3 reasons the Baltimore Ravens are Super Bowl contenders

Keep playing “bully ball:”

This Baltimore Ravens team is becoming very hard to prepare for and very exciting to watch. The offensive line has played at a higher level than anticipated. Ronnie Stanley ranks number one among NFL left tackles, alongside Marshal Yanda and Orlando Brown Jr. who have been having good seasons as well. Bradley Bozeman and Matt Skura have also proven to be starters. This offensive line has been playing very hard nosed, street football with Lamar at the helm.

Now the “pick your poison” running back and tight end groups, along with this hungry defense makes the Ravens a tough match up no matter who they play and where.

Yanda said it best: “Flip the switch every Sunday!” In the following tweet, you can see Yanda giving a great pregame speech earlier this season:

This is a group of guys who truly love going to war and having each other’s backs when they need it. Now, safety Earl Thomas can vouch for that after taking home the game ball. His first game back in Seattle since they dumped him resulted in a great team victory.

A bye week only feels this good when it comes after a victory, especially one of this magnitude. Baltimore, now 5-2, seems to have the league on notice. You cannot call a team a contender based off of one game. However, Lamar’s possible MVP season is leading the Ravens towards the discussion.

We are starting to see pieces of the puzzle come together on defense, and if this group continues to play like they just did in Seattle, look for many more wins coming their way. Look for a shootout coming out of this bye  with their week nine match up against Tom Brady and the Patriots in Baltimore.