, and so are the matchups for the 2024 regular season.
For the Ravens, who finished 13-4 to clinch the AFC’s top seed, the first-round bye and home-field advantage through the conference championship game, that means playing a first-place schedule for the first time since 2020.
In addition to their six games against the AFC North — three at home and three away against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals — the Ravens will face the AFC West, NFC East and the champions of the AFC East, AFC South and NFC South.
Under the NFL’s scheduling rotation, the Ravens will host the Las Vegas Raiders, Denver Broncos, Washington Commanders, Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills. They’ll play road games against the Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers, Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Houston Texans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
After the Ravens played seven teams who reached the playoffs this season and won a division in which every team finished above .500, 2024 is shaping up to be just as challenging.
The Buccaneers claimed their third straight NFC South title behind resurgent quarterback Baker Mayfield and a veteran roster, the Texans won their first AFC South title since 2019 behind stellar rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud and standout first-year coach DeMeco Ryans, and the Bills won their fourth straight AFC East title behind Most Valuable Player-level play from quarterback Josh Allen and a five-game winning streak to end the season. The Chiefs (AFC West) and Cowboys (NFC East) won their divisions, while the Eagles, Steelers and Browns also reached the postseason.
Seven of the league’s best quarterbacks and likely challengers to Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson to be named 2024 NFL Most Valuable Player are on the schedule in Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow, Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts, Buffalo’s Allen, Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes, Dallas’ Dak Prescott, Los Angeles’ Justin Herbert and Houston’s Stroud.
The Ravens could also see three first-year coaches, with the Commanders, Raiders and Chargers all expected to make new hires. Jim Harbaugh, who led Michigan to Monday night’s College Football Playoff national championship game, is rumored to be a candidate for the Chargers and Raiders and could face his older brother John and the Ravens for the first time since 2015 as the coach of the San Francisco 49ers.
Next season will also mark Washington’s first trip to Baltimore since the 2016 season, and the Commanders are expected to look much different under the direction of new owner Josh Harris. Washington will not only have a new coach, replacing Ron Rivera, but likely a new quarterback after securing the No. 2 overall pick in April’s draft. Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald and director of player personnel Joe Hortiz are among the names Harris could consider to be his coach and general manager.
The Broncos and Raiders could also have new quarterbacks when they visit M&T Bank Stadium. Denver is expected to part ways with Russell Wilson this offseason after benching him for the final two games of the regular season for Jarrett Stidham, while Jimmy Garoppolo is unlikely to be the starter next season in Las Vegas. Mayfield is also a pending free agent, while Daniel Jones is expected to return as the Giants’ starter after tearing his ACL in September. But New York and Tampa Bay could consider replacements in the draft.
Ravens 2024 opponents
Home: Bengals, Browns, Steelers, Raiders, Broncos, Commanders, Eagles, Bills
Away: Bengals, Browns, Steelers, Chiefs, Chargers, Cowboys, Giants, Texans, Buccaneers
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The Ravens mounted a proud defensive effort in the driving rain but fell to the Steelers, 17-10, with many of their key stars resting for the playoffs. Now, it’s on to the work that will define them.
Here are five things we learned from the regular-season finale.
The Ravens rightly chose the long view over pursuit of victory
The NFL’s best team was in M&T Bank Stadium but not on the field Saturday as the Ravens waved goodbye to a magnificent regular season with a less-than-magnificent performance against their archrival.
And that was just fine.
They were not about to risk injury to the NFL’s likely Most Valuable Player, quarterback Lamar Jackson. That caution extended to banged-up starters Kyle Hamilton, Zay Flowers, Marlon Humphrey, Kevin Zeitler and Odell Beckham Jr., none of whom the Ravens wish to be without when they host a playoff game in two weeks. Pro Bowl linebacker Roquan Smith dressed but did not play.
If the Ravens needed a reminder of why such prudence was called for, they saw Pittsburgh’s best player, T.J. Watt, crumple to the ground after an awkward collision with a teammate in the third quarter. That was six days after the Miami Dolphins lost their best pass rusher, Bradley Chubb, on a meaningless play late in a 56-19 blowout loss in Baltimore.
