As expected, the Ravens slipped in the power rankings following Sunday's stunning 33-31 loss to the Cleveland Browns at home.
Their biggest fall was in CBS Sports' rankings, which dropped the AFC North leaders from No. 2 to No. 8. Yahoo! Sports and The Athletic, which both had the Ravens (7-3) at No. 1 last week, pushed them down to No. 5 and No. 6, respectively.
The majority of the 10 sets of power rankings we looked at dropped Baltimore one or two spots. The Ravens' highest ranking is No. 3 (NFL.com, The Ringer, Fox Sports).
| Source | Ranking | Last Week's Ranking | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| NFL.com | No. 3 | No. 2 | “The 2-0 Ravens moved up to No. 7 in the Week 3 Power Rankings, then lost at home to a Colts team led by its backup QB. The 3-1 Ravens sat at No. 8 following a dominant Week 4 victory in Cleveland, then blew a 10-point lead at Pittsburgh the next week. And here we are again, with Baltimore losing to the Browns on Sunday — blowing a 14-point, fourth-quarter lead — after climbing all the way to No. 2 in the Week 10 rankings. I briefly considered putting the Ravens at No. 1 last week. Not now, of course. They have all the ingredients — coaching, a balanced roster and Lamar Jackson — to be a title contender. I'm not backing off my midseason prediction that they'll make the Super Bowl. But games such as Sunday's don't help in the trust department. Teams that can't tackle always scare me more. Throw in the injuries that Marlon Humphrey and Ronnie Stanley suffered, and it was a very humbling day.” — Eric Edholm |
| Bleacher Report | No. 4 | No. 3 | “For much of Sunday's game, the Ravens looked just as they had much of the season — like arguably the best team in the AFC. But down the stretch, the Ravens couldn't run the ball. Lamar Jackson struggled under an onslaught of pressure from the Browns. And Baltimore's usually staunch defense faltered. It's important not to overreact to just one game, but Sunday's stunner was a reminder that there is no runaway favorite in the AFC this year. Instead, there are a handful of viable contenders who figure to make the next eight weeks very interesting.” — Gary Davenport |
| ESPN | No. 5 | No. 3 | “Since Baltimore's fourth-quarter collapse against Cleveland, the Ravens' grip on the AFC North has become extremely tenuous. That's why Thursday night has become a pivotal game for a Ravens team pursuing its first AFC North title in four years. A win over Cincinnati allows Baltimore to keep hold of first place in the division and pushes its lead over the two-time division champion Bengals to 2.5 games. A loss knocks the Ravens out of first place in the AFC North for the first time all season and gives Lamar Jackson his first losing streak since 2021.” — Jamison Hensley |
| Sports Illustrated | No. 5 | No. 4 | “The Ravens are still out front of the AFC North, but illustrated the thin margin by which this division will ultimately be won. It’s impossible to completely shed a team of its tendency to break down at the end of a game. It happens to all 32 teams at various points during the season. Baltimore gambled that it wouldn’t see a handful of clutch throws from Deshaun Watson — a fair bet given the sample size of this season so far — and got caught by surprise.” — Conor Orr |
| CBS Sports | No. 8 | No. 2 | “Their four-game winning streak ended in the loss to the Browns. They led by 14 late and lost. Now comes another tough division game against the Bengals.” — Pete Prisco |
| The Athletic | No. 6 | No. 1 | “John Harbaugh is on his way to a sixth winning season in the last seven years, and he may very well be on the way to the Super Bowl even after losing to the Browns on Sunday. After making home run hires at defensive coordinator (Mike McDonald) and offensive coordinator (Todd Monken) in the last two seasons, Harbaugh is now 154-98 in his 16th season with the Ravens.” — Josh Kendall |
| The Ringer | No. 3 | No. 2 | “The defense is lights-out, the passing game more spread out than it has been in years, but the running game that controlled the ball and the clock that defined this team for so long has disappeared. If this team can restore its rushing prowess and clean up some turnovers, they could follow their predecessors and represent the AFC in February.” —Danny Heifetz.” |
| Sporting News | No. 5 | No. 2 | “The Ravens' offense is just fine with the running and passing of Lamar Jackson, but he still can't afford to make big mistakes, which he did vs. the Browns. The defense needs to pick up the pieces, too, stat, ahead of facing the Bengals on a short week.” — Vinnie Iyer |
| Fox Sports | No. 3 | No. 2 | “I’m officially worried about the Ravens’ ability to close. When they’re on, they can blow teams out as well as anyone in the league. But Sunday’s loss to Cleveland dropped them to a 3-3 record in one-score games, and they’ve surrendered a fourth-quarter lead in all of them. It’s not a reason to panic just yet, but I expect a team this good not to squander a 31-17 lead.” — David Helman |
| Yahoo! Sports | No. 5 | No. 1 | “I wonder if getting Keaton Mitchell involved more will help the offense. He had a big game in Week 9, then in Week 10 he turned four touches into 66 yards. That included an impressive 39-yard touchdown run. Home run ability like he's showing is unique, and the Ravens might benefit from seeing him in an expanded role.” — Frank Schwab |
