Ebony Bird
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Baltimore Ravens painful playoff exit: 3 big things

By Chris Schisler

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - JANUARY 11: Quarterback Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens fumbles the ball while being hit by Jurrell Casey #99 of the Tennessee Titans in the second half of the AFC Divisional Playoff game at M&T Bank Stadium on January 11, 2020 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - JANUARY 11: Quarterback Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens fumbles the ball while being hit by Jurrell Casey #99 of the Tennessee Titans in the second half of the AFC Divisional Playoff game at M&T Bank Stadium on January 11, 2020 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
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BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – JANUARY 11: Quarterback Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens throws the ball against the Tennessee Titans in the second half during the AFC Divisional Playoff game at M&T Bank Stadium on January 11, 2020 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – JANUARY 11: Quarterback Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens throws the ball against the Tennessee Titans in the second half during the AFC Divisional Playoff game at M&T Bank Stadium on January 11, 2020 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /

2. Reasons to believe in the future:

The future doesn’t seem to matter at the moment. When you’re ready to look at it though, there is plenty of reason for optimism. The Ravens most important player for the future touches the ball on every single play. Jackson led the NFL in touchdown passes this season, had over 1,000 yards rushing and proved to be one of the best players in the league. That’s a fact and it didn’t just vanish into thin air the second the Titans clinched an appearance in the AFC Championship.

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Marquise Brown, Mark Andrews and Hayden Hurst are all young players. Mark Ingram II, Gus Edwards and Justice Hill will be back in the action next season. The Ravens should be able to keep their offensive line together (unless Marshal Yanda chooses to retire). Do the Ravens need another star at the wide receiver position? Yes. Do the Ravens still have some things to work out? Absolutely. There just isn’t any reason to expect the Ravens to be bad next season. The Ravens learned that no team is unstoppable and they learned it the hard way. Jackson and the core talent of this offense make up a young and hungry group that should be able to eventually get over the hurdle of the divisional playoff round.

The defense is going to be good next season. Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters are going to be back. Earl Thomas and Chuck Clark will be back. Whether or not Jimmy Smith and Brandon Carr return, Tavon Young will be back in the fold in 2020. The defensive front has some work for Eric DeCosta to do, yet the best parts of the defense should return.

The Ravens have a wide window to win a Super Bowl. The purple and black are coming off their best regular season in franchise history. They have plenty of cap space for the offseason and more than a handful of draft picks to start with. The Ravens should be returning with just about everything they had in 2019 and a good offseason could get them to a scary good point.

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