At the midpoint of the season, the Ravens are firmly among the NFL's upper echelon.
The Ravens (6-2) rose to as high as No. 2 in this week's power rankings and are no lower than No. 4 in the 10 sets of rankings we looked at.
The AFC North leaders followed a dominant win over the Detroit Lions by taking care of business in Arizona Sunday to complete a grueling portion of the schedule with four wins in five games. The stretch also included two division games on the road and a trip to London.
"The Ravens are quietly rounding into form as one of the best teams in football," The Ringer’s Riley McAtee wrote.
| Source | Ranking | Last Week's Ranking | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| NFL.com | No. 2 | No. 4 | “There were minimal signs of an emotional letdown for the Ravens after Week 7's trouncing of the Lions. Lamar Jackson did little, but they didn't need him to do much. They allowed Arizona to hang around too long, but in the end, this was a solid road win. They'll take it, with the next three games (and six of the final nine) in Baltimore. That's the good news. The bad? Most of the remaining opponents look fairly tough or better. And the AFC North has muscled up a bit since the Ravens last played a divisional game. Still, they're 6-2, tied atop the AFC and arguably playing as well as anyone in the conference. This week's opponent, the Seahawks, could be one big win away from making that claim on the NFC side. The Ravens' steep march to the playoffs begins in earnest.” — Eric Edholm |
| Bleacher Report | No. 4 | No. 3 | “The Ravens will get another chance to make a statement Sunday when the 5-2 Seahawks come to town. Then comes a home date with a Browns team which the Ravens already blew out in Cleveland before another home tilt against the surging Cincinnati Bengals.” — NFL staff |
| ESPN | No. 4 | No. 5 | “Lamar Jackson is living up to the five-year, $260 million contract he signed this offseason. In his first year in Todd Monken's offense, Jackson is more accurate than ever, completing 70.5% of his passes (third best in the NFL). He's still dangerous with his legs, whether it's extending plays or delivering big gains on the ground. His 380 yards rushing tops all quarterbacks. Jackson's playmaking ability is why Baltimore is tied for the best record in the AFC and holds a 1½-game lead in the AFC North.” — Jamison Hensley |
| Sports Illustrated | No. 4 | No. 4 | “This is how deeply good the Ravens offense is: Lamar Jackson back-footed a complete 50–50 ball that Rashod Bateman had to wrestle a defensive back for in the air, and later in the drive, Mark Andrews caught a touchdown pass while simultaneously running into Zay Flowers.” — Conor Orr |
| CBS Sports | No. 2 | No. 3 | “They found a way against Arizona, but the passing game took a step back. That's a concern for this group.” — Pete Prisco |
| The Athletic | No. 2 | No. 3 | “The Ravens’ new offensive coordinator has the Ravens’ old quarterback playing at an MVP level. In the last three weeks, no quarterback in the league has more total expected points added (24.98) than Jackson, according to TruMedia, and his completion percentage (70.5) and yards per attempt (7.8) are on pace to be career highs.” — Josh Kendall |
| The Ringer | No. 3 | No. 4 | “The Ravens are quietly rounding into form as one of the best teams in football. Lamar Jackson is playing like an MVP candidate (he finally has some worthy receivers!), and the defense is a top-five unit. The rest of the AFC is on notice.” — Riley McAtee. |
| Sporting News | No. 3 | No. 3 | “The Ravens don't get a lot of style points for getting a little sloppy defensively at the end of their game at Arizona, but keep in mind they were riding the high of the Lions rout and had a mini letdown ahead of bigger matchups. Still, Lamar Jackson and the running game kept doing their thing.” — Vinnie Iyer |
| Fox Sports | No. 2 | No. 4 | “It felt a bit predictable that Baltimore would struggle after such a dominant performance against Detroit the week before, but at least they won. That's more than several other contenders can say this week. The Ravens are the latest in a long line of teams to be frustrated by Arizona, but it's easier to iron out the wrinkles after a third straight win.” — David Helman |
| Yahoo! Sports | No. 3 | No. 4 | “Gus Edwards picked a good time to have a three-touchdown game, right before the trade deadline. The Ravens should still explore running backs because Edwards is probably best suited as part of a committee rather than a lead back, but he is a good player and will do if the Ravens can't add anyone.” — Frank Schwab |
