Ravens one of only three NFL teams to earn A+ midseason grade

It's only been nine weeks of play and barely over two months of competitive football, but as the weather gets colder the Ravens are seemingly getting hotter.

Currently outpaced by just one NFL team (the 8-1 Philadelphia Eagles) and tied for the second-best record (7-2) with the Kansas City Chiefs, it's fair to consider Baltimore one of the best teams in the NFL past the halfway mark of the regular season.

Chris Branch of The Athletic took charge of delivering another daily edition of the outlet's newsletter, The Pulse, in which he handed out some midseason report cards. One of the sections was about grading all NFL teams by giving them a midseason grade.

The Ravens, per Branch's ranks, sit atop the league as one of three "Best Overall Teams" with the best grade across the NFL.

"All three teams had landmark wins [in Week 9]. The Ravens were particularly impressive while blowing out a good Seahawks team, 37-3. Kansas City beat Miami, 21-14 in Germany, and quietly has an awesome defense this year. The Eagles continue to beat good teams (28-23 over Dallas) while still not looking like a finished product, which is a scary thought in itself. "

- Chris Branch, The Athletic

Not only did Branch put Baltimore on the upper echelon, but he also noted the Ravens were "particularly impressive" in their 37-7 blowout of the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.

And hey, these 25 facts speak for themselves.

Of course, the Ravens still rank in the same tier as the one-loss Eagles and fellow 7-2 Chiefs, which is reasonable given their record and what we've witnessed those franchises do on the actual football field.

The Chiefs are coming off an international win against the once-feared Dolphins, the same as the Ravens did to the Titans in London a few weeks ago. The Eagles defeated the not-quite-there Cowboys by five points and are following a similar path to Baltimore's as it feels like Philly gets better each passing week.

The truth is that while Baltimore might not have the best record in the league, they have the best point differential at +115 compared to the second-best Buffalo Bills (+80), boast the second-longest winning streak at four consecutive wins, and have not gone on a bye yet.

Check out the standings in a couple of weeks, and the Ravens could very well be sitting above everyone else in the NFL and looking even stronger than they do these days. Can't wait!

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