Expectedly, the power rankings pundits were not impressed by the Ravens' tougher-than-expected victory over the Carolina Panthers this past Sunday.
While the Ravens (7-3) remained a consensus top-10 team after winning their fourth game in a row, they moved down in six of the eight sets of power rankings we looked at; they stayed in place in the other two. Their biggest drop was from No. 6 to No. 9 in Sporting News’ rankings.
Baltimore received kudos for another strong defensive showing, but the pundits expressed concern about the AFC North leader's offense, which never found its rhythm against the Panthers and scored its lone touchdown thanks to a short field courtesy of the defense.
"The Ravens simply need to get more from their passing game on days when their prolific rushing attack is held in check," NFL.com’s Dan Hanzus wrote. "They survived Sunday because the opponent was subpar. It won't always be that way."
| Source | Ranking | Last Week's Ranking | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| NFL.com | No. 8 | No. 6 | “Should we be worried about the Ravens' offense? It's fair to ask the question after John Harbaugh needed a huge effort from his defense to grind out a 13-3 win over the Panthers. Baltimore's only touchdown in the game came on a 1-yard run from Lamar Jackson set up by a Marcus Peters forced fumble deep in Carolina territory. Tight end Mark Andrews made his presence felt in his return to the lineup, but the Ravens simply need to get more from their passing game on days when their prolific rushing attack is held in check. They survived Sunday because the opponent was subpar. It won't always be that way.” — Dan Hanzus |
| Bleacher Report | No. 7 | No. 6 | “It has happened quietly, but the Ravens have peeled off five wins in six games and are very much in the mix to earn the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs. The weather in Baltimore might not be doing the team any favors, but their schedule the rest of the way is pillow-soft.” — Gary Davenport |
| ESPN | No. 7 | No. 6 | |
| Sports Illustrated | No. 8 | No. 6 | “This feels like the right location for an upper-middle-tier team in the AFC that is likely right below that first group of teams. They are a step below the Titans at the moment, given that both defenses are playing well but one offense seems to have more options.” — Conor Orr |
| CBS Sports | No. 8 | No. 6 | “They continue to struggle on offense, which is a concern. But the defense now has played two good games in a row. That's big for them.” — Pete Prisco |
| The Athletic | No. 7 | No. 7 | “It was against one of the worst offenses in the league, but the Ravens finally kept an opponent from scoring in the fourth quarter when they beat the Panthers 13-3 on Sunday. They were apparently hoping for a full-game shutout, but it was nice for the Ravens to prove they could win on the backs of their defense. Roquan Smith had seven tackles and a sack and continues to impress early on in his Baltimore tenure.” — Bo Wulf |
| The Ringer | No. 6 | No. 6 | “We’d talk more about just how bad the Ravens’ supporting cast is if Lamar Jackson wasn’t so damn good. We know Offensive Coordinator Greg Roman isn’t doing him any favors in the dropback passing game, and the offensive weaponry — with J.K. Dobbins, Gus Edwards and Rashod Bateman all hurt — is severely lacking. Demarcus Robinson and Kenyan Drake, the team’s leading receiver and rusher on Sunday, respectively, were both cut by the Raiders in the last year. It’s simply unfair that Jackson isn’t second behind Mahomes in MVP odds right now.” — Austin Gayle |
| Sporting News | No. 9 | No. 6 | “The Ravens slumped a little coming out of their bye under John Harbaugh. The offense couldn't find its rhythm enough with Lamar Jackson, but they proved how much their defense keeps improving in slowly turning the corner into dominance.” — Vinnie Iyer |
