From three-straight losses to a playoff revival? The Baltimore Ravens 2018 season could be saved starting with a win vs. the Oakland Raiders.
The NFL is a fluid season and changes are happening with every passing day, let alone game. What started as a promising season for the Baltimore Ravens quickly derailed into a nightmare. The Ravens took three-straight losses, including a crucial divisional game vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers, and effectively took away the hopes of most of the fan-base. Headed into the bye-week at 4-5 on the year, the playoffs seemed like a distant memory for Baltimore.
But perhaps the narrative is quickly changing in Charm City.
A lot changed for the Ravens following their week ten bye week. The team walked into their home stadium and got a must-win vs. the Cincinnati Bengals. To make the win that much more impressive was the fact that Baltimore rolled out with rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson. Jackson, a round one selection from the 2018 NFL Draft, was playing in his first career start with all the weight of the world on his shoulders.
It wasn’t a flashy day, but it certainly had some huge plays littered throughout it. Jackson was making some fantastic throws and spread the ball around well. Of course, Jackson did plenty of damage with his legs and ran for 119-yards on 27 carries. All-in-all, Jackson’s performance last Sunday was certainly encouraging.
Now against the Oakland Raiders, Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens face an opportunity to completely right the ship and take the team back to the playoffs. In fact, as it stands today (Saturday November 24th) Baltimore is in the playoffs as the sixth seed.
The tide is turning:
With the way that Lamar Jackson changes this offense, the Ravens could very well sneak-up on the rest of the NFL. The defenses that remain on Baltimore’s schedule are all terrible. Sorry, but there’s no other way to word it. Teams like the Oakland Raiders, Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers should have this offense salivating.
As long as Jackson continues developing, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where this team falters, at least based off the remaining schedule. The Ravens ran all over the Cincinnati Bengals last week, as evident by Jackson and undrafted rookie free agent running back Gus Edwards stat-lines. Baltimore has always been centered around great defenses and run games, but this new style of running could give them an edge never seen before.
The first part of that sentence is the only thing missing. A once dominant defense to start 2018 has faltered and looks lost as of late. This is despite the fact that the defense is no.1 in terms of yards allowed per game. In fact, this defense remains in the top five in numerous categories, but that can be attributed to the historic start to the season the team had. If that defense can return for the second-half of the season, Baltimore is as deadly team as anyone else to face.
All this talk and hope is just that, talk, until action is taken. What the Ravens showed in their week 11 win vs. the Bengals was very encouraging, but they need to continue building on it that success. The path to the playoffs remains open for Baltimore, but they must capitalize on a favorable schedule to end the year. That all starts Sunday vs. the Oakland Raiders.