The Baltimore Ravens avoided a soft spot in the schedule and handled the Arizona Cardinals soundly, moving to 6-2. They have handled a lot of their tests this year and are moving into the meat of their schedule with great playoff odds. Still, there are some things we need to see improve in the coming weeks that popped up in the win over the Cardinals.
4. The Baltimore Ravens cannot get out of their own way at times
The Baltimore Ravens have had many chances to turn games into the outcome of the Detroit Lions' win, but only that game and the Cleveland Browns' win against Dorian Thompson-Robinson could be classified as rocking chair winners. This game was the next closest thing, but the Ravens still got into a weird funk in the first half.
The team went right down the field and scored quickly, which they often do. Then, the second drive led to a funk. Against the Indianapolis Colts and Pittsburgh Steelers, the Ravens had a fumble change the momentum, and they could not get back on track. In this game, it was a missed field goal. The Ravens moved the ball for two straight possessions, then had a pair of three-and-outs. The Ravens needed a turnover to get back on track. This is similar to the Titans game when a turnover before the half led to points and got them back into their groove.
The Ravens cannot rely on other teams to put them in a good field position to get out of a funk. They have to find ways to move the ball and not get tense after those drive-altering plays.
3. The Baltimore Ravens edge rushers have to improve against the run
The Baltimore Ravens run defense has been elite. It is hard to find anything negative to say about Michael Pierce and Justin Madubuike at this point. However, they can be beaten on the edges. Rookie UDFA Emari Demercado had 78 yards on 20 carries. A lot of that went to the edges. The team is starting to get healthier out there, but Odafe Oweh was in and out of this game with his ankle injury. Jadeveon Clowney has carried the unit so far. Kyle Van Noy stepped in during the middle of the season, and Tavius Robinson essentially has a sign-up for teams to run at him.
The Ravens need to get Oweh, Tyus Bowser, or David Ojabo healthy here to improve in this area. They could also see some improvement from Van Noy, but teams are going to run outside on them. We saw Zack Moss and Emari Demercado do it, and it could get worse when some of the better-run schemes come to town.
2. Can the Baltimore Ravens get consistency out of their wide receivers?
We thought that the Ravens receiver may have been starting to find their groove in recent weeks. Both Odell Beckham and Rashod Bateman missed some time with injuries, but both of them have been back for a couple of weeks. They returned, and the offense looked good in London. Then, the team had their best game against the Lions. As they were healthy for three straight weeks and faced a bad Cardinals defense with Marco Wilson and Starling Thomas at cornerback, there was a thought that they could have their best game yet.
To be fair, Bateman averaged 17 yards per catch, and Odell Beckham drew a pass interference in the end zone. Still, Beckham had a poor game overall, and Bateman had just two catches. On top of that, Nelson Agholor brought nothing to the table.
Zay Flowers is good, but he is a rookie, and the Ravens cannot expect him to lead the way every week, especially as he has a potential rookie wall. Both Ravens wideouts showed flashes, but both need to show more if the Ravens want to be considered contenders for this stretch run.
1. Have the Baltimore Ravens faced a good quarterback?
The Baltimore Ravens defense is elite by a metric you can imagine. The real question now is, what will happen when they step it up in class and take on some of the best quarterbacks? This mainly has to do with Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes, but if the Ravens want to win a Super Bow, at least one of those quarterbacks will be in their way. The defense looks great, but they have yet to be tested with a big-time player like that.
They got C.J. Stroud in his rookie debut, and they got him behind a bad offensive line. Then, they faced Joe Burrow with a calf injury. They saw Gardner Minshew and Dorian Thompson-Robinson before facing Kenny Pickett. Then, Ryan Tannehill got hurt. Jared Goff is the best quarterback they faced when you add that Joshua Dobbs was the quarterback today. In total, Dobbs, Minshew, Malik Willis, and DTR are the four backups the team has faced.
This is not their fault, and they are beating who they play. Still, down the stretch run, the team will see healthy Burrown, Justin Herbert, Matthew Stafford, Trevor Lawrence, then the 49ers and Dolphins offense. The Raves have to rack up these wins because the real test is coming after November 16th.