Most national pundits are much higher on the Baltimore Ravens being one of the best teams in the league after they notched a resounding 41-10 bounce-back win over the Denver Broncos this past Sunday. Now, it’s time to see where the team lands in the NFL landscape of power rankings heading into Week 10.
After everything went wrong for Baltimore’s back seven last week, it was nice to see that this team still knows how to play in coverage without allowing receivers to run uncovered up the field. There were still some questionable moments—I was ready to spike my remote after Bo Nix’s receiving touchdown—but this was the first game that Baltimore was winning against early-down passes. Sunday’s defensive performance reminded me that this team’s ceiling is too high to dismiss. On the other side, Denver threw every blitz and exotic look it could at the backfield tandem of Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry, selling out to create any negative play. Baltimore was equipped with every answer necessary, holding Denver to a season low in tackles for loss and sacks. There are only a couple of teams that can match Baltimore, and they may not have the chance to until January.
Henry will turn 31 the day before final Sunday of the regular season. He doesn’t seem to have noticed. After gaining 106 yards on Sunday, Henry leads the NFL in rushing yards (1,052), attempts (168), yards per carry by any back with over 110 carries (6.3) and rushing touchdowns (11). He is on pace to gain 1,987 yards in the regular season, which would rank ninth all time and be the most by any running back over 30 years old. Henry forced 13 missed tackles on Sunday, tied for the most in any game this season, against the Broncos, according to Next Gen Stats.
The Broncos made things semi-interesting for most of the first half, but the Ravens’ final two possessions before halftime, in which they drove 63 and 70 yards for scores with relative ease, show just how gnarly Baltimore is to defend. This was clearly a three-phase victory, and it surely got the Ravens back in the good graces of their fans after Week 8’s shocking loss to Cleveland. They’ve now defeated three of their better opponents (Buffalo, Washington and Denver) by a total of 63 points. Of course, just last week, we were all guessing which Baltimore team might show up Sunday. After all, the Ravens have lost to two last-place (and offensively challenged) teams (the Raiders and Browns). More often than not, they come to play and mean business, but I understand anyone who hesitates to fully back them, thanks to their tendency to blow leads late in games and occasionally play down to their competition. Thankfully, their next four matchups before a Week 14 bye are all against teams playing well; Baltimore tends to show up for those contests.
Most important game remaining: Week 16 vs. the Steelers
This game could determine whether the Ravens repeat as AFC North champions for the first time since 2018-19 and get a home playoff game. The last time the Ravens beat the Steelers in Baltimore was 2019. The Steelers have been one of the few teams to frustrate quarterback Lamar Jackson. He’s 1-3 against Pittsburgh, throwing four touchdowns and seven interceptions. Pittsburgh is the only team Jackson has faced multiple times and recorded more interceptions than touchdown passes.
QB2 Josh Johnson had just as big a role in mop-up duty during a 31-point walkover against Denver as WR Diontae Johnson, acquired last week for some crab cakes before getting 17 snaps and zero targets Sunday. Diontae Johnson might serve as little more than a hood ornament on this offense – if one that other AFC contenders won’t have access to. Whatever dividends he pays, the real question now is whether this defense has enough juice … or if that’s irrelevant given Lamar Jackson and Co. are good for 30+ points weekly.
The combination of Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry makes the Ravens downright scary as a rushing attack, but the QB’s passing prowess could help them wrestle the crown away from the defending champs. Baltimore’s high-powered, multi-faceted offense can help the team overcome its defensive issues. Considering the Ravens have shown the ability to put 30-plus points on any opponent, John Harbaugh’s squad remains a contender despite its flawed defense.
The Baltimore Ravens needed a win after losing a game to the Browns, which they had firmly in their grasp last week. And did they ever impress in Week 9, destroying the Denver Broncos? Denver had one of the league’s top defenses, yet the Ravens scored 41 points before taking their foot off the gas. Zay Flowers had another huge performance, and Lamar Jackson is well on his way to winning his third MVP award. But with a difficult upcoming schedule, can the Ravens get back on top in the AFC North? That remains to be seen.
