The Ravens' 23-30 victory over the Cleveland Browns this past Sunday wasn't pretty, but style points don't matter in the standings. They do in the power rankings, however.
Nearly blowing another double-digit lead in the fourth quarter — this time against a team that limped into Baltimore on a three-game losing streak — did not impress the majority of the power rankings pundits.
The Ravens (4-3), who remained a consensus top-[add]10 team, either moved slightly up or stayed in place in five of the eight sets of power rankings we examined. One outlet (The Athletic) moved them down a spot.
CBS Sports and Sporting News moved the Ravens up six and four spots, respectively, but they each had the AFC North leaders ranked in the teens last week.
| Source | Ranking | Last Week's Ranking | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| NFL.com | No. 8 | No. 8 | “It wasn't a thing of beauty — and it featured another big scare after Baltimore built a double-digit lead in the second half — but the Ravens found their way back to the win column with a 23-20 victory over the Browns. Lamar Jackson's recent play continues to profile as a curiosity: The quarterback has looked tentative in the pocket since a blazing-hot start, managing just three touchdown passes against four interceptions in the last four games. Jackson has kept his game afloat thanks to his legs. His 510 rushing yards through seven games top the entirety of the Buccaneers (451) and Rams (423).” — Dan Hanzus |
| Bleacher Report | No. 7 | No. 8 | “The Ravens aren’t easy to figure out. Between the blown leads and the modest offensive numbers at times, they appear to be a tier below teams like the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills in the AFC. But the Ravens have a pair of wins over teams that are above .500 this season and gave the Bills all they could handle in Week 4. Add in the hardest player in the league to defend in Jackson, and it’s wise not to underestimate Baltimore.” — Gary Davenport |
| ESPN | No. 7 | No. 7 | “There are two teams that have held double-digit leads in every game this season: the Ravens and the Eagles. But Philadelphia is undefeated at 6-0 and the Ravens are 4-3. Why? Baltimore has been outscored by a league-worst 46 points in the fourth quarter. The Ravens would rank among the NFL's best if not for fourth-quarter meltdowns against the Dolphins, Bills and Giants.” — Jamison Hensley |
| Sports Illustrated | No. 7 | No. 9 | “While rush EPA/play doesn’t necessarily translate to direct success (the Browns are No. 1 and the Patriots are No. 2) the Ravens are still moving the ball at a steady clip. Despite some late-game defensive breakdowns, they are sixth in point differential and in a steady position to make the playoffs.” — Conor Orr |
| CBS Sports | No. 11 | No. 17 | “They beat the Browns, but there are still issues. The passing game has to be better. You won't win a lot of games throwing for under 200 yards like they did against the Browns.” — Pete Prisco |
| The Athletic | No. 6 | No. 5 | “It really looked like the Ravens were about to do it again. Up 23-13 in the fourth quarter, they let the Browns pull within three points and then fumbled the ball away deep in Browns territory with just over three minutes left. It took a series of odd events for the Ravens to keep from blowing another late lead, but somehow they pulled through.” — Bo Wulf |
| The Ringer | No. 4 | No. 5 | “Baltimore is tied for third in first-half point differential (45) but just 24th in the second half (-25). Lamar Jackson’s EPA per dropback average drops from seventh in the league in the first half (0.20) to 29th in the second half (-0.22). Opposing teams are adjusting to slow down Jackson and the offense in the second halves of games, turning two-score blowouts into nail-biters every single week. The result has been just two wins with two-score leads and three too many one-score losses.” — Austin Gayle |
| Sporting News | No. 9 | No. 13 | “The Ravens danced with another fourth-quarter blown lead but found enough defense and traditional running game to close out the Browns. Lamar Jackson also found more players with whom to make big plays with Mark Andrews hurting. The defense is still finding its right mesh of scheme and personnel, but it's getting there.” — Vinnie Iyer |
