The Ravens moved up in all of the major power rankings after their impressive win in New England . They're ranked as high as No. 5 and no lower than No. 8.
"This is probably either the last good team or the first flawed-but-pretty-much-fine team," wrote The Athletic's Bo Wulf, who had the Ravens at No. 5.
The Ravens' next two games — against Super Bowl favorite Buffalo at home and defending AFC Champion Cincinnati on the road — will be a good indication of which category Baltimore (2-1) fits in at this point.
One thing there is no question about is that Lamar Jackson is playing at an MVP level, and that makes facing the Ravens a daunting task for any opponent.
"Fading Baltimore is fading Lamar, and you have to be out of your absolute gourd to do that after what we've seen thus far," wrote The Ringer’s Austin Gayle, who also had the Ravens at No. 5.
| Source | Ranking | Last Week's Ranking | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| NFL.com | No. 7 | No. 10 | “In Week 3, the Ravens' defense collapsed in the fourth quarter against the Dolphins. On Sunday at Foxborough, Baltimore's defense closed its opponent out. The Ravens produced three turnovers in the fourth quarter, including a crucial end-zone interception by Marlon Humphrey, to help seal a 37-26 win over the Patriots. Lamar Jackson continued to look like the NFL's early front-runner for MVP, producing five total touchdowns.” — Dan Hanzus |
| Bleacher Report | No. 8 | No. 10 | “Jackson was the star of Sunday's win, but the Ravens also got running back J.K. Dobbins back for the first time since 2020. If the Baltimore offense can get going and take some of the pressure off Jackson, the Ravens could well be the team to beat in the AFC North.” — Gary Davenport |
| ESPN | No. 6 | No. 9 | “The Ravens are still without their All-Pro left tackle (Ronnie Stanley) and their No. 1 running back (J.K. Dobbins) just returned on Sunday. But Baltimore leads the league in scoring (33 points per game) because Jackson is the best dual-threat quarterback in NFL history.” — Jamison Hensley |
| Sports Illustrated | No. 7 | No. 8 | “Those of us who predicted a Lamar Jackson MVP are feeling pretty good. Jackson is also one of the league leaders in average depth of target. He’s rushing for 100 yards a game and pushing the ball downfield. The NFL’s Shohei Ohtani.” — Conor Orr |
| CBS Sports | No. 8 | No. 10 | “Lamar Jackson has been special this season, but he has to be because of the defense. He's shown that he's back to his MVP level of play — probably even better.” — Pete Prisco |
| The Athletic | No. 5 | No. 8 | “This is probably either the last good team or the first flawed-but-pretty-much-fine team.” — Bo Wulf |
| The Ringer | No. 5 | No. 6 | “Second-year wide receiver Rashod Bateman and veteran tight end Mark Andrews have both been high-end contributors, but none of this works without Jackson. Fading Baltimore is fading Lamar, and you have to be out of your absolute gourd to do that after what we’ve seen thus far.” — Austin Gayle |
| Sporting News | No. 8 | No. 11 | “How about Lamar Jackson? Jackson has become an absolute passing and running force again to make up for any other issues they might be having. The defense is giving up big plays, but they are finally coming through on their opportunistic potential of making more big plays in response.” — Vinnie Iyer |
