Where does one rank a team that is talented but underachieving? That repeatedly builds double-digit leads only to squander them? That could easily be 6-0 but is 3-3?
That is the conundrum for the power rankings pundits regarding the Ravens. The perplexing situation was reflected in the Ravens' ranking this week being all over the map.
Baltimore is as high as No. 5 and as low as No. 17. The latter ranking comes from CBS Sports' Pete Prisco, who has consistently ranked the Ravens lower than his peers this season. This week, Prisco dropped the Ravens six spots.
Overall, six of the eight sets of power rankings we examined have the Ravens in the top 10, including two in the top five.
Perhaps Sports Illustrated’s Conor Orr, who placed the Ravens at No. 9, offered the best take on the team.
"I am still high on the Ravens for one simple reason: This entire year is a gigantic crapshoot, and if Lamar Jackson and most of his offensive line and a few of his tight ends are healthy in January, they have a better shot than 70% of the league to make a run," Orr wrote. "Style points, unless you are the Bills, are completely irrelevant this year."
| Source | Ranking | Last Week's Ranking | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| NFL.com | No. 8 | No. 5 | “Lamar Jackson is a former MVP who has had stretches this season when he’s looked better than ever. But the quarterback also bears his share of the responsibility for three confounding late-game meltdowns that have defined a .500 start. On Sunday, Jackson buried Baltimore with two fourth-quarter turnovers —- a grisly interception that set up Saquon Barkley’s go-ahead score and a strip-sack fumble that aborted a comeback attempt — in a frustrating 24-20 loss to the upstart Giants. The Ravens are up to three losses in which they led by at least 10 points in a game — matching a team record for most such losses in a season. Through Week 6!” — Dan Hanzus |
| Bleacher Report | No. 8 | No. 6 | “For most of Sunday's game against the New York Giants, the Ravens appeared to be in control. The Ravens out-gained the G-Men by 168 yards and led most of the way. But the only stat that really matters in football is the final score. And thanks to a couple of late turnovers by quarterback Lamar Jackson, the Giants came roaring back to stun Baltimore and drop the Ravens to .500 on the season.” — NFL staff |
| ESPN | No. 7 | No. 7 | |
| Sports Illustrated | No. 9 | No. 6 | “I am still high on the Ravens for one simple reason: This entire year is a gigantic crapshoot, and if Lamar Jackson and most of his offensive line and a few of his tight ends are healthy in January, they have a better shot than 70% of the league to make a run. Style points, unless you are the Bills, are completely irrelevant this year.” — Conor Orr |
| CBS Sports | No. 17 | No. 11 | “The defense is finally playing well, but the offense didn't do enough in the loss to the Giants. They are a tough team to figure out.” — Pete Prisco |
| The Athletic | No. 5 | No. 4 | “‘Tis better to have led and lost than never to have led at all. Or something. The Ravens have now blown second-half leads of at least 10 points in each of their three losses. That doesn’t say a whole lot about their fourth-quarter execution, and Sunday’s gift to the Giants was particularly worrisome given everything that came before it. But under the hood, the Ravens still rank No. 3 in overall DVOA, No. 3 in offensive DVOA (No. 9 in offensive EPA per drive) and No. 15 in defensive DVOA (25th in defensive EPA per drive).” — Bo Wulf |
| The Ringer | No. 5 | No. 4 | “Lamar Jackson, his looming contract situation, and even his mom are all fielding unjust criticism. The offense is overtly too dependent on him to be a superhero for four quarters every week, and defenses are catching on. Injuries to [right tackle Morgan] Moses, running back J.K. Dobbins, and top receiver Rashod Bateman haven’t made things any easier, but nearly every team is licking some wounds by now. After ranking sixth in offensive EPA per drive through the first three weeks of the season, Baltimore ranks 18th in the same statistic in weeks 4-6:” — Austin Gayle |
| Sporting News | No. 13 | No. 9 | “The Ravens ran into the Giants' buzzsaw and couldn't hold another late lead. They need more of an aggressive pour-it-on passing game with Lamar Jackson and better pass defense to keep avoiding that frustration .” — Vinnie Iyer |
