When the Ravens' schedule was released in May, one of the biggest takeaways was that the first month or so provided a chance for Head Coach Jesse Minter's tenure to have a strong start.
Through the first six games, the Ravens are 4-2. They're tied for the best record in the AFC North but trail the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers in the division standings – for now.
It's not as strong a start as the Ravens would have liked. They lost an 11-point fourth quarter lead against the New Orleans Saints and let a 10-point lead slip through their fingers Sunday in Cleveland.
On the flip side, the Ravens notched a shocking last-second win over the Dallas Cowboys in Rio de Janeiro. They upset the then-red-hot Atlanta Falcons in their stadium, on "Sunday Night Football," with their backup quarterback.
Considering that Lamar Jackson (ankle) has been sidelined for two-and-a-half games, top wide receiver Zay Flowers was on the shelf for essentially two games, top pass rusher Trey Hendrickson was sidelined for two games, and the Ravens have had to shake up their offensive line because of a rash of injuries at center, four wins is good.
But the schedule is also about to get harder. The Ravens' first six opponents have a combined record of 13-27. Their next three opponents – the Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills, and Jacksonville Jaguars – have a combined record of 12-5.
Head Coach Jesse Minter isn't into trying to forecast the Ravens' schedule and he isn't worried about what's on the horizon.
"You take it week-by-week because some weeks teams look great, some weeks they don't," Minter said.
"You certainly know who's on the schedule, who's coming up, all that stuff. But this team — and I've said it before — it's us versus us. When we operate a certain way, and we learn to be out of our own way in moments; we learn to separate in games, we learn to make these critical plays in the third quarter that lead to a different fourth quarter. … It's more about us, and it's more about us chasing our best standard, our best version."
Despite some bumps in the road so far this season, Minter believes in the Ravens' ceiling – and that they can beat whoever they line up across if they reach it.
Here's how the Ravens can rise to the occasion:
Get healthier.
The Ravens' biggest improvements may come out of the training room.
Jackson's health is the biggest piece to the puzzle and will be closely monitored again this week. When Jackson and Flowers have played together, the Ravens have scored on 15 of their 26 drives.
Tyler Huntley helped lead a comeback win in Atlanta but had a tougher outing in Cleveland. The Ravens are a different offense that has been far more explosive with Jackson behind center.
On Monday, Minter said Jackson is making progress with his ankle and will "potentially" practice this week, but there was no indication of whether he'll play Sunday against the Bengals.
The Ravens also made a big trade, including giving up a 2028 second-round pick, for center Cam Jurgens. It was an aggressive move to strengthen the interior of the offensive line and allow rookie first-round pick Vega Ioane to move back to guard.
Yet Jurgens hasn't been able to take the field yet due to a concussion, and injuries to guards Andrew Vorhees (foot) and Emery Jones Jr. (ankle) haven't helped either. Jurgens does seem closer to returning, as Minter said Monday that he's "come a long way over the weekend and that there's a real opportunity for him."
Hendrickson is back playing with two fingers taped down for protection on his right hand. Minter said it's an "ongoing thing of just making sure that it's going the right way."
Wide receiver Rashod Bateman is dealing with a shoulder injury, though Minter feels "a little bit of optimism that he should be OK."
Tighten up coverage over the middle.
The Ravens' pass defense has been much improved compared to last season. They rank 13th in the NFL in passing yards allowed per game (210.3).
The next three quarterbacks on Baltimore's schedule – the Bengals' Joe Burrow, Bills' Josh Allen, and Jaguars' Trevor Lawrence – will certainly put that to the test. All three rank in the top 10 in passing yards per game so far this season.
The Ravens have done a good job limiting big plays over the top. Opponents have completed just three of 10 attempts between 20 and 40 yards downfield.
However, Baltimore has been susceptible in the intermediate part of the field, particularly over the middle. Between 10 and 20 yards, opponents have completed 37 of 53 passes (70%) for 617 yards and three touchdowns. Opposing quarterbacks have had a 117.02 quarterback rating when targeting that part of the field.
The Browns exploited that part of the field. Of Deshaun Watson's 164 passing yards, 148 came on in-breaking routes. He targeted in-breakers on 57.7% of his passes, the highest rate by a quarterback in a game this season, per Next Gen Stats.
The back breaker was a 33-yard catch and run by Jerry Jeudy on third-and-5 on the Browns' game-winning drive, in which Watson hit him in stride over the middle behind the Ravens' linebackers and in front of their safeties.
Entering Sunday's game in Cleveland, the Ravens' safeties had aligned an average of 12.8 yards off the line of scrimmage, the third deepest in the NFL, compared to 11.8 last season, the ninth shallowest, per Next Gen Stats. There's a balance between lining up deep to take away deep shots and giving up too much underneath.
Minter said there were a couple third downs where "I'd like us to be a little more aggressive and tighter in coverage."
"I think there's a level of confidence, conviction and aggressiveness that you can play with that we have to find, and we have to find that perfect balance for us," Minter said. "So, I think that's an ongoing search. I do think we have good players back there and guys that can make a bunch of plays."
Be more consistent on special teams.
The Ravens' special teams unit has had the highest of highest and some frustrating lows.
The Ravens' signature moment of this season so far has to be Tyler Loop's 56-yard game-winner in Brazil. Loop also hit the longest field goal in M&T Bank Stadium history with a 64-yarder just before halftime against the Tennessee Titans.
But Loop's 49-yard missed field goal in the fourth quarter in Cleveland was costly, as it kept the Ravens from taking a two-score lead in a defensive slugfest they were looking to put away. The field goal operation misfired in a similar situation against the Titans.
"We need to make second-half kicks," Minter said. "You could argue that second-half missed field goals are no different than turning the ball over in those situations. So, definitely something we want to keep striving to be better at."
Loop's miss set off a cascade of special teams mistakes. After the Browns scored a game-tying touchdown, returner Rasheen Ali muffed the kickoff, and he was tackled at Baltimore's 16-yard line.
After having a perfect punt downed inside the 5-yard line with an assist by a leaping Keondre Jackson earlier in the game, punter Ryan Eckley had a costly touchback on his final punt after Minter elected to not go for it on fourth-and-2 near midfield and try to pin the Browns back.
"I talked to the team about three phases working together and opportunities to separate in the game," Minter said. "It's 10-3, and we fumble, they score. Then, it's like, 'OK, special teams pick us up, get us a return,' we dropped the return. The next one, not a great punt. Now, we ended up stopping them on that drive, but then, late in the game, you decide to punt with two minutes to go. We need to pin them inside the 10 and make them maybe play conservatively a little bit more, kick it into the end zone.
"So just those moments, it's just about not trying to do more than who you are, and I feel like that's a little bit of a thing [of] staying true to yourself, staying true to the way you prepared, staying true to the way you've been. And in those moments, the big moments, they're only big because it's that point in the game. We have to find a way to really look at every situation like that and be better going forward."