The Ravens did not escape unscathed. Safety Geno Stone, who leads the team with seven interceptions, limped off with a knee injury in the second half. Outside linebacker Odafe Oweh left early with an ankle injury and did not return. As coach John Harbaugh pointed out during the week, they could not rest everybody, and football is football.
“It looks like we would have all those guys back for the playoff week,” Harbaugh said afterward, the update every fan wanted to hear.
In that sense, mission accomplished, even if it will always feel strange to say a loss to the Steelers was irrelevant.
The Ravens certainly remember 2019, when they also rested key players with a No. 1 seed wrapped up going into their regular-season finale against the Steelers. Thirteen days later, they trailed the Tennessee Titans by two touchdowns before they knew what hit them and never recovered — months of promise gone because of a few bad hours.
But the Ravens can’t let four-year-old ghosts dictate their actions going into this postseason. They took the most reasonable approach to Week 18, and now it’s on them to make the most of the next two weeks as they prepare for the tests that will determine how they’re remembered.
“It’s time for us to lock in through this week coming up,” outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney said. “We know it ain’t going to be easy, but we’ve got the men in this locker room to do it. We know that.”
Left tackle Ronnie Stanley has never let go of the disappointment he felt at the end of the Titans loss four years ago, but he’s convinced wisdom gained from that experience will shape the weeks ahead.
“I feel really good about this team,” he said.
The Ravens’ defense will never let up
The Steelers set the terms early, running nine times on a 12-play, 76-yard touchdown drive in the first quarter. Ravens defenders seemed less than eager to throw their bodies in front of twin bulldozers Jaylen Warren and Najee Harris, and really, who could blame them?
But this is a proud group, no matter what is or isn’t at stake in the standings. We saw it when the team’s defensive starters played most of last year’s regular-season finale against the Cincinnati Bengals. We saw it again Saturday, when Pro Bowl linebacker Patrick Queen dragged his battered shoulder into combat against the Steelers. We saw Queen limping and wincing in the chilly downpour, but there he was, back in the game in the fourth quarter, hoping to lead a stand as Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer” boomed over the stadium loudspeakers.
Queen’s understudy and potential replacement, Trenton Simpson, showed off his playmaking verve with a sack and a pair of tackles for loss. “He might be faster than me,” Queen said approvingly. Reserve linebacker Dal’Shawn Phillips led the team with 13 tackles. Nose tackle Michael Pierce celebrated his new contract extension with six tackles. A Pittsburgh offense that had exploded for 64 points over its previous two games did not break the dam until the fourth quarter, when wide receiver Diontae Johnson slipped behind Rock Ya-Sin and Marcus Williams for a 71-yard touchdown grab.
That did not sit well with the Ravens, despite the low stakes and the resting starters.
“Even with all that good stuff, there were plays out there to be made, and we didn’t make them,” Queen said. His disappointment gives us a glimpse into why this is the best Ravens defense of the past decade.
Ravens fans cheer as defensive lineman Broderick Washington holds the ball after recovering a Steelers fumble in the second quarter Saturday. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff) If we needed another MVP argument for Lamar Jackson, look how the offense performed without him
We saw how this story ended the previous two seasons, when the Ravens had to finish without their defining player. Tyler Huntley is a fine backup, quick of foot and usually accurate underneath, but this offense loses its dynamism when he fills Jackson’s shoes. He does not conjure touchdowns out of broken plays, push the ball downfield consistently or create free running lanes with his gravitational pull.
The Ravens came in averaging 6 yards per play, third most in the league. They averaged 3.9 against the Steelers. To be fair to Huntley, this was no day for crisp offense given the swirling wind, drenching rain and absences of Flowers and Beckham. It wasn’t as if the Steelers filled the air with beautiful bombs.
No one told Isaiah Likely the game didn’t matter. He caught a rain-slicked ball from Huntley in traffic and bulled through two defenders for his fifth touchdown in the past five games. Likely promised he’d step up in Mark Andrews’ absence, and boy has he paid off those confident words.
