The Baltimore Ravens don’t have the national following of the Dallas Cowboys.
The Baltimore Ravens don’t have a feel-good story like the San Francisco 49ers do with Brock Purdy.
The Baltimore Ravens haven’t created a trendy new play like the “Tush Push,” as the Philadelphia Eagles have done.
The Baltimore Ravens don’t have an All-Pro player who’s dating an international superstar like the Kansas City Chiefs do.
The Baltimore Ravens haven’t been featured on HBO’s “Hard Knocks,” as the Miami Dolphins and the Detroit Lions have been the past two seasons.
Then, what have the Baltimore Ravens done?
All the Baltimore Ravens have done in 2023 is win football games. As many as the 49ers, Cowboys and Eagles, and more than the Chiefs, the Dolphins and the Lions.
The Baltimore Ravens have done it with far less attention than the others, and perhaps that’s why few people are calling them the best team in the NFL.
Maybe they should.
The 49ers’ dominant victories over their chief NFC rivals, the Eagles and Cowboys, have provided convincing evidence to distinguish them as the NFL’s best team.
While others have fallen in the AFC, the Baltimore Ravens have been models of consistency and efficiency, even winning a few football games in some unusual ways.
From delays due to unauthorized drone activity overhead at M&T Bank Stadium. To a thrilling walk-off punt return for a touchdown in overtime.
With four weeks left in the regular season, it’s time to start taking the Baltimore Ravens more seriously. Some folks are already starting to jump on the Ravens’ bandwagon.
Here are three reasons to fear the Baltimore Ravens not only as the AFC’s best, but also as Super Bowl contenders.
1. Lamar Jackson is the QB.
In case you forgot, Lamar Jackson won an NFL MVP award in 2019, only his second season in the league. And he’s still a dual-threat dynamo who operates the Ravens’ offense at a high level.
In last week’s 37-31 victory over the Los Angeles Rams — won on the aforementioned punt return — Jackson had his best overall day of the season, throwing for 316 yards and three touchdowns and running for an additional 70 yards. His performance inserted him back into MVP consideration.
He’s had to adjust to life without Pro Bowl tight end Mark Andrews, who had season-ending ankle surgery. But Jackson is making great use of veteran Odell Beckham Jr., rookie Zay Flowers and now backup tight end Isaiah Likely in the passing game.
With teams losing quarterbacks to injury at an alarming rate this season, the Ravens are in great shape for a long playoff run as long as Jackson remains healthy and upright.
2. The Baltimore Ravens’ defense is stellar.
The Ravens have been trouble for opposing offenses at every level on defense. They lead the NFL in sacks by a long shot with 49, and they have allowed the second fewest yards and points.
One encouraging development this season has been play of Kyle Hamilton and Gene Stone, who have emerged as one of the league’s best safety tandems.
The Ravens have also gotten a resurgent season from former No. 1 overall draft pick, Jadaveon Clowney, who has contributed 7.5 sacks.
The Ravens’ defense had an uncommonly challenging game Sunday against the Rams’ versatile offensive attack, and Hamilton, who sprained his MCL, won’t play Sunday night against Jacksonville. But for the most part, a long day awaits any offense preparing to play the Ravens.
3. The Baltimore Ravens’ schedule is the NFL’s toughest.
By the time the Baltimore Ravens reach the end of the regular season, they will have survived the most arduous collection of games of any NFL team.
Nine of their first 13 games have come against teams with winning records, and the Ravens have won six of them. But that’s not all — still coming are games against Jacksonville on Sunday night, San Francisco in what could be a Super Bowl preview on Christmas Day, and then Miami and Pittsburgh.
That’s four more teams above .500. No team will be as tried and tested for the playoffs as the Baltimore Ravens.
BONUS: John Harbaugh is still the head coach.
It means something to have a head coach with the third-longest tenure in the NFL, but only when he produces winning teams every year — and that’s what Harbaugh does. With the Ravens’ 10th victory Sunday, it was the 10th time in his 16 seasons that they’ve won 10 or more games.
Granted, the Ravens have only won one playoff game in the past nine years on Harbaugh’s watch, but with a Super Bowl victory on his resume, it’s hard to see Harbaugh’s presence on the sidelines as anything but an asset for the Ravens.
For now, oddsmakers are picking the San Francisco 49ers over Harbaugh’s team as the Super Bowl favorites, and they will see each other up close on Christmas night.
Maybe then, the Baltimore Ravens will cement themselves as the team to be feared the most, if they haven’t already.