The Ravens made a huge leap in the power rankings on the heels of their resounding victory over the Detroit Lions.
Baltimore (5-2), which has resided in the bottom half of the top 10 for most of the season, shot up to as high as No. 3 and no lower than No. 5 in the 10 sets of power rankings we looked at. The Ravens' biggest move was in The Athletic, which catapulted them from No. 12 to No. 3.
Several power rankings pundits marveled at how dominant the Ravens were on both sides of the ball in their 38-6 win on Sunday.
"It has taken time to get the Todd Monken offense going, but with the offensive line getting healthy, Lamar Jackson looks so much more confident in the system than earlier in the season," CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco wrote. "When you add in that the Ravens are the top-ranked scoring defense in the league, giving up 13.9 points per game, Baltimore is definitely a Super Bowl contender."
| Source | Ranking | Last Week's Ranking | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| NFL.com | No. 4 | No. 9 | “The Lions said they wanted to force Lamar Jackson to throw the ball, and the quarterback responded with his best game since early last season. Nine Ravens caught passes Sunday; six had 30 or more receiving yards. The run game was neatly divided among Gus Edwards, Justice Hill and Jackson. The Ravens' one turnover came when they were already up 28-zip. They punted twice, holding a lead of 30-plus points on both. It was a banner day on defense, too, as Baltimore smothered Detroit’s dangerous offense early. It was the kind of statement victory that makes you think the Ravens have as good a shot to make the Super Bowl as any AFC team right now. A 10-2 record at the bye wouldn’t be shocking, but Baltimore must prove its offense has taken the proverbial next step.” — Eric Edholm |
| Bleacher Report | No. 3 | No. 8 | “I've been saying for weeks that I wasn't ready to list the Ravens among the AFC's elite because their best win of the year was against a Cleveland Browns team starting an overmatched rookie under center. But this was a game the Ravens led 28-0, had 16 first downs before Detroit had one and led the total yardage 325-13 at one point. That's dominance in every sense of the word — and the Ravens earned a spot in my top five here.” — Gary Davenport |
| ESPN | No. 5 | No. 9 | |
| Sports Illustrated | No. 4 | No. 9 | “I think the Ravens are operating with max efficiency on both sides of the ball. Mike Macdonald is having a hell of a season as a defensive coordinator, and Lamar Jackson is more efficient and dangerous than ever as a passer. I have to imagine that putting these microevolutions under the Ravens’ umbrella of preparedness and edge-finding makes them a far more serious contender than we may have assumed at the outset of the season.” — Conor Orr |
| CBS Sports | No. 3 | No. 9 | “With all the focus on Lamar Jackson, it's easy to overlook the defense. But that side of the ball has been really good as well.” — Pete Prisco |
| The Athletic | No. 3 | No. 12 | “[Lamar Jackson] won his 50th career game in his 68th career start Sunday. Only Ken Stabler, Patrick Mahomes, Tom Brady and Roger Staubach got to 50 wins in fewer starts. And Jackson did it in style, becoming the fourth player in league history to have at least 350 passing yards, three touchdown passes, one rushing touchdown and a passer rating above 150 in a game. After seven games in new coordinator Todd Monken’s offense, Jackson is third in the league in passer rating (101.9) and fifth in yards per game (281.9), according to TruMedia.” — Josh Kendall |
| The Ringer | No. 4 | No. 7 | “The Ravens rocked the Lions on Sunday, scoring touchdowns on their first four drives to take a 28-0 lead before finishing Detroit off, 38-6. Lamar Jackson is playing like an MVP candidate now that he has a healthy offensive line led by left tackle Ronnie Stanley, plus the best Ravens receiving group in years. Jackson is demonstrating the best pocket presence of his career, and on Sunday he had his best EPA per dropback (0.73) and yards per attempt (13.2) in a game since his 2019 MVP season. Defensive Coordinator Mike Macdonald’s group smothered Detroit’s, and he may end up a head coach by next season. The Ravens defense has allowed the fewest points in the NFL (97) despite not having had their bye week yet.” —Danny Heifetz. |
| Sporting News | No. 3 | No. 7 | “The Ravens unleashed the full power of their new passing game with Lamar Jackson and it was beautiful to watch, as they passed to score and ran to win. The Ravens' defense also rose to a roaring challenge.” — Vinnie Iyer |
| Fox Sports | No. 4 | No. 9 | “We've been waiting for the Ravens to put up a complete performance all season, but the word ‘complete’ doesn't do justice to what we saw Sunday. The Ravens had 357 yards and a 28-0 lead at halftime, as the passing game sprang to life for the first time this season. We knew the defense was dominant, but if the offense is capable of even playing close to that level, the Ravens are easily among the league's elite teams.” — David Helman |
| Yahoo! Sports | No. 4 | No. 8 | “Now that the Titans have traded safety Kevin Byard for little return, the Ravens need to be on the phone nonstop with Tennessee about Derrick Henry until a deal gets done. Imagine what an elite running back could do for an offense that seems to be taking off.” — Frank Schwab |
