Ray Lewis Says Chemistry Is Key to Defensive Turnaround
The 2000 Ravens defense was historically good. The 2025 Ravens defense is on pace to be historically bad.
The 2000 team gave up a record-low 165 points (10.3 points per game) the entire season. This year's team has already given up a league-worst 177 points (35.4 points per game) and is on pace to become the first to ever allow 600 points in a season.
Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Lewis, who led the 2000 team to the franchise's first Super Bowl championship, said the Ravens defense has the talent to turn things around.
"Talent is the last thing we're worried about," Lewis said in a sit-down interview with WJZ's Rick Ritter. "But now it's chemistry. How can we flow? There's too many individual mistakes. And when you correct that … I think if we go through this now, we won't feel this in the playoffs."
Ravens Are Still Betting Favorites to Win AFC North
History says the likelihood of the Ravens (1-4) making the playoffs isn't good, but the betting odds tell a different story.
Since 1970, 260 teams have started 1-4, and only 16 ended up making the playoffs, according to USA Today. However, even though the Ravens trail the first-place Pittsburgh Steelers by 2.5 games in the AFC North, they are favored to win the division.
So why are sportsbooks still bullish on Baltimore to win an unprecedented third consecutive AFC North title?
One reason is likely because of their pedigree. The Ravens have made the playoffs 12 times in John Harbaugh's 17 seasons as head coach, including six of the past seven seasons. The last time they missed the playoffs was 2021, when Lamar Jackson was sidelined for the final four games of the season with an ankle injury.
Speaking of injuries, the Ravens' rocky start this season can partly be attributed to the lengthy list of starters who are out, including Jackson and All-Pro defenders Kyle Hamilton, Roquan Smith, and Marlon Humphrey.
It's reasonable to assume the Ravens will get better results as they get healthier. They have a bye after Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Rams.
CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin said there are a few other things working in the Ravens' favor.
"After the early-season gauntlet of title favorites, the Ravens are set to finish the 2025 season with the eighth-easiest schedule, per ESPN, featuring matchups with similarly struggling squads like the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets," Benjamin wrote. "Five of their remaining 12 games are AFC North matchups, and three of them are against the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals, who are a combined 3-7. In other words, the division is still very much up for grabs ... if the Ravens can show up."
Benjamin added that the Steelers might not be quite as good as their record suggests.
"The Steelers may lead the North at 3-1, but they've been more scrappy than spectacular; their three wins are by a combined 12 points, and they've actually been outscored on the year," Benjamin wrote. "Quarterback Aaron Rodgers is also still 41, so it's fair to retain a bit of concern regarding the durability of the Steelers' own setup."
The numbers generated by ESPN Analytics aren't as optimistic about the Ravens overtaking the Steelers to win the division.
Analyst Believes Ravens Don't Need to Make Additions at Trade Deadline
General Manager Eric DeCosta has made big moves at the trade deadline in the past, most notably acquiring Smith in 2022 and cornerback Marcus Peters in 2019.
Sports USA analyst and former NFL defensive tackle Brandon Noble believes the Ravens can turn their season around without being buyers at the deadline. He said they have the players they need to win already on the roster; they just need to get healthy.
"I don't think you go down that road," Noble said on “Glenn Clark Radio.” "If it was poor play, if you didn't have the people, you didn't have the roster, [then] make those moves if you see them and they're available and they make sense. But you're going to get a lot of these guys back over the course of the season."
