Despite a 17-10 loss to the Steelers in Week 18, the Ravens finished the regular season as the undisputed No. 1 team.
Baltimore (13-4), which rested Lamar Jackson and several other starters against Pittsburgh because it had already clinched the No. 1 seed in the AFC, retained the top spot in all eight sets of power rankings we monitor.
"The Ravens are the favorite to not only represent the AFC in the Super Bowl but also to win it. Nothing that happened in Week 18 changes that," Bleacher Report's Gary Davenport wrote.
| Source | Ranking | Last Week's Ranking | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| NFL.com | No. 1 | No. 1 | “The Ravens were afforded the luxury of resting MVP favorite Lamar Jackson and a half-dozen other starters on Saturday, and they exited the day without any additional injuries. That was the main goal of what ended up being a loss to the Steelers, although you can bet Baltimore also would have relished sending rival Pittsburgh home with a schadenfreude-inducing defeat. That didn't happen; instead, the only team to beat the Ravens twice this season will now end up in the playoffs. If the Steelers beat the Bills on Super Wild Card Weekend, they'll be right back at M&T Bank Stadium a week from then. The Ravens have had previous playoff disappointments, including in 2019, when they were even more dominant in the regular season than they were in 2023, winning 12 straight down the stretch before it came crashing down in a shocking loss to the Titans. There's a special feel to this team, and Baltimore played some of its best ball of the season just prior to Week 18. But it's also good to remember that nothing is guaranteed once the playoffs begin.” — Eric Edholm |
| Bleacher Report | No. 1 | No. 1 | “Two full weeks off before he plays again could create a little rust for Jackson. But had he played and gotten hurt (like Pittsburgh's T.J. Watt), that would have been a catastrophe. Jackson's a more mature player now, but even more importantly the passing-game weapons in Baltimore are exponentially better than a few years ago. The Ravens are the favorite to not only represent the AFC in the Super Bowl but also to win it. Nothing that happened in Week 18 changes that." — Gary Davenport |
| Sports Illustrated | No. 1 | No. 1 | “Lamar Jackson has his fair share of deniers in the media, and proving them wrong en route to an MVP season must make him pretty happy. But what must make him even happier is having the real Jackson doubters — the ones who own other NFL teams — have to come out and tap dance around the question of why no one signed this guy.” — Conor Orr |
| CBS Sports | No. 1 | No. 1 | “They head to the postseason as the team to beat. Lamar Jackson has to prove he can get it done in the playoffs.” — Pete Prisco |
| The Athletic | No. 1 | No. 1 | “The Ravens’ frontline players are going to be very rested. With the top seed in the AFC already clinched, Baltimore sat Lamar Jackson, Roquan Smith, Zay Flowers, Marlon Humphrey, Kyle Hamilton and others against Pittsburgh on Saturday and still almost won. The team that finished the regular season fourth in scoring (28.41 ppg) and first in scoring defense (16.5) doesn’t lose its top spot over losing a game like that.” — Josh Kendall |
| Sporting News | No. 1 | No. 1 | “The Ravens made sure they left no doubt about the team to beat ahead of Super Bowl 58 by throttling the 49ers and Dolphins in consecutive weeks. Along with those stellar offensive performances, Lamar Jackson has all but sewn up his second MVP.” — Vinnie Iyer |
| The Ringer | No. 1 | No. 1 | “Baltimore has the league’s most valuable player (presumably) and its top defense (statistically). That’s a good foundation for a championship run. And now that Jackson is operating a full-fledged NFL passing game — something he wasn’t given the opportunity to do under former OC Greg Roman — the postseason viability of the offense should no longer be a concern. We know it can run the ball well enough to win in January. This team has it all.” —Steven Ruiz |
| Fox Sports | No. 1 | No. 1 | “Baltimore ended the season getting swept by Pittsburgh, but that loss came because they were good enough to sit their starters in Week 18. Even with the throwaway loss, they have the best record and best resume in the league heading into the playoffs.” — David Helman |
| Yahoo! Sports | No. 1 | No. 1 | “The Ravens finished the regular season as the best team in football. They were the only 13-win team in the league. Lamar Jackson is going to win MVP. And most of that will be forgotten if they don't make a deep playoff run with him.” — Frank Schwab |
