The Ravens won a thriller Thursday night, topping the Bengals, 35-34, at M&T Bank Stadium.
Baltimore's offense continues to shine while the secondary is still looking for answers. The Ravens are as high as No. 2 in this week's power rankings with a low of No. 6. They have a big test this week, playing the 7-2 Pittsburgh Steelers for the AFC North lead.
Here's a breakdown of where the Ravens stand after Week 10:
| Source | Ranking | Last Week's Ranking | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| NFL.com | No. 4 | No. 4 | “This much we know: Lamar Jackson is somehow playing better than he did during his 2023 MVP season. The defense, however, is nowhere close to the stellar unit Baltimore fielded a year ago. Last Thursday's shootout thriller required a defensive stop on the two-point play, but before that, the Ravens' D did everything it could to keep the Bengals in the game. In fact, both of Baltimore's units struggled early; when was the last time you heard the Ravens' offense being booed at home? But Jackson plugged in, and everyone else followed. Ultimately, it was the perfect display of the Ravens at their most dangerous. But the defense gave just as much counterargument for Baltimore as a superpower, with the Raiders and Browns losses ever toiling in the back of my mind. Last season, before losing to the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game, the Ravens felt like a team that could afford a tough day at the office on either side of the ball and still win. This season, the margin feels much smaller, even with the Jackson factor.” — Eric Edholm |
| Bleacher Report | No. 4 | No. 4 | “The good news for the Baltimore Ravens is that the team found a way to emerge from Thursday's shootout with the Cincinnati Bengals with a win. Quarterback Lamar Jackson offered up another MVP-caliber performance, throwing four touchdown passes. Baltimore's NFL-best run defense gave up just 49 rushing yards. The bad news is that Baltimore's NFL-worst pass defense was shredded again—Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow threw for a staggering 428 yards and four scores for a Cincinnati team that nearly pulled off the upset.” — NFL Staff |
| ESPN | No. 3 | No. 4 | |
| Sports Illustrated | No. 4 | No. 2 | “This is absolutely stunning. And, as much as we want to talk about the fact that the Ravens are a toenail from beating the Chiefs and being 8-2, they could very well be 6-4.” — Connor Orr |
| CBS Sports | No. 4 | No. 5 | “The offense is dynamic, but it has to be. That defense is a mess, especially the pass defense. They can't win a Super Bowl if it stays that way, and it has to change this week against the Steelers.” — Pete Prisco |
| The Athletic | No. 3 | No. 3 | “The only reason this isn’t a 10 is Lamar Jackson’s 2-4 career record in the playoffs. Jackson is the frontrunner for NFL MVP, which would be his third. Only Jim Brown, Johnny Unitas, Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers have done that, and Jackson is only 27 years old. He leads the league in EPA per dropback by a wide margin (.37). Rodgers is the only player since 2010 to top that number in a season. His .40 in 2011 earned him the MVP trophy.” — Josh Kendall |
| Sporting News | No. 6 | No. 7 | “Lamar Jackson keeps ripping into teams in the best offense he's ever known with terrific passing, almost making one forget about his dynamic rushing moments. He should repeat as MVP, especially because of how bad the Ravens' pass defense has become.” — Vinnie Iyer |
| The Ringer | No. 2 | No. 3 | “Right now, Jackson is blowing those past iterations of himself out of the water. He’s bending defenses to his will with his arm like he did with his legs five years ago, and defenses have struggled to find answers against Jackson’s team because running back Derrick Henry always looms as a secondary option when teams commit to stopping the pass. Baltimore can do whatever it wants on offense.” — Diante Lee |
| Yahoo! Sports | No. 4 | No. 3 | “Ravens vs. Steelers is always good, but it’s really important on Sunday. The Ravens play at Pittsburgh and if Baltimore loses, they’ll be two losses behind in the AFC North. One of those two teams is going to be a very good wild-card team, having to win three road playoff games to make a Super Bowl.” — Frank Schwab |
