ExtremeRavens Posted 9 hours ago Posted 9 hours ago This new sense of urgency works for the Ravens, and could be the best thing for this franchise. But hopefully two future opponents delivered wake up calls to the Ravens (3-5) on Sunday. In the past, a “style” preference was preferred late in the season, as the Ravens needed to roll over teams to build momentum. It happened in 2000 when the Ravens had perhaps the best defense ever and combined with running back Jamal Lewis, the Ravens seemed destined to at least win the AFC championship and later Super Bowl XXXV. In 2012, the Ravens lost four of their last five regular-season games but quarterback Joe Flacco became unbelievably hot in the playoffs. The Ravens won four straight, including a 34-31 win against San Francisco in Super Bowl XLVII. But now, the Ravens have to go on a roll or hope Pittsburgh will do its annual end-of-the-season fold, allowing the Ravens to win their third straight AFC North title. The Steelers folding is more likely, even though Pittsburgh (5-3) upset the Indianapolis Colts, 27-20, Sunday in Pittsburgh. The Ravens need to go into the second half of the year and postseason with a mindset of being “one and done,” which forces them to play their A-game, which they haven’t done in two years in the playoffs. Let’s not kid ourselves. In 2023, the Ravens had the best regular-season record at 13-4 and lost, 17-10, to Kansas City in the AFC title game. Worst yet, it was played in Baltimore where the Ravens were considered nearly unbeatable. Then last year, they lost to Buffalo, 27-25, in a divisional playoff game that the Ravens should have won based on them annihilating the Bills, 35-10, months earlier. The Ravens talked a lot during the offseason about beating Buffalo in the 2025 season opener, but were shocked by the Bills’ fourth-quarter comeback led by quarterback Josh Allen, resulting in a 41-40 Bills win. Now, it’s no longer about style points, just wins. Only four teams have gone on to the playoffs starting the season at 1-5 since the 1970 merger of the AFL and NFL, so the Ravens have to focus on winning now. That’s encouraging. The style points can come later with about a month remaining in the regular season. The pressure is on now, and that might be enough to carry this team. The AFC North is in a sorry state, even though Pittsburgh beat the Colts to solidify a two-game lead in the division. But the belief here is that the Steelers will still fall apart like they did last year, when they lost four straight at the end of the season. The Ravens have won two straight beating both Chicago and Miami, and they next play Sunday in Minnesota. Chicago had won four games before coming to Baltimore on Oct. 26, but the Bears weren’t serious contenders, not with second year player Caleb Williams as a starting quarterback. The Ravens beat Miami, 28-6, Thursday night, but the Dolphins might be the worst team in the NFL with possibly the worst starting quarterback in Tua Tagovailoa. The last two wins haven’t been pretty. On a scale of 1-10 on style points, they might get a three or four. But in the words of late Las Vegas and Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis, just win baby. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, shown avoiding pressure in a win over the Dolphins, gives Baltimore a realistic chance to make a push for the AFC North title despite starting 1-5. (Lynne Sladky/AP) “It just shows you who we are, but I’ve never had any doubt in my mind on who we are,” Ravens middle linebacker Roquan Smith said. “I said it weeks ago; I’m an optimist myself, and each and every guy knows the process that each and every guy has fought through, and we knew where we were going to be, and we knew we were going to be in this position on how we were going to respond after the bye week. “I feel like we’re showing exactly how we’re responding, and it’s just a part of the process. That was just two [wins], and we’re on our way to many more.” At this point, that’s all that really matters. The Ravens still have to play Pittsburgh and Cincinnati twice. The Steelers, traditionally known for having a tough defense, gave up nearly 400 to the Colts in total offense, and both franchises have quarterbacks who are virtual statues. Cleveland doesn’t have a proven quarterback, and Minnesota didn’t until Sunday when J.J. McCarthy was back as the starter. The Vikings are to be feared because of receivers Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, and their defense played well Sunday as Minnesota upset the Lions in Detroit, 27-24. The Ravens can answer Minnesota in offensive firepower, though, especially with quarterback Lamar Jackson returning Thursday night against Miami. Regardless, the Ravens need to improve. They’ve run the ball well in the past two weeks but fullback Patrick Ricard was off his game against the Dolphins, and the offensive line has struggled with consistency, especially in pass protection. Coordinator Todd Monken has done well using halfback Keaton Mitchell to replace Henry on outside runs to keep defenses spread out, and Jackson has used all three tight ends as weapons, including Mark Andrews, Charlie Kolar and Isaiah Likely. As for defense, the Ravens still have problems. They gave up 285 passing yards to Chicago and 245 to Miami, and there were some glaring lapses as far as coverages in the secondary on intermediate and deep passing routes. The old problem of not providing pressure on opposing quarterbacks is still clearly evident, and the Ravens had only two sacks and five hurries on Tagovailoa, who is as immobile as both Pittsburgh’s Aaron Rodgers and Flacco, now a starter with Cincinnati. But at least the Ravens have a little wiggle room to improve. The situation isn’t as grave as it was earlier in the year when they were shuffling nine starters in and out of the lineup because of injuries, and fans were calling for the firing of coach John Harbaugh. The Ravens still have to get better. They can’t win like this in the postseason against teams like Kansas City, Buffalo or even possibly Denver with their erratic play. We may not find out if the Ravens are really good until they play Green Bay on December 27th or 28th even though the Packers were upset, 16-13, by Carolina on Sunday. Go figure. Maybe it’s time to change that “locked in” phrase that is thrown around the NFL these days. For two years, the Ravens were reportedly “locked in” and never got to the Super Bowl. Maybe this new sense of urgency changes the outcome. Have a news tip? Contact Mike Preston at epreston@baltsun.com, 410-332-6467 and x.com/MikePrestonSun. View the full article Quote
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