Statistically Baltimore Ravens are almost too good to believe

The Baltimore Ravens used to settle for field goals as the norm. Now they are a touchdown scoring machine:

A trip to the Ravens team page at NFL.com will show you how good the Ravens were last season from a statistical perspective. Let’s run down some of the more notable statistics you’ll find there.

They scored 64 touchdowns in the 2019 season. This is way more than the purple and black are accustomed to scoring. The Super Bowl champion Chiefs scored 50 total touchdowns last season. Make no mistake about it, the Ravens were the most explosive team in the 2019 season. The best team laid an egg in the playoffs. That’s what happened.

Lamar Jackson was the second unanimous MVP in NFL history. He had three games in 2019 with five touchdown passes. He led the league in touchdown passes, had over 1,206 yards rushing and showed off in a big way.

Baltimore only gave up 29 touchdowns in the 2019 regular season. That means the Ravens put up 35 more touchdowns than their opponents scored on them. Baltimore scored some of these touchdowns defensively. Marcus Peters had two interception touchdown returns. Marlon Humphrey scored on two scooped up fumbles.

The Ravens were already the most balanced team in the league before the offseason began. That’s why the won on both sides of the ball, and won so many games by a large margin. The Ravens were plus 10 in the turnover ratio and hogged the ball better than any team in the league. The Ravens averaged over 34 minutes of time of possession a game.

They were had a healthy 47 percent third down conversion rate. Baltimore also converted on 17 out of 24 fourth down tries. The Ravens picked up 110 more first downs than they allowed their opponents to have.

The Ravens were the only team in the NFL to score over 500 points last season and averaged 33.2 points per contest. The Baltimore Ravens being the most explosive and prolific team in the league is almost hard to believe. The franchise has never been known for their offense. Even when Joe Flacco had a historical playoff run in the 2012 season, the mainstream audience thought of the Ravens as a defense-first team.

The Ravens have won the Super Bowl two different ways. They won Super Bowl XXXV with an unbelievable defense and almost no offense. They actually won Super Bowl XLVII with a powerful offense and a defense that was good enough to win with. Baltimore has never had a team that was balanced like they had in 2019.

More from Ebony Bird

• Will Baltimore Ravens be rewarded for risky Lamar Jackson decision?
• The Baltimore Ravens Big Gamble
• Ravens Super Bowl odds present fascinating insight on Lamar Jackson’s future
• Should Baltimore Ravens be interested in this recently released WR
• Do the Baltimore Ravens have serious interest in this free agent wide out?

The Ravens never had a team with an elite offense and elite defense before this. The 2019 team was easily the best Baltimore team not to win a Super Bowl. This is a Super Bowl caliber team that just has to take the next step.

Now the Ravens, who put up video game like numbers, are improved heading into the 2020 season. Their biggest weakness defensively was interior pass rush and being gashed at times by a power rushing attack. That’s fixed. The Ravens drafted Patrick Queen and Malik Harrison and improved the defensive line in both free agency and the draft.

If Calais Campbell and Derek Wolfe were on the Ravens last year, Derrick Henry may not have had the same kind of game in the playoffs. Those two players could have changed things. The impact Campbell and Wolfe will have is going to be both with stopping the run and getting after the quarterback.

The Ravens biggest weakness on offense was their lack of weapons in the passing game. If Devin Duvernay is as good as advertised and Miles Boykin comes along, the Ravens offense has that problem solved. One way or another, the ground game will be even more elite with the addition of J.K. Dobbins. Baltimore has four good running backs and three of these backs could probably be starters on another team. Mark Ingram is the perfect running back to have with Jackson.

The Ravens are objectively good. In 2019, they put up numbers even the most confident prognosticators didn’t see coming. Jackson is a superstar that is only going to get better. The Ravens got better as a team this offseason. The Ravens are contenders and on paper they are the toughest team to beat in the NFL.