Despite coming up a toe short of defeating the back-to-back champion Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1, the Ravens are still seen as a top tier team in most NFL power rankings.
Baltimore was ranked within the top seven in all but one of the rankings we looked at, with a high of No. 4. The lowest ranking came from The Athletic, which put the Ravens at No. 17 — behind every team that won in Week 1.
Here's a breakdown of the Ravens' rankings:
| Source | Ranking | Last Week's Ranking | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| NFL.com | No. 5 | No. 3 | “Yes, one toe might have been the difference between an opening-game win and a loss, with John Harbaugh prepared to end it with a two-point try, but the Ravens had to have walked away from Thursday’s game thinking they have a lot to clean up. The mini-bye will help, but all three units had some real yuck to them. Lamar Jackson was brilliant but also made some costly mistakes. Derrick Henry had a quiet game after the first drive. Zach Orr’s defense had some operational mistakes, with blown coverages (the final Xavier Worthy TD), communication errors (burning two timeouts because of substitution mix-ups) and failures to adjust (to the same Rashee Rice slant over and over). Yet, it was an extremely un-Ravens-like game, and they still almost won on the road. Hence them not falling too far. — Eric Edholm |
| Bleacher Report | No. 6 | No. 5 | “There's no shame in losing at Arrowhead Stadium. And a Week 1 defeat hardly dooms the Baltimore Ravens' season — the Chiefs lost last year's opener to the Detroit Lions before going on to win Super Bowl LVIII. ... The problem is that while one loss isn't the end of the world, it was yet another setback against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. One that could come back to haunt Baltimore where home-field advantage is concerned come playoff time. And there were legitimate issues in the game, whether it was shaky offensive line play from a front with three new starters or a less-than-impressive Ravens debut for running back Derrick Henry.” — NFL Staff |
| ESPN | No. 4 | No. 2 | |
| Sports Illustrated | No. 7 | NA | “I was pretty all right with Baltimore’s debut against Kansas City all things considered. Some deeper thoughts here, but after assessing all that went wrong and considering that the Ravens were a toenail from possibly tying — or winning — the game at the end of regulation, this was as good a start as Baltimore could have hoped for (outside of a victory). I’m optimistic we won’t still be talking about the offensive line turnover a few weeks from now.” — Connor Orr |
| CBS Sports | No. 7 | No. 6 | “Two things of concern coming out of the Chiefs loss: the offensive line and the pass rush. Lamar Jackson's amazing play covered them both up, but they have to be better.” — Pete Prisco |
| The Athletic | No. 17 | No. 3 | “Lamar Jackson can’t keep this up. Sure, the reigning MVP looked great — he led the Ravens in rushing with 16 carries for 122 yards and threw for 273 yards and a touchdown, handling the ball on 57 of 74 plays. Hopefully, that was just Jackson trying to put on his superhero cape to knock Patrick Mahomes down a peg and he’ll settle down now because it’s hard to imagine him surviving 17 games with the kind of workload and contact he had Thursday night. Baltimore, theoretically, brought Derrick Henry in for a reason this offseason, but Henry had only 13 carries.” — Josh Kendall |
| The Ringer | No. 5 | No. 3 | "Nothing better encapsulates the Lamar Jackson era in Baltimore than how the Ravens played in Thursday night’s opener in Kansas City. When plays broke down, Jackson had to use every bit of his superpowers to keep the game within reach, and any missed throws (particularly in the second half) became fodder for debate about whether he’s good enough to get the Ravens over the hump. But I don’t believe that’s fair to Jackson, and it was evident from his first dropback of the season that the right side of the offensive line was overmatched. Were it not for Jackson’s creativity, the Ravens could have been shut out in Kansas City. That said, the Chiefs were a bad matchup for the Ravens, and I believe things will be just fine for Baltimore long term." — Diante Lee |
| Sporting News | No. 6 | No. 5 | “The Ravens had some of the same clutch moment issues vs. the Chefs, as Lamar Jackson and the defense had breakdowns at the wrong times. The one lingering concern will be the offensive line coming through as much as needed for Jackson and Derrick Henry.” — Vinnie Iyer |
| Fox Sports | No. 6 | No. 8 | “It’s got to sting to come so close to toppling the NFL’s bully and fall short. The Ravens shouldn’t let it fester, though. All the hallmarks of a strong team were there in Kansas City, though it’s crucial to get the offensive line playing more cohesively as the season moves along.” — David Helman |
| Yahoo! Sports | No. 5 | No. 4 | “There's no reason to worry about the Ravens. Had Isaiah Likely worn shoes that were one size smaller and then the Ravens would have hit a 2-point conversion with no time left (it really is a bummer we didn't get to see that happen), then they are 1-0 with a win at Arrowhead Stadium. The one big concern Baltimore will have to figure out is a shaky offensive line.” — Frank Schwab |