Lamar Jackson is a two-time MVP and he might be having his best season. His passer rating is an unbelievable 120.7, which would land him fourth on the all-time single-season list. Is Jackson already among the top 10 quarterbacks of all time? Maybe. And he’s only 27 years old.
The offense can score on anybody, but the defense made big strides against the Broncos. That’s something we had to see.
I wrote about Derrick Henry here and the fact that he’ll cash in on many of his incentives before Baltimore hits the December portion of its schedule. Pretty cool and—admission time—makes my take on his initial free agent signing feel dangerously off. An editor and I were having a discussion about positing Henry as a down-QB year MVP candidate when, in reality, one of the main reasons we couldn’t make that argument in 2024 was because of Lamar Jackson. Since Week 3, Jackson has been the NFL’s most efficient QB. He adds more on a down-by-down basis than any other QB in the sport. But let’s not just talk about the skill positions here. Baltimore’s offensive line recovered from a disastrous performance the week prior against Cleveland and allowed just one QB hit and sack against a very good Broncos defense.
Lamar Jackson had a perfect game by QB rating and Derrick Henry continues to run through and over opponents. Hard to imagine how this team lost to the Raiders and Browns but it did.
Baltimore blew the doors off the Broncos, as Lamar Jackson maintained his status of front-runner in the MVP conversation. He boasts 20 passing touchdowns to two interceptions with five rushing scores, and his 120.7 passer rating leads the league.
Last week, the Baltimore Ravens were stunned by the Cleveland Browns. That appears to have made them angry. The Ravens were an offensive buzzsaw Sunday against the Denver Broncos. Quarterback Lamar Jackson had as many touchdown throws as incompletions and a perfect passer rating of 158.3. Running back Derrick Henry continued to roll in his first season with the Ravens, rushing for 106 yards and two touchdowns. Wide receiver Zay Flowers erupted for 127 yards and two scores on five catches.
When the Baltimore Ravens offense gets clicking, it is a joy to behold. They were superb against the Denver Broncos, who, despite allowing 41 points this week, remain a good unit. There have been a few hiccups this season, but Baltimore’s offense has the potential to put together a strong run in January. They are effective both on the ground and through the air, which makes them largely weather and opponent-proof. The Ravens’ defense and special teams remain concerns, and they must improve in the coming weeks. An offense this good should be winning comfortably if it has a competent defense. Yet, the Ravens have had six one-score games and are 3-3 in them. Baltimore has a tough schedule coming up, starting Thursday night with a rematch against the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Ravens improved to 6-3 after a dominant 41-10 victory over the Denver Broncos. This was Lamar Jackson’s fourth career game with a perfect passer rating (158.3), breaking the tie with Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Kurt Warner, and Ben Roethlisberger for the most such games in the Super Bowl era. He joins an elite group of quarterbacks (Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady) who have achieved at least 20 touchdown passes and a 120+ passer rating in their first nine games of a season. This was also Derrick Henry’s 21st career game with at least 100 rushing yards and two touchdowns, tying Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith for the third-most such games in NFL history. Jackson’s exceptional play, combined with a strong running game and solid defense, positions them as serious contenders in the AFC.
Lamar Jackson posted a perfect passer rating to keep reminding everyone why’s a strong candidate to win his third MVP. He is running the offense so well that he’s also helped Derrick Henry get into the MVP conversation.
Total domination. Derrick Henry rushed for over 100 yards with 2 scores, Zay Flowers eclipsed the 100-yard receiving mark with 3 scores and Lamar Jackson (16-of-19, 280 yards, 14.7 ypa, 3-0 TD-INT) posted a perfect NFL QB rating. All of this, mind you, came against the best defense in the NFL and the Baltimore Ravens offense only needed 3 quarters to do it. Just a great rebound performance in Week 9, though, Baltimore would still be wise to strengthen its pass rush ahead of Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline.
The Ravens have some bad losses (Raiders, Browns), but when they are clicking, they can beat anyone. Lamar Jackson and company were clicking Sunday.
They’re unstoppable when they play like they did against the Broncos. Can they keep it going?
