It has taken four years for the Ravens to get back to this point, the No. 1 seed in the AFC with the NFL's best record heading into the playoffs.
Comparisons are being made between this year's team and the 2019 Ravens who finished 14-2 but were upset in the divisional round by the Tennessee Titans.
"That was a disappointment," Head Coach John Harbaugh said Monday. "We did our best. [It was] a certain kind of a season. It's different from this season; it's a different team, different circumstances, different everything – except the record is about the same and the bye."
Here are six reasons why the Ravens are better equipped to go the distance and win the Super Bowl in 2023 than they were in 2019:
This Defense Is More Dynamic
The Ravens lead the league in sacks (57), already 20 more than they finished with in 2019. Baltimore also leads the league in takeaways (29), more than in 2019 when they had 25.
Getting pressure on opposing quarterbacks becomes even more important in the playoffs where a quarterback that gets hot, such as Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Flacco, or Tua Tagovailoa, can carry a team on a postseason run.
There isn't just one elite pass rusher that opponents need to worry about. The Ravens have four players with at least five sacks – Justin Madubuike (13), Jadeveon Clowney (8.5), Kyle Van Noy (8) and Odafe Oweh (5). In 2019, Matthew Judon (9.5) and Tyus Bowser (5) were the only players with five sacks.
The Ravens have an elite inside linebacker combination at the heart of their defense in Roquan Smith and Patrick Queen. They have a versatile secondary with playmakers like such as Kyle Hamilton, Geno Stone (seven interceptions), Marlon Humphrey, Marcus Williams, and Brandon Stephens. Against two of the best teams in the league (49ers and Dolphins) the past couple weeks, the Ravens have a combined eight takeaways.
The Ravens can get after the quarterback and they take the ball away consistently. They've done it all season, which bodes well for that continuing into the playoffs.
Lamar Jackson Is Harder to Defend Than Ever
Jackson's play has been spectacular the past two weeks (seven touchdowns, no interceptions) against two of the NFL's top defenses.
Jackson's 75-yard touchdown pass to Zay Flowers was set up by manipulating the Dolphins' defense from the pocket. Jackson took a left-handed drop that pulled the defense away from Flowers, then spotted him wide open and dropped a perfect dime.
Working with Offensive Coordinator Todd Monken and Quarterbacks Coach Tee Martin, Jackson is showing an increased comfort in the pocket. He's willing to wait longer for plays to develop, using his mobility to give receivers more time to get open.
Jackson threw for more touchdown passes (36) in 2019 than he has this season (24), but he's thrown for 551 more yards with a career-best 67.2% completion rate. He has become more patient and more accurate, more adept at handling the blitz, while still leading all quarterbacks in rushing yards (821).
Odell Beckham Jr. made a spectacular catch to set up a Baltimore touchdown on Sunday, but it started with Jackson's audible at the line of scrimmage. Jackson has more freedom to audible into plays that he likes than he did in 2019, in his first full season as a starter. He's using his six years of NFL experience to process pre-snap reads and pick apart defenses.
"That pass to Odell was one of the prime examples," Jackson said. "That [was a] wonderful catch he did, but me just checking just seeing there was man coverage and stuff like that [and] just having the freedom to do what I see, or do whatever I want to when I see things out there on the field, that's great for me."
Jackson's superb performances against the 49ers and the Dolphins bode well for what he's capable of doing in the playoffs. Each week, he seems to be gaining a new comfort level in an offense that he has embraced.
Jackson Has Taken Assertive Leadership and This Team is More Mature
Harbaugh called the Ravens a mature team a couple weeks ago, and it has shown all season. They've never overlooked any opponent, never trailing by more than seven points all season.
That's remarkable consistency, and Jackson's emergence as more of an outspoken leader has played a part in this team being laser focused. Jackson was one of the youngest players on the team in 2019, and older players such as Mark Ingram II and Judon had louder voices.
Now Jackson is more vocal and he's been keeping his foot on the gas, reminding teammates every week that the job isn't finished. Players who were on the 2019 team such as Ronnie Stanley, Pat Ricard and Humphrey don't have to be reminded of what the 2019 playoff loss felt like, but Jackson is leading the way in making sure that everyone understands.
Jackson knows the final frontier for him is to win a Super Bowl, to silence those who point to his 1-3 playoff record as a reason to be skeptical of Baltimore's playoff chances.
"Lamar tells all the time he was on that 2019 team, and it leaves a bitter taste in his mouth," second-year tight end Isaiah Likely said. "He's been here before. He understands this isn't enough. Being in the playoffs is not enough. The ultimate goal is to win the Super Bowl. Even at practice, if somebody is fooling around, understand when it's time to lock in."
This Team Has More Depth and Versatility
This team has dealt with far more injuries than the 2019 unit and has kept rolling. The examples are numerous.
After Mark Andrews went down with a broken fibula, tight end Isaiah Likely has scored four touchdowns in the past five weeks. Stephens stepped into a starting role at cornerback when Humphrey started the year on injured reserve and has played at a Pro Bowl level. Stone made a huge impact when Williams was injured early. Gus Edwards and Justice Hill continue to lead the running back room even with J.K. Dobbins and Keaton Mitchell lost for the season.
On Sunday versus the Dolphins, when Hamilton, Stephens and Humphrey were all sidelined by injuries, Ronald Darby, Arthur Maulet, and Stone stepped in to limit Tyreek Hill to six catches for 76 yards and slow down the league's No. 1-ranked offense.
Baltimore's depth has been a catalyst, allowing the Ravens to keep thriving when adversity strikes.
The Offense Has More Ways to Thrive
The Ravens can also win in more ways offensively than they could in 2019, when they relied heavily on a record-setting running attack.
The Ravens still lead the league in rushing (159.7 yards per game), but this is the deepest group of playmakers Jackson has ever had with the additions of Beckham, Flowers and Nelson Agholor. Baltimore can hit opponents with big plays in the passing attack, and the deep passing game has hit its stride in recent weeks.
If the Ravens get down early in a playoff game like they did in 2019, this team is far more capable of coming back.
This Team Appears to Be Peaking at the Right Time
The Ravens have momentum now, riding a six-game winning streak with impressive victories over the 49ers and Dolphins in a six-day span. When the Ravens are right, they can be dominant.
The Ravens are now 7-1 this season against opponents that entered the game with a winning record. And in those games, the Ravens' point differential is plus-170. Baltimore has played the fifth most difficult schedule in the league this season.
Baltimore was also dominant at times in 2019, but their most impressive wins didn't come this late in the season. Over the final nine weeks, they played just two games against teams that went to the playoffs.
The Ravens remember 2019, but they're not living in the past. There's no surefire way to maintain momentum during the bye week, but the Ravens will leave no stone unturned trying to prepare the best way they can to finish their season with a Super Bowl victory.
"I remember the experience and the choices we made, but the decisions we made, we made for certain reasons, and we thought they were the right decision," Harbaugh said. "It's really hard to say what the cause and effect was. We just didn't. We didn't go out there, and we didn't do it. That's the thing I kind of take from it the most.
"Of course, you want to be better. We have to play way better than that next game if we want to win, and we do want to win. You have to look at everything from the framework or through the lens of today – this team and the challenges that we're facing – and that's what we'll try to do."