But such plays were few and far between for an offense that punted seven times and fumbled away two other drives. The good news this time around is that Jackson will be back, terrifying as ever, when the Ravens next line up.
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, left, chats with backup Tyler Huntley during a timeout in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game against the Steelers. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff) Jadeveon Clowney’s sack bonus was just reward for the remarkable value he has delivered
Clowney introduced some levity into a dreary evening when he raised his arms to the sky, seemingly inviting the $750,000 in extra cash he’d just earned by crossing the nine-sack threshold.
“That was a very long celebration,” a grinning Pierce said. “That might’ve been a record.”
It was a moment for fans and teammates to celebrate just what a remarkable bargain Clowney has been in his 10th NFL season. He took his time deciding where to play after his two-year run with the Cleveland Browns ended unpleasantly. He’d always had a hunch Harbaugh might be the coach for him. As the regular season drew near, the Ravens needed a plug-and-play pass rusher. The marriage made sense for both sides, especially when Clowney agreed to play for a modest $2.5 million guaranteed.
“I love this group of guys,” Clowney said. “It’s just like I’ve been here for a while. That’s how it’s felt since I got here. I’m having fun here.”
He said his goal was to play in every game, something he had not done since 2017. He achieved that against the Steelers, but Clowney, the first overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft, has done a lot more than just suit up consistently for the NFL’s stingiest scoring defense. He leads the Ravens in pressures, tied his career-high in sacks and earned his highest PFF grade since 2019. He had a case to make the Pro Bowl, even though he shares a division with two of the finest edge rushers in recent NFL history, Myles Garrett and T.J. Watt.
“All the time, every play, he’s a different beast,” Queen said. “Every play is a train wreck. I love having him on our team.”
Though players are focused only on the moment, the Ravens’ front office is working on 2024
The Ravens have spoken of their determination not to look ahead. They can’t spook themselves with thoughts of past playoff failures if they’re intent on the play, the practice, the meeting right in front of them.
But the business of football never stops, and general manager Eric DeCosta has made several low-cost moves over the past few weeks to get ahead of the crush he’ll face after the season, when more than 20 Ravens, including vital starters Justin Madubuike, Clowney, Queen, Beckham and Zeitler, are set to become unrestricted free agents.
Even if they use the franchise tag to keep Madubuike off the open market and get creative with restructures, they won’t be able to keep this terrific team together completely. So any chance to lock up a starter at a reasonable price is one worth taking, and that’s what DeCosta did when he signed Pierce to a two-year, $7.5 million deal.
Pierce is not a star, and he’s finishing up his first fully healthy season since 2017, but he set new career highs in snaps and pressures. Pro Football Focus graded him the league’s 18th-best interior defender, ninth as a run defender, coming into this weekend. That’s a very good player who will help anchor the defense without materially decreasing the Ravens’ offseason spending power.
The move came less than a month after DeCosta signed Malik Cunningham off the New England Patriots’ practice squad with an eye on next summer, when Cunningham might save the Ravens money by claiming a reserve quarterback job.
These aren’t transactions that will propel the team to another No. 1 seed in 2024, but they represent the work around the edges that keeps a winning franchise chugging forward.
AFC divisional round
TBD at Ravens
Jan. 20-21, TBA
TV: TBA
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
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The Ravens won’t play again for two weeks and won’t practice until Wednesday. In the meantime, coach John Harbaugh — as well as executive vice president Ozzie Newsome, general manager Eric DeCosta and defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald — will travel to Houston to watch as Harbaugh’s brother, Jim, coaches Michigan in the College Football Playoff National Championship Monday night.
No. 1 Michigan, which defeated Alabama last week, will face No. 2 Washington for a chance at its first national title since 1997. It’s been a successful year for teams coached by the Harbaugh brothers: The Wolverines are undefeated and the Ravens, despite a Week 18 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in a meaningless game for Baltimore’s postseason seeding, are the No. 1 seed in the AFC. That’s earned them the bye through the first round of the NFL playoffs next weekend.
“It’s been amazing,” Harbaugh said last week when asked about strong seasons by both Michigan and Baltimore. “I just couldn’t be happier.”
