The Ravens are 0-2 for the first time since 2015, and this week they took some hits in the power rankings.
Their lowest ranking was No. 17 from The Athletic, but a few other publications had them in the teens as well. Some pundits aren't too concerned with the slow start as Baltimore's high ranking this week is No. 6.
Here's a breakdown of the Ravens' rankings:
| Source | Ranking | Last Week's Ranking | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| NFL.com | No. 9 | No. 5 | “The Ravens are 0-2. The only time they’ve been in this spot under John Harbaugh was in 2015, when the team collapsed to a 5-11 record. But that Ravens team had a beat-up Joe Flacco as its leading passer, Justin Forsett as its leading rusher and Kamar Aiken as its leading receiver. This team has Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry and Zay Flowers, not to mention others who could have been statistical leaders on that 2015 squad. The Ravens led 23-13 with less than 10 minutes left and couldn’t beat the Raiders -- the fourth time since 2022 that Baltimore has coughed up a double-digit fourth-quarter lead. The Ravens were bound to take a step back defensively after a huge coaching brain drain on that side of the ball, but they're leaving too many points on the field.” — Eric Edholm |
| Bleacher Report | No. 14 | No. 6 | “Had you said before Sunday's meeting between the Raiders and Ravens that Baltimore would have a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter, most would have assumed that the Ravens would cruise to their first win of the season. Instead, Baltimore fell apart defensively late—especially in the secondary. And a team many expected to represent the AFC in Super Bowl LIX is now in very real trouble after starting the season 0-2.” — NFL Staff |
| ESPN | No. 13 | No. 4 | |
| Sports Illustrated | No. 14 | No. 7 | “I am a little less certain of the Ravens turning the season around than Cincinnati despite very similar circumstances and, one could argue, a more concerning total team loss sustained by the Bengals. With a stung Dallas team, Buffalo and Cincinnati coming up next, we could either see John Harbaugh in the thick of the playoff hunt or looking at a top-10 pick for the first time since 2016.” — Connor Orr |
| CBS Sports | No. 15 | No. 7 | “Who saw them at 0-2 after two weeks? Losing to the Chiefs is one thing, but losing to the Raiders at home is another. The offensive line is an issue.” — Pete Prisco |
| The Athletic | No. 17 | No. 17 | “The Ravens, who were up 23-13 entering the fourth quarter, had 11 penalties for 109 yards. Zay Flowers had seven catches for 91 yards but only one of those catches (for 8 yards) came in the second half. Lamar Jackson, the reigning MVP, has a passer rating of 86.5 through the first two games. Deshaun Watson is the only starter in the AFC North below that.” — Josh Kendall |
| The Ringer | No. 6 | No. 5 | “How can I take this team seriously while it’s starting [checks notes] Daniel Faalele at right guard? For the second straight week, all it took was one talented defensive lineman (this time, Maxx Crosby) picking on an obvious mismatch to totally derail Baltimore’s offense. There are reasons for optimism about the Ravens offense: it did average 5.3 yards per play on first downs, and the heavy dosage of Derrick Henry in Week 2 let me know this team is serious about controlling the game on the ground. Still, this offense gave up two drive-killing sacks and committed several penalties that put the Ravens behind the sticks. This is still one of the NFL’s better rosters, but the margins for error are slim, given this team’s weakness up front.” — Diante Lee |
| Sporting News | No. 9 | No. 6 | “What was that? The Ravens started slowly and finished poorly against the Raiders, pushing them down to a tough 0-2. Penalties and third-down execution were huge culprits. Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry, and the offense look fine, but the Ravens now face an almost must-win game in Dallas in Week 3.” — Vinnie Iyer |
| Fox Sports | No. 8 | No. 6 | “The Ravens are an impressive 54-7 when holding a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter during Lamar Jackson's time as their starting quarterback. Curiously, though, five of those seven losses have come since 2022. These guys simply must improve at crunch-time football, as late-game miscues once again showed up in a perplexing loss to the Raiders.” — David Helman |
| Yahoo! Sports | No. 7 | No. 5 | “The Ravens' next three games are at Cowboys, vs. Bills and at Bengals. It's unlikely but not out of the question that Baltimore is 0-5 to start the season. Even being 1-4 would put the Ravens in a massive hole. That loss to the Raiders was really bad for them.” — Frank Schwab |
