After beating the Cincinnati Bengals in Cincinnati, the Baltimore Ravens are in a great spot to make a run for the playoffs. The season is very early, but they now have a win over their division rivals and a two-game lead.
Beyond that, the Ravens look like a team that could be surging toward a playoff run. What are the reasons to believe in this team?
3. The Baltimore Ravens have plenty of depth
The one area of concern in recent years has been injuries. They deplete the team, and they take them from a hot start to a sputtering finish. Despite injuries coming again this season, it feels different this year. They just beat the Bengals without J.K. Dobbins, Ronnie Stanley, Tyler Linderbaum, Marlon Humphrey, and Marcus Williams. That is because this team is deeper than ever before.
Justice Hill has earned the respect of Todd Monken in ways that he could not for Greg Roman. He looked sharp in a duo with Gus Edwards. Patrick Mekari seems to have found a place as a solid backup tackle. His experience last season made this season's transition easy.
Sam Mustipher is not Linderbaum, but he is a center with over 2,000 career snaps at the position, They could worse in a tough spot.
We saw the value of Geno Stone in this game. Besides a game-changing interception that we would expect from Marcus Williams, Stone was all over the field making tackles. Lastly, the Ravens' cornerbacks are not high-end talents, but they are deep.
The team shuffled Rock Ya-Sin into the mix more than the previous week, and he made a key pass breakup on Ja'Marr Chase. Meanwhile, Brandon Stephens has been the cornerback who plays every snap, and Ronald Darby has been their best cornerback, although they have maintained his health by pulling him for Ya-Sin here and there.
Even at other positions, this roster is deep. Nelson Agholor is better than any receiver they had late into the season last year, and he is the number four right now. Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar are backups with potential. Malik Harrison is depth at linebacker; they have Travis Jones and Brent Urban along the defensive line.
The Ravens have been able to withstand this injuries with depth. This could go a long way.