Ravens: The bye week couldn’t come at a better time for Baltimore

Sunday’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals was as ugly as it gets. For the entire second half, I thought I was watching a Maryland Terrapins game.

That being said, this bye week couldn’t have come at a better time. The Baltimore Ravens are currently 5-2 and tied for first in the AFC North (Bengals own the tiebreaker).

A break is definitely deserved for this Ravens team as four of their first seven games have been decided by just one possession. Especially since there have been countless amounts of injuries every single week, this will finally give the team a chance to rest up for the next 10 weeks.

I’d like to imagine, on this break, the team will focus on what they can do about the horrid pass defense we’ve seen so far. Through seven games they’ve allowed 2,073 passing yards, which is the worst in franchise history over that span.

Talking more on that passing defense, the most yards Marlon Humphrey had given up before Sunday was 143. Ja’Marr Chase torched him for 201 yards and a touchdown. We’re all still trying to find that All-Pro Humphrey that seems to be lost.

I don’t think it’s fair to put all the blame on Humphrey, though. Coming into the game, Joe Burrow had the best completion percentage (79%) and QBR (97) against the blitz. Of Chase’s 201 yards, 147 of them came when the Ravens blitzed.

Anybody who follows the NFL even a little bit knew the Bengals were one of the best teams against the blitz. I figured defensive coordinator Don Martindale would try out some new schemes to keep them guessing.

But, as expected the blitz kept coming and Burrow kept having success.

The Ravens are still well-positioned going into their bye week

Now that we got all of the bad news out of the way, there are a few stats I have that will make all Ravens fans feel much more comfortable going into this bye.

Under John Harbaugh, the Ravens have a 49-39 record before the bye week, and a combined 80-40 record to finish the season after the bye week.

Something else to look forward to after the bye is the Ravens’ first six opponents have a combined record of 18-22. This looks like it could be a month and a half where the Ravens can get back on track to run the table of the AFC.

Three of those games are against divisional rivals Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns who, so far, haven’t proven they are at the same level as the Ravens or Bengals.

The way some people are reacting to Sunday’s game, you’d think the Ravens were 2-5 with no hope of seeing the playoffs.

If the Ravens can find a way to fix their pass defense and find a capable running back to lighten Lamar Jackson’s load, they could still be one of the most dangerous teams in the NFL.

I think it’s time for all of Ravens Flock to take a deep breath and relax, the fans needed this bye week almost as much as the team.

Just remember it could be worse. They could be in the Kansas City Chiefs’ situation.