The Ravens are no longer a consensus top 10 team after Sunday's frustrating and perplexing defeat at Pittsburgh.
Baltimore (3-2) remained in the top 10 in seven of the 10 sets of power rankings we looked at but fell to No. 11 in the other three. The Ravens' biggest drop was five spots, going from No. 6 to No. 11 in CBS Sports' rankings.
Multiple pundits referred to the error-filled loss to the Steelers as "fluky," and the prevailing sentiment was that the Ravens will get back on track.
| Source | Ranking | Last Week's Ranking | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| NFL.com | No. 10 | No. 8 | “Sunday's loss hurt more than the Week 3 stunner against the Colts did, in my opinion. Sure, falling to a backup QB isn't ideal, but Gardner Minshew is decent, as are the Colts; plus, that game was straight-up fluky in a lot of ways. Week 5? The Ravens just gave Pittsburgh the win. They had chances to step on the Steelers' necks multiple times throughout, but dropped passes, turnovers (two by Lamar Jackson late) and special-teams breakdowns started the avalanche, with Pickett-to-Pickens finishing it. The Ravens are a good team. My suspicion is they'll snap out of whatever funk they're in and realize it. Maybe the trip to London will be cleansing. Or at least more cleansing than their last trip overseas.” — Eric Edholm |
| Bleacher Report | No. 9 | No. 7 | “A lot of people with an opinion on the Ravens' offensive struggles hyperfocus on Lamar Jackson's passing numbers (or lack thereof), but Baltimore has a bigger issue with fundamental execution. Through the first five weeks, the Ravens have turned the ball over eight times, at least twice in three out of five contests. Last Sunday, wide receiver Rashod Bateman dropped what should've been a routine touchdown reception. Nelson Agholor's hands turned into stone on a potential big play. We're not used to an inefficient Ravens offense, but that's their biggest problem to solve right now. Once they tighten up on the basics, we'll see them hit their stride.” — Maurice Moton |
| ESPN | No. 11 | No. 7 | N/A |
| Sports Illustrated | No. 8 | No. 8 | “The Ravens had this one in the bag. There were so many once-in-a-blue-moon hiccups, especially with the way Lamar Jackson was reading his receivers’ intentions, or simply receiver drops. I wouldn’t read too much into it. Baltimore is still generating turnover-worthy, free-runner blitzes every game. Jackson looks more comfortable and full of options than he ever has. Had he looked off Damontae Kazee and gone over the top to Mark Andrews at the end of the fourth quarter instead of lofting a pick in the corner of the end zone, we’d be talking about how Baltimore looks like they’re gaining separation in the AFC North.” — Conor Orr |
| CBS Sports | No. 11 | No. 6 | “What happened to the offense against the Steelers? Lamar Jackson and the passing game kept missing big chances with drops and poor throws.” — Pete Prisco |
| The Athletic | No. 11 | No. 8 | “Wide receiver Zay Flowers, the No. 22 pick, is third among all rookies with 317 receiving yards, and he’s carrying a huge chunk of the Ravens’ passing game. He’s 11th in the league in team target percentage (28.6 percent), according to TruMedia. In the ‘new guy’ category, wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. has a lot fewer catches (seven) than he had offseason headlines during his free agency.” — Josh Kendall |
| The Ringer | No. 7 | No. 7 | N/A |
| Sporting News | No. 10 | No. 8 | “The Ravens are getting sloppy with Lamar Jackson in the new supposed better passing offense, maybe going out of their element and not playing enough of a complement to the defense. It needs to be fixed, stat.” — Vinnie Iyer |
| Fox Sports | No. 9 | No. 7 | “The epitome of a ‘what the hell just happened’ loss. Lamar Jackson's receivers dropped seven balls. Zay Flowers lost his footing on a probable touchdown. The Ravens gave up a 41-yard, go-ahead touchdown to a Steelers team that managed just 289 yards of offense. I'm not going to panic because this feels like a fluky loss — but regardless of how they happen, losses have a way of coming back to bite you.” — David Helman |
| Yahoo! Sports | No. 9 | No. 8 | “Odell Beckham Jr. has seven catches for 79 yards in the three games he has played this season. The Ravens paid Beckham $15 million for this season and it looks like they got left holding an empty bag. And they could use him, too; the Ravens' pass-catchers had way too many drops and mistakes in a winnable game against the Steelers.” — Frank Schwab |
