The first half of the Ravens' 2026 campaign didn't look like how many thought it would.
Baltimore is 4-5 and is in last place in the AFC North. The Ravens have lost four straight games by a combined score of 117-43 and haven't scored two touchdowns in a game since Week 5.
The Ravens will have their fourth starting quarterback in four weeks Monday night against the Los Angeles Chargers, as newly acquired Jacoby Brissett will step in for injured Lamar Jackson (thumb), Tyler Huntley (toe) and rookie Joe Fagnano.
There's a lot to unpack from the first half of Baltimore's season. Here are the numbers that defined the team's first nine games.
35.8
That's the difference in Baltimore's yardage per quarter with Jackson on the field (103.4) versus without him (67.6). The Ravens have just 40 more total yards of offense without Jackson on the field compared to when he's off despite the team playing eight more quarters without him.
Baltimore is hoping that Brissett, who has 73 career starts, can help jumpstart the offense.
"I think he'll operate our offense at a level required to be successful," Head Coach Jesse Minter said Monday. "He's just a very mature pro that I think will bring a leadership style to our offense from the quarterback position … he'll get the ball out on time; he'll be able to kind of run the whole thing. He'll be a leader. He'll hold guys accountable, and I'm just excited about the addition and the chance that it gives us to kind of spark this thing."
3.2
That's how many yards Zay Flowers is averaging per route run, which is tied for the third-highest total of all pass catchers with at least 50 routes run, per Next Gen Stats. Only Jaxon Smith-Njigba of the Seattle Seahawks and Christian Watson of the Green Bay Packers have more.
Despite being held without a catch against the Bills and tallying just six yards on three receptions against the Jaguars, Flowers remains one of the NFL's most productive wideouts when targeted.
He has 11 targets over the past two games after having 11 in each of the previous two with Huntley under center. Will Flowers return to a high target share with Brissett under center?
2004
Before this season, that was the last time the Ravens were held to under 100 passing yards in consecutive games, per Stathead.
Over the past two weeks, Baltimore was held to 68 and 55 passing yards against the Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars, respectively.
This streak has happened five times in franchise history, and remarkably, their previous four instances of consecutive games with less than 100 passing yards netted a combined 8-1 record. The Ravens weren't as fortunate this time around, dropping both games by a combined score of 69-20.
0
That's how many sacks Vega Ioane and Cam Jurgens have allowed this season on a combined 324 pass-blocking reps for the Ravens, per Next Gen Stats.
In general, though, the Ravens have been inconsistent in pass protection. Jackson, Huntley and Fagnano have been pressured on a combined 38.2% of their dropbacks, per Next Gen Stats. Jackson's injury happened in part because of Bills outside linebacker Greg Rousseau pressuring Jackson quickly off the edge, causing Jackson to slam his thumb into Rousseau's arm.
"We know it's not our standard, and all the guys in the room know that. I'll be the first one to say it," guard Vega Ioane said. "You don't have to hear it from [anybody] else. We already know ourselves. We take a lot of pride in going out there and protecting the quarterback. Some games it doesn't go like that, but I have big faith in our O-line, and I still do. The guys that went out there and played, they did their job to the best of their ability, and that's all there is to it."
25
That's the number of offensive line combinations the Ravens have used this season entering Week 9. That was the most in the NFL by a lot; the New England Patriots are the next-closest with 17 different offensive line combinations.
1
That's how many times Derrick Henry had at least 10 carries and less than 60 rushing yards in four straight games before now. The only other instance spanned the end of the 2017 season and beginning of the 2018 season.
Part of Henry's unusually low rushing totals have been because of game scripts changing in the second half; the Ravens trailing by as much as they have in the second halves of the past few games have rendered Baltimore's rushing attack obsolete. The Ravens hope to be more balanced going forward.
8.2
That's how many penalties the Ravens are averaging per game this season. No team has averaged that many over a full season since 2019, and that would be Baltimore's most over a full season since at least 2009.
The Ravens are tied for the second-most penalties in the NFL (74) and have the second-most pre-snap penalties (37), trailing only the Cleveland Browns. Baltimore was flagged for four false starts against Jacksonville.
"We just keep shooting ourselves in the foot," Ioane said after the game. "It's as simple as that. We can't win games if we do that."
425
That's how many receiving yards Marlon Humphrey has allowed this season, per Next Gen Stats. It's the fourth most among all outside cornerbacks.
Humphrey leads the team with nine passes defensed, but Minter understands that there's room for improvement.
"I think Marlon would be the first to tell you that the consistency hasn't been what any of us want," Minter said. "I do think there's been some good. I think there's been little things that you focus on that you see improvement in, and then something else happens, or something else happens.
"Explosive plays are, more often than not, more than one person. There are times where it's a one-on-one ball down the field, I get that. But a lot of times it's a defensive thing, a play-call thing, everything. So, we're looking at all that."
Later on, Minter further explained that allowing chunk gains over the air is a team issue.
"I probably take as much pride of not giving up explosives as any defensive coach in the league, and obviously that's not showing up. So, it's all lip service right now," Minter said. "That's really, to me, major concern No. 1 from a defensive standpoint is limiting the explosive plays."
9
That's how many tackles for loss Kyle Hamilton has. Not only does that lead the Ravens, but it's the most among all defensive backs. The next-closest are nine defensive backs, including Ravens safety Malaki Starks, who all have five.
9
That's the difference between the Ravens' league ranking in pressure rate between Weeks 1-4 (10th) and Weeks 5-9 (19th).
This fits into a league-wide trend. Many defenses that pressured the quarterback at a high level to start the season have regressed in recent weeks, while many defenses that started slow in that facet have gotten much better.
The Ravens also have 17 sacks this season. Only nine NFL teams have fewer.
9
That's how many takeaways Baltimore's defense has this season, which is tied for 23rd in the NFL.
Of the team's four interceptions this season (26th in the NFL), only one has come from a defensive back – Hamilton's game-sealing pick against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 5.
