Baltimore (4-2) actually moved down slightly in two of the 10 sets of power rankings we looked at, including The Athletic, which dropped the team one spot to No. 12.
Aside from The Athletic, all the other outlets had the Ravens in the top 10. The Ravens' highest ranking was No. 7 (The Ringer, Sporting News).
The prevailing sentiment is that the Ravens' inconsistent offense, which struggled in the red zone the past two weeks, is preventing them from being ranked higher.
"If the Ravens could finish drives in a more impressive fashion, we'd be speaking so much more highly of them," Fox Sports' David Helman wrote.
| Source | Ranking | Last Week's Ranking | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| NFL.com | No. 9 | No. 10 | “The Ravens were fortunate to get away with bogging down early in the red zone. On the surface, the offensive numbers were fine in the 24-16 win over Tennessee, with 360 yards (221 passing, 139 rushing), but Baltimore going 1-for-6 in red-zone conversions explains the close score. The Ravens ran 17 red-zone plays in London. Seven were Lamar Jackson runs. Seven were handoffs. Three were Jackson passes. Of Jackson's rushing attempts down there, only a few appeared to be designed runs; I'd like to see Lamar throwing more when close to the end zone. A win is a win, but after a 4-for-4 red-zone game at Cleveland, the Ravens have posted touchdowns on just two of their last nine trips to the red area.” — Eric Edholm |
| Bleacher Report | No. 8 | No. 9 | “The Ravens are winning, but the offense has been alarmingly hit or miss. Odell Beckham Jr. is making $15 million in guarantees to catch two passes a game. Rashod Bateman is equally invisible. In short, the new-look Baltimore offense looks an awful lot like the old one—run the ball and throw it to tight end Mark Andrews. That might be good enough to beat mediocre teams like the Titans. But it doesn't scream 'elite contender.’” — Gary Davenport |
| ESPN | No. 9 | No. 11 | “After trading for Roquan Smith at midseason last year, the Ravens went from allowing 22.9 points per game to 14.7. This year, Smith's tackling and leadership have kept Baltimore among the stingiest defenses in the league despite four starters missing at least one game due to injury (CB Marlon Humphrey, S Marcus Williams and OLBs Odafe Oweh and David Ojabo). The Ravens have limited offenses to 15.2 points per game, which is one of the biggest reasons Baltimore is 4-2 and atop the AFC North. Smith has proved he deserves to be the league's highest-paid middle linebacker.” — Jamison Hensley |
| Sports Illustrated | No. 9 | No. 8 | “What’s cool about the Ravens is the way that they have combined their physicality with some serious straight-line speed. Tight end screens have become quick hits to Nelson Agholor with a straight shot toward the end zone. Against the Titans, the Ravens weren’t throwing the ball all over (Scotland) yard, but they have evolved their system to a point where a defense cannot make a rudimentary tackling mistake on any given play without giving up an embarrassing touchdown. Baltimore is still grinding opponents down, but just in a different way.” — Conor Orr |
| CBS Sports | No. 9 | No. 11 | “They found a way to hold on against the Titans in London, but they still haven't clicked all the way yet. The offense is just off some.” — Pete Prisco |
| The Athletic | No. 12 | No. 11 | “The Ravens lead the AFC North despite having the third-most lost fumbles and eighth-most dropped passes in the NFL. Lamar Jackson’s 69.9 percent completion rate ranks fourth in the league and is on pace to be the best of his career. His passer rating (93) is on pace to be the third best of his career.” — Josh Kendall |
| The Ringer | No. 7 | No. 7 | “Coming off of a Week 6 game in which the Ravens narrowly edged out the Titans thanks to six Justin Tucker field goals, it’s easy to forget the Ravens are a top-five offense when it comes to third-down conversion percentage and a top-10 unit in red zone efficiency this season. Offensive Coordinator Todd Monken has seemingly unlocked new elements to Jackson’s drop-back passing game, and Jackson is starting to maximize the potential of the pass catchers around him. … But what’s intriguing is that we haven’t seen the best version of the Monken-Jackson offense yet; that will come when Baltimore can get the non-Jackson rushing elements of the offense cooking.” — Austin Gayle |
| Sporting News | No. 7 | No. 10 | “The Ravens got back on track in London by Lamar Jackson getting loose and also getting more help from his receivers. The defense also made a statement to make up for some previous issues. The Lions will present a tough test at home in Week 7.” — Vinnie Iyer |
| Fox Sports | No. 9 | No. 9 | “If the Ravens could finish drives in a more impressive fashion, we'd be speaking so much more highly of them. They've been to the red zone nine times in the last two weeks and come away with two touchdowns. Those are abysmal numbers, and that's the difference between them looking pretty good as opposed to being one of the hottest teams in the NFL.” — David Helman |
| Yahoo! Sports | No. 8 | No. 9 | “If the Ravens are going to hit the top end of their range of outcomes, they probably need more out of the running back position. Gus Edwards and Justice Hill have been OK, but neither is scaring anyone. It would be fun to see the Ravens with a star running back. If Derrick Henry or another top running back is available before the deadline, the Ravens should be making a call.” — Frank Schwab |