Amid the Wolverines’ standout season, NFL teams are again interested in Jim Harbaugh, NFL.com has reported. He previously coached the San Francisco 49ers, leading them to a Super Bowl appearance against the Ravens after the 2012 season, before taking over at Michigan in 2015.
Aside from the Harbaugh brothers, Michigan has had several recent ties to Baltimore. Longtime Gilman and St. Frances Academy coach Biff Poggi worked on Jim Harbaugh’s staff in recent years, the Wolverines’ star running back, Blake Corum, attended St. Frances, and Macdonald coached at Michigan for a year as its defensive coordinator before returning to the Ravens. The Wolverines’ current defensive coordinator, Jesse Minter, also spent four seasons with the Ravens, rising to defensive backs coach in 2020.
This season has been especially enjoyable for fans who have the rare distinction of being both Ravens and Michigan fans. Jeff Morawski, a Dearborn, Michigan, native and Michigan graduate who is a travel nurse based in Baltimore County, attended Saturday’s rainy game donning a Ravens jersey and a Michigan beanie. By the third quarter, at least 30 passersby had said Michigan’s rallying cry — “Go Blue” — to him, he said.
“Awesome. Can’t be any better,” he said of this season. “I mean, except for the weather today, it’s awesome.”
A Detroit Lions fan at heart, Morawski has adopted the Ravens as another favorite of his.
“Both teams are really exciting to watch,” he said of Michigan and the Ravens. “Both have great defenses. I love how this city is so excited about the team, and it’s just like how it is in the state of Michigan about the Wolverines.”
Ravens Insider: Ravens prepare for playoff opener, looking to lessons from 2019 loss they’re ‘still not completely over’
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Ronnie Stanley does not want to forget.
The 2019 season, in many respects a professional pinnacle for the Ravens left tackle and his team, ended in profound disappointment. The Ravens’ Super Bowl ambitions, their 12-game winning streak, their No. 1 playoff seed all evaporated before they knew what hit them in front of a stunned crowd at M&T Bank Stadium on the night of Jan. 11, 2020.
The letdown lingers for the 11 current Ravens who were on that team and for the fans who invested so much belief in that season. It affects the way they look at this season, with the Ravens back in the same spot: No. 1 seed in the AFC, led by the likely NFL Most Valuable Player in quarterback Lamar Jackson and preparing to host a playoff opponent against whom they will be heavily favored.
“I’m still not completely over it, to be honest,” Stanley reflected. “Those opportunities don’t come too often.”
Though some teammates, including Jackson, have said they’d prefer to put questions about 2019 behind them, Stanley does not see memories of the experience as unwelcome ghosts.
“I don’t think it will get annoying,” he said. “Those are stuff that are always in the back of our head, the guys that were there and experienced it. We know the feeling that stuck with us still to this point, and we don’t want to feel that again.”
So what will the Ravens do differently to create a happier ending? It’s not a straightforward question to answer, because the reasons for their previous downfall are difficult to pinpoint.
When coach John Harbaugh thinks back to his team’s preparations four years ago, he recalls a smooth process. He has noted several times that the Ravens gained 530 yards, their second highest total of the 2019 season, in their 28-12 playoff loss to the Tennessee Titans.
“What impacted what [and] how in terms of us not playing our best football that day, it’s really hard to say what the cause and effect was,” he said. “I think we had a good game plan; we just didn’t get the job done in certain plays.”
Harbaugh has tweaked the team’s practice schedule this time around — he scheduled a Saturday walk-through at M&T Bank Stadium “just to keep in rhythm” — but still opted to rest Jackson and other key players for the team’s low-stakes regular-season finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was not going to transform his approach because of a four-year-old loss.
“You have to look at everything from the framework or through the lens of today — this team and the challenges that we’re facing,” Harbaugh said.
When players talk about the differences between the two teams, they note the granular outlook they’ve maintained this season, refusing to look past the next play or practice to more grandiose goals such as the Super Bowl.
“We were so young,” Jackson said, thinking back to his second year in the NFL and first as a full-time starter.
