After Sunday night's gritty win over the defending AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals, the AFC North-leading Ravens (3-2) find themselves in the top five in multiple power rankings this week.
While not all of the power rankings pundits are convinced that the Ravens should be quite that high, seven of the eight sets of rankings we examined have Baltimore in the top 10. The exception is CBS Sports' Pete Prisco, who kept the Ravens at No. 11.
The Ravens' highest ranking is No. 4, by The Athletic and The Ringer. The latter has Baltimore ranked as the top team in its "Deep Postseason Contenders" tier, just below the "Best of the Best" (Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles).
"Lamar Jackson missed a handful of throws against Cincinnati on Sunday Night Football, but he's still a one-man wrecking crew and one of the few reasons the Ravens have a shot at making a deep postseason run in 2022," The Ringer's Austin Gayle wrote. "The other reasons are star tight end Mark Andrews, who went for 89 yards and a score as the team's leading receiver in Week 5, and future Hall of Fame kicker Justin Tucker. After going 4-for-4 in field goal attempts in the team's 19-17 win over the Bengals, Tucker has now made 61 consecutive kicks in the fourth quarter or overtime."
| Source | Ranking | Last Week's Ranking | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| NFL.com | No. 5 | No. 7 | “We hope the Ravens and their fans never take for granted the unprecedented greatness of Justin Tucker. The best kicker in NFL history was at it again on Sunday night, booting a 58-yard field goal in the third quarter, then the game-winner as time expired to lift the Ravens to a critical 19-17 win over the rival Bengals. Per Next Gen Stats, Tucker's 43-yard clincher quite literally split the uprights. Tucker is 17-for-17 lifetime on attempts in the final minute of regulation. Said Lamar Jackson: ‘We got the G.O.A.T. at kicker.’ It's the truth — and it gives the Ravens a huge advantage in every close contest they're a part of.” — Dan Hanzus |
| Bleacher Report | No. 6 | No. 9 | “At 3-2, the Ravens are the only team in the AFC North with a winning record. And while the defense remains a question mark, Baltimore has just two opponents left the rest of the season who sport more wins than losses. It's not going to be easy to knock this squad off its perch atop the division.” — NFL staff |
| ESPN | No. 7 | No. 9 | |
| Sports Illustrated | No. 6 | No. 5 | “Lamar Jackson is missing some big throws, but he makes up for it. Baltimore, in spurts, against the Bengals were starting to embrace their size and physicality on offense. On defense, zone never looked so good in Purple and Black.” — Conor Orr |
| CBS Sports | No. 11 | No. 11 | “The defense finally showed up in a game this season, limiting the Bengals and their passing game. Maybe they are adjusting to the new scheme.” — Pete Prisco |
| The Athletic | No. 4 | No. 4 | |
| The Ringer | No. 4 | No. 6 | “Lamar Jackson missed a handful of throws against Cincinnati on Sunday Night Football, but he’s still a one-man wrecking crew and one of the few reasons the Ravens have a shot at making a deep postseason run in 2022. The other reasons are star tight end Mark Andrews, who went for 89 yards and a score as the team’s leading receiver in Week 5, and future Hall of Fame kicker Justin Tucker. After going 4-for-4 in field goal attempts in the team’s 19-17 win over the Bengals, Tucker has now made 61 consecutive kicks in the fourth quarter or overtime.” — Austin Gayle |
| Sporting News | No. 9 | No. 10 | “The Ravens were finally able to finish a game well in the fourth quarter at home and made great defensive adjustments to thwart the Bengals in a key early division game. First place is theirs and Lamar Jackson continues to keep himself in the MVP conversation.” — Vinnie Iyer |
