The fact of the matter is the Ravens are in strong position as they enter their Week 14 bye.
With four games left, they are squarely in the AFC playoff picture, with a 98% chance of making the dance, per NFL.com.
They have the league's top-ranked offense and a defense that's on the rise, giving up just four touchdowns over the past three games.
With that said, this week is all about recovering while also getting better. Here's what's on the Ravens' bye-week checklist:
Get more takeaways
Since the Week 10 shootout against the Bengals, the Ravens defense has put a lid on big plays. Despite playing two explosive offenses in the Chargers and Eagles, the Ravens haven't given up a passing play of 20+ yards the past two weeks.
While the Ravens' work isn't done in the secondary, Defensive Coordinator Zach Orr said he's focused on not just stopping the opposition, but on giving the ball to the Ravens offense.
"The No. 1 thing is getting takeaways," Orr said. "We're not turning the ball over enough, and we've got to get the football; like, we have to. That changes games. That will help us out tremendously, from a defensive standpoint and for our team."
The Ravens have 11 takeaways this season. Only seven teams have fewer. It's a drastic change from last year when Baltimore finished tied atop the league with 31 takeaways.
Cornerback Marlon Humphrey leads the Ravens with five interceptions (tied for the most in the AFC), but Roquan Smith and Ar'Darius Washington are the only other players with a pick, and they each have one.
Improve red-zone defense
Baltimore's defense ranks 17th in the league in red-zone defense, allowing opponents to reach the end zone on 56.1% of their trips.
After takeaways, Orr said being "more dominant" in the red zone was his focus.
The Eagles scored touchdowns on two of their three trips last week. The Chargers got in the end zone on both of their opportunities the week before. Baltimore would like to get back to how it performed against Pittsburgh, when the Steelers were denied on all four trips.
"Teams are going to get down there – it's the National Football League," Orr said. "But let's hold them to a maximum three points or a field goal attempt."
Stay on track offensively
The Ravens offense ranks atop the league in yards and is third in points, so there's not a whole lot to fix at the bye.
Baltimore cleaned up some of its issues from the prior weeks (slow start, penalties, and turnovers) from the previous couple of weeks, but wasn't as effective in the red zone against the Eagles, a departure for a team leading the league with a 75% touchdown conversion rate.
It's a week-to-week league and new problems are going to crop up all the time. The Ravens, in the eyes of quarterback Lamar Jackson, need to do a better job of getting over those hiccups.
What bothered Jackson against the Eagles was that after back-to-back scoring drives to start the game, a missed deep shot to Isaiah Likely and fumbled snap on the next play, seemed to get the Ravens out of rhythm.
"We need to be more consistent, [take it] a play at a time," Jackson said. "There are situations in games where our first play is good, but it's a penalty. It's first-and-20. We still get back on track, then we start making positive things happen. We just need to get to that situation and don't try to blame things on one play. A game is not won off one play early in the game. Probably later in the game, [it] probably is, but early in the game, we need to just fix that and move on. That's what we need to do."
Baltimore has had its two lowest scoring outputs of the season in the past three weeks, scoring 16 against the Steelers and 19 against the Eagles. Those are two tough defenses, but if the Ravens are going to reach their ultimate goal, they're going to have to score more consistently against such teams.
The Ravens can certainly do it. The Chargers defense is good, too, and entered that game ranked No. 1 in the league in points allowed per game (14.5). After back-to-back punts to start the game, Baltimore's offense exploded for five straight scoring drives and finished with 30 points.
When Baltimore's offense finds its rhythm and doesn't hinder itself, it has shown this year that it is very difficult to stop.
Help Justin Tucker get on course and keep growing on special teams
Tucker's struggles this season have been well documented, and the Ravens are keeping their faith in the veteran kicker to pull out of it.
But Special Teams Coordinator Chris Horton's bye-week checklist for special teams doesn't begin and end with Tucker.
The loss of Deonte Harty hurt Baltimore's return units, and they have been looking for a spark. Tylan Wallace muffed one punt return and fumbled another. The Ravens fortunately recovered both, but they can't have those mistakes moving forward. Rookie Rasheen Ali delivered some promise with a 38-yard kickoff return and Horton feels encouraged by the Ravens' progress in that area.
"I'm starting to see our guys truly get a feel for this kickoff return system," Horton said. "It's a lot different than what we've been used to. We thought we'd come out early and have an advantage, but we've rotated some guys."
Whether it be cleaning up penalties, covering better, and everything in between, the Ravens want to dominate on special teams like the standard has been in Baltimore for a long time. Horton said the Ravens have played a lot of young players this year.
"We're looking to see our young guys continue to grow and our veteran guys continue to lead, and I do believe that we're going to continue to make progress on all the phases," Horton said.
