Is the Ravens defense the only thing keeping Baltimore above water?

The Ravens scored 24 points in Week 6. They scored 10 in Week 5, and 19 in Week 3. Two of those games ended in losses, but Baltimore escaped such fate in London as they limited the Titans to scoring only 16 points against them on Sunday.

While not bad, the Ravens' offense has been the definition of average, if not mediocre in 2023. For all of the hype the unit carried into the season after the re-signing of Lamar Jackson, the addition of veteran Odell Beckham Jr., and the drafting of Zay Flowers...

...all these Ravens have done is score 22.2 points per game through Week 6, good for 15th in the NFL. They are averaging a measly 194.3 passing yards per game (24th), and only the rushing is delivering at 144.8 yards per game (5th) but mostly because of Lamar Jackson's legs.

The defense, on the other hand, has been the ultimate life-saving unit for the Ravens so far this season. And that's with a lot of players missing time at the start of the year and still doing so while recovering (on and off the field) from different, nagging issues.

Baltimore is allowing 15.2 points per game (4th-best in the NFL). The Ravens are also giving up just 163.2 passing yards per game (2nd) and 97.7 (10th) rushing yards. They rank first in passing (four) and rushing (one) touchdowns allowed, and also in sacks with 24 in six games. That's simply insane.

In Week 6, playing overseas against a rather meh Titans squad, the Ravens' defense delivered for the nth time this season.

Justin Madubuike and Jadeveon Clowney were perhaps the two best performers on that side of the ball for Baltimore on Sunday.

Madubuike racked up a couple of sacks and one of them started to put an end to Titans QB Ryan Tannehill as he seemingly got injured in that play, eventually forcing him out of the game as he got replaced by backup quarterback Malik Willis.

Clowney got himself two sacks but he did much more than that by applying nine pressures throughout the game. He also got to the quarterback four times, logging hits.

Veteran edge rusher Kyle Van Noy completed a tackle for a loss, also adding his name to the sack column once in Week 6. That could have been two, but a flag didn't allow KVN to snatch that second sack.

Inside linebacker Patrick Queen added a sixth and final sack on the day among Ravens defenders, pairing that with nine total tackles (one for a loss) and a quarterback hit.

Fellow off-ball linebacker Roquan Smith was sublime again, getting nine tackles to his name himself.

The secondary, even though having to navigate the loss of three players (Marcus Williams and Kevon Seymour injured, Kyle Hamilton ejected), was as good as ever thanks to an impressive performance by Geno Stone once more.

Williams deflected a pass that could have easily ended in a touchdown-scoring play for the Titans. Hamilton was ejected in the third quarter but he had already completed one tackle.

And once he got called up to the plate, Stone delivered a virtual game-sealing interception that helped Baltimore stop Tennessee on their comeback tracks and also started to wrap up Week 6 in favor of the Ravens.

The defensive line and the linebackers of the Flock limited Derrick Henry and Tyjae Spears to only 112 yards combined, and although Henry racked up 97 and scored a touchdown he was rather underwhelming against the stout front of the Ravens.

Baltimore could realistically be 6-0, but they are 4-2 entering Week 7 and some of that is undoubtedly thanks to one of the best defenses in the NFL.

The offense needs to level up, but rest assured if/when they do that, the Ravens will turn into one of the scariest teams in the league and a legitimate Super Bowl contender.

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