After Sunday's thrilling 41-38 overtime win against the Bengals, the Ravens continue to rise in the power rankings.
Nearly every ranking has Baltimore in the top 5 with the highest being No. 2. Lamar Jackson had an MVP showing with four touchdown passes, including maybe the greatest highlight of his career, as the Ravens came back from three double-digit deficits for the improbable win.
The Ravens have another tough test this week, hosting the 4-1 Washington Commanders, which are near the top of the power rankings as well.
Here's a breakdown of where the Ravens stand after Week 5:
| Source | Ranking | Last Week's Ranking | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| NFL.com | No. 5 | No. 6 | “That's three straight wins after the 0-2 start, although two of them were far from easy. At Dallas in Week 3, the Ravens nearly coughed up a big lead. At Cincinnati on Sunday, they had to climb out of three double-digit deficits in the second half. But there were signs of “the old Ravens” in each contest, as the run game has flourished and Lamar Jackson has regained his killer instinct. You might kindly say that Baltimore's defense has been opportunistic, although there's clearly a lot that can be cleaned up there. Don't overlook Justin Tucker's big kicks on Sunday, though. He'd been a near liability early in the season, but came through with clutch kicks at crunch time, including a 56-yarder to tie it late in regulation that turned back the clock. Tucker had been 1-for-7 from 50-plus yards since the start of last season. If he's truly back, the Ravens' old formula remains hard to beat.” — Eric Edholm |
| Bleacher Report | No. 5 | No. 6 | “One of the most exciting games of Week 5 took place in the Queen City, where the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals went at it in a back-and-forth affair that took overtime to resolve. The two defenses weren't much of a factor in this one—the Ravens and Bengals combined for 962 yards of offense and 79 points. After erasing a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit and overcoming a turnover in overtime, Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh lauded his team's resiliency while speaking to the media.” — NFL Staff |
| ESPN | No. 5 | No. 7 | |
| Sports Illustrated | No. 6 | No. 8 | “I said this on the MMQB podcast and I believe it more than ever: It makes sense for the Ravens to continue believing in Lamar Jackson because, if he plays on this kind of heater during the postseason, there isn’t a team in the NFL that can stop them. Only Baltimore can beat Baltimore, and that’s been true in each of John Harbaugh’s best seasons of the Jackson era.” — Connor Orr |
| CBS Sports | No. 5 | No. 6 | “Lamar Jackson bailed them out against the Bengals, but the defense has been an issue this season. The pass defense has to tighten up.” — Pete Prisco |
| The Athletic | No. 3 | No. 3 | “Lamar Jackson passed for 348 yards and four touchdowns, rushed for 55 and led Baltimore to scores on five of its six drives after halftime Sunday. After going 38th in the average fantasy draft this season, he is the top player in the league in points per game (24.9). Jackson has accounted for 11 touchdowns and has thrown only one interception this season. And remember Derrick Henry? Shame on anyone who forgot. Henry is averaging a league-high 114.4 rushing yards per game and is seventh in the league in fantasy scoring (22.02 ppg) after being drafted 18th.” — Josh Kendall |
| Sporting News | No. 5 | No. 6 | “The Ravens have flipped the script quickly after an 0-2 start despite having some more surprising pass-defense issues. Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry dominating in the running game has opened up the passing game for needed extra pop.” — Vinnie Iyer |
| The Ringer | No. 2 | No. 2 | “When Jackson is in this kind of zone, there’s nothing defenses can do about it. Cincinnati tried blitzing, mixing up pre-snap looks, and changing matchups in coverage; Jackson still finished with more than 400 yards of offense and four touchdowns. In a league full of physical outliers, no player feels more one of a kind than Jackson. Defensively, Baltimore’s pass defense hasn’t looked this rough to open a season since 2021. First-time play caller Zach Orr still gets the benefit of the doubt from me considering the quality of the quarterbacks he’s seen (Patrick Mahomes, Dak Prescott, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow) and how well this team played on the back end against Buffalo last week. Still, for all of Baltimore’s versatility and depth, this team has no answers for dynamic receivers on the outside.” — Diante Lee |
| Yahoo! Sports | No. 4 | No. 6 | “The Ravens are No. 1 in offensive DVOA and it’s not even close. The answer to “how do you defend an offense with Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry?” is apparently that you can’t. The Ravens’ record isn’t great and they got lucky Sunday, but they are going to be very good this season.” — Frank Schwab |
Check out the Baltimore Ravens 2024 Schedule.