“I think we’re a completely different team, a completely different staff,” offensive lineman Patrick Mekari said. “The focus feels different. The intensity feels different. The purpose feels different. I don’t think we’re thinking, ‘Oh, it’s the same as 2019. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen again.'”
One day at a time, one practice at a time might sound cliche, but it has become their mantra. “Be your own biggest critic,” Harbaugh told them this week, another phrase to keep the focus narrow.
They’re less statistically dominant than they were four years ago, when they led the league in scoring and did not lose a regular-season game after the last weekend in September. But this team saved its best performances for late December, whereas the 2019 edition seemed to peak a month earlier.
“I do feel like 2019 gave us a lot of insight into the things that we could have gotten better at, using this time and being able to prepare,” Stanley said. “I would say, not be rigid about it, but be focused. I think that’s been our mindset all season.”
When game day arrives, they will be alert to the dangers of a sluggish start.
“I remember we came out really, really slow in that Titans game,” nose tackle Michael Pierce said. “We’re definitely mindful of what happened last time.”
Many fans who will roar for the Ravens next weekend were also in the stadium four years ago, when a brilliant season fell apart in little more than a quarter of game time against the Titans. It began with a Jackson pass caroming off the normally reliable hands of tight end Mark Andrews and into the arms of Tennessee defensive back Kevin Byard. That interception set up a short Titans touchdown drive.
When the Ravens got the ball back, Jackson carried on fourth-and-1 in their territory — the team’s aggression and efficiency on fourth down were trademarks — only to be stonewalled. Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill immediately capitalized with a perfect 45-yard missile to put his team up 14-0. The Ravens would have chances to claw back, but they were cooked.
Because of that disappointment, fans who otherwise profess great faith in this year’s team acknowledged they will have their guards up. They’re already cautious after a wonderful Orioles season ended with three swift losses to the Texas Rangers in the postseason.
“Sure, you always have your guard up, because it’s one-and-done,” said Andy Stewart, of Glen Rock, Pennsylvania. “It happens all the time in sports. That’s why you almost want to be the underdog going into these things, and right now, it’s hard to say we are.”
Before the Ravens clinched a first-round bye, some fans went so far as to root against it, fearing the Ravens might lose their edge with an extra week off. The franchise’s previous two Super Bowl winners were not No. 1 seeds; they had to roll through favored opponents in hostile stadiums.
“I’m not a big fan of the bye thing,” said Frank Schwartz, of Pasadena. “I’d rather see the team, when they’re on a roll, keep playing.”
At the same time, the Ravens made fans believe with back-to-back drubbings of the San Francisco 49ers and Miami Dolphins to clinch the No. 1 seed, an extra week of rest and home-field advantage until the Super Bowl. Those who’ve been around since the team arrived in 1996 struggled to recall a better pair of performances.
Stewart, 54, sees a more seasoned Jackson, a healthier offensive line, a smart, fierce defensive leader in linebacker Roquan Smith and thinks, “I don’t see a reason to fear the letdown. We’ve never had a better team.”
“I think they’re in a better place now,” the 68-year-old Schwartz said. “With the new coordinators, the weapons around Lamar now, they just seem to be clicking at the right time. I was never a Lamar fan; I always said he choked in the big games, but he proved me wrong this year.”
So much of the anticipation and anxiety around the Ravens is centered on Jackson, who had just completed his first full season when they lost to the Titans. He has embraced that burden since he promised Baltimore a championship on the night he was drafted in 2018, never more so than this season, after he signed a five-year, $260 million contract extension in April.
If teammates and fans believe in this team’s Super Bowl destiny, it’s largely because they believe in him — his greater control of the offense and his refusal to look past the moment in front of him.
“2019 is over with,” Jackson said. “We’re always talking about it. I always find myself talking about it, but it’s different. That was just my first full season [starting] in the NFL and my second year in the league, at that, but it’s a different mindset, a different group of guys. I just feel like all around, we’re different.”
AFC divisional round
TBD at Ravens
Jan. 20-21, TBA
TV: TBA
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
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