Looking at Ravens' Unique Approach to Solving Turnover Problems in Playoffs
Committing turnovers has been a recurring issue for the Ravens in the playoffs in recent years. It's especially frustrating because they are one of the best teams at limiting turnovers during the regular season.
"Over the past five years, the Ravens have turned the ball over 95 times in 84 games, the fourth-lowest total in the league," ESPN’s Dan Graziano wrote. "But in seven playoff games over that same span, they've turned it over 10 times. Only the Chiefs have more, and they've played 16 playoff games over that span. Baltimore's regular-season turnover margin over the past five seasons is plus-15, which ranks seventh. Their postseason turnover margin over the past five seasons is minus-8, which is the league's worst.
"There doesn't seem to be any systemic reason why these devastating problems come up in January when they don't in the regular season."
Graziano noted that Head Coach John Harbaugh has taken a unique approach to address the two-fold problem of turning the ball over and the lack of takeaways in the postseason.
"All around the team facility are large-screen TVs that, in past years, would have shows on them. 'SportsCenter,' stuff like that," Graziano wrote. "This year, those same TVs are showing practice tape. But not just any practice tape. Harbaugh and his coaches pick out specific highlights from each day's practice and cut them up to fit into different categories.
"They grade each player in each practice in each category and designate the day's 'winner' in each. So if a player is stopping by the cafeteria to grab a bottle of Gatorade on his way to a meeting, he could look up and see his or one of his teammates' highlights from the previous day's practice presented as an example of what coaches are looking for. … On and on it all goes, in an endless loop all day. It's on in the meeting rooms as well, with everyone's grades from the previous day in each category."
Harbaugh explained the thinking behind the initiative.
"The whole thing has been about the idea of intentionality," Harbaugh told Graziano. "Be intentional. We've talked about it before, but we've taken it to another level. These screens here, these are all intentional plays from practice. So they run on different screens around the building. I want it to be, in the biggest moment, not thought about. I want it to be just the way they play and the way they live. I want it to be in the background noise. Because we were really good on turnovers last year and then we turn the ball over in the divisional game."
Ravens Defense Versus AFC's Elite Offenses Is Must-See TV
The Ravens defense has the daunting task of trying to slow down the AFC's best offenses – Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills, Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals, and Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs – this season.
“Good Morning Football’s” Will Blackmon and Manti Te’o believe the Ravens are equipped to handle the challenge.
"It's going to be must-see TV versus all these teams," Blackmon said. "If anyone is built for it defensively, it's going to be the Baltimore Ravens."
Te'o pointed to the dominance of the Ravens defense during the second half of last season and key additions this offseason as to why he's bullish on the unit.
"When you apply Malaki Starks to that equation, Jaire Alexander to Marlon Humphrey, Nate Wiggins, and Kyle Hamilton, that defense starts to look like the traditional Baltimore Ravens defense of old," Te'o said. "How do they stack up against those [AFC teams]? I think they stack up pretty well. … I'm really excited to see this Ravens defense take on that form that they had late in the season last year."
Getting to face the AFC's other elite offense – Lamar Jackson and the Ravens – on a daily basis in practice should help the defense prepare for the must-see matchups.
Pundit Says Rashod Bateman Poised for Even Bigger Role After Breakout Season
Wide receiver Rashod Bateman had nine receiving touchdowns last season after totaling four in his first three seasons. He also had a touchdown catch in each of the Ravens' two playoff games.
Pro Football Focus’ Dalton Wasserman believes Bateman is poised for another outstanding year. In his preview of the 2025 Ravens, Wasserman's best bet for Baltimore was Bateman going over 3.5 receiving touchdowns.
"Bateman took a massive step forward in 2024, finally turning his elite separation skills into production," Wasserman wrote. "Even in a deep receiving corps, Bateman consistently created separation and posted a 98th percentile separation rate, which helped earn Lamar Jackson's trust and should lead to an even bigger role in 2025, especially in the red zone."
