The Ravens remained just outside the top five in the power rankings, but pundits are expecting them to surge in the coming weeks.
Coming off their bye, the AFC North-leading Ravens (6-3) are No. 6 in seven of the eight power rankings we sampled and No. 7 in the other.
"With Mark Andrews and some other injured reinforcements likely returning after the bye, Baltimore has a real fighting chance of earning the AFC's No. 1 seed," The Athletic's Bo Wulf wrote.
NFL.com’s Dan Hanzus wrote: "This will not be a fun team to play as the weather turns cold."
| Source | Ranking | Last Week's Ranking | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| NFL.com | No. 6 | No. 5 | “The Ravens have hit their stride by locking into a familiar identity: running the ball down your throat. Lamar Jackson — as always — remains the centerpiece of everything Baltimore does on offense, with a league-leading average of 7.4 yards per attempt on a team-leading 86 carries. Gus Edwards, Kenyan Drake and Justice Hill have all stepped up when called upon. Much of the ground-game success can be traced back to a thriving offensive line that keeps getting better. Rookie center Tyler Linderbaum was yet another draft hit by the organization, while Ronnie Stanley's return to health has brought stability to the blind side. This will not be a fun team to play as the weather turns cold.” — Dan Hanzus |
| Bleacher Report | No. 6 | No. 7 | “The Ravens rarely get mentioned with the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs as the AFC's top Super Bowl contenders, but that could be about to change. The Ravens' run game is humming. [Roquan] Smith should be a big boost to the defense. And the Ravens have the NFL's easiest remaining schedule. They play a team with a winning record until Week 18, when they face the Cincinnati Bengals. If the Ravens take care of business, they could hit that game vying for not just a division title but also the AFC's No. 1 seed.” — NFL staff |
| ESPN | No. 6 | No. 7 | |
| Sports Illustrated | No. 6 | No. 5 | “The Ravens cruise into their bye week fourth in points scored, fifth in passing touchdowns, and second in rushing yards. One could make a fair argument that they have the deepest roster in all of football. When Jason Pierre-Paul is just a ‘whenever’ rotational pass rusher, life is pretty good.” — Conor Orr |
| CBS Sports | No. 6 | No. 7 | “They come off their bye in first place in the division with a soft schedule coming up. It's their time to surge.” — Pete Prisco |
| The Athletic | No. 7 | No. 7 | “The Ravens have the second easiest schedule in the league the rest of the season, per Austin Mock. With Mark Andrews and some other injured reinforcements likely returning after the bye, Baltimore has a real fighting chance of earning the AFC’s No. 1 seed.” — Bo Wulf |
| The Ringer | No. 6 | No. 4 | “Hot-take alert: Lamar Jackson is the only player who should be in consideration with Patrick Mahomes as the league’s MVP this season. [Tua] Tagovailoa, Jalen Hurts, and Kirk Cousins will all draw acclaim for leading some of the best teams in the league, but Jackson and Mahomes are the only two consistently elevating their offenses above the means of their supporting cast and coaches. Jackson is nearly single-handedly positioning the Ravens as deep postseason contenders and is well on his way to a record-breaking payday this offseason.” — Austin Gayle |
| Sporting News | No. 6 | No. 8 | “The Ravens got a much-needed bye to help get Mark Andrews and Gus Edwards healthy to further boost what's a smooth and efficient offense again with Lamar Jackson. The defense is also rounding into championship form.” — Vinnie Iyer |
