Ravens will face Wink Martindale in revenge game in 2022

The Baltimore Ravens will face off against their former defensive coordinator, Wink Martindale, when the team plays the New York Giants in 2022.

Martindale left on good terms with the Ravens, so there’s not a lot of bad blood there. Baltimore’s former defensive coordinator has reportedly been hired by the Giants to start a new era under coach Brian Daboll.

In his four seasons as defensive coordinator in Baltimore, Martindale became known for his blitz-heavy defensive schemes that have resulted in mostly positive outcomes for the Ravens.

From 2018 to 2020, the Ravens’ defense ranked in the top-seven; this past season, though, an injury-ravaged defensive squad saw the Ravens fall to the bottom of the league in several statistical categories.

The Ravens also allowed the second-most yards (363.4) in the franchise’s 26-year history in 2021.

News of Martindale’s departure came as a bit of a surprise, but Baltimore has quickly started over in hiring Mike Macdonald as the team’s new defensive coordinator.

The Ravens will play against an all-too-familiar face in 2022

As one of the youngest coaches in the league, Macdonald likely won’t deviate too far from the core philosophy of the Ravens defense, but change is on the horizon. Baltimore’s aging defensive line needs to be addressed, and the team needs to make key decisions about members in the secondary.

Make no mistake: when the Ravens come up against Martindale, the team will want to beat its former defensive coordinator at his own game.

The Ravens already have the advantage (Martindale is coaching the Giants, after all), and Marcus Peters and other players returning from injury should add a much-needed boost to the current roster.

We expect Martindale to have his hands full coaching the Giants’ defensive unit as Macdonald looks to make tweaks and changes to engineer his own defensive scheme.

Defense wins championships, but come the start of the 2022 season, the Ravens’ offense will need a slight facelift as well.

If the Ravens end up losing to the Giants on the road, let’s just say it likely won’t be Martindale’s doing.