The conversation about Zay Flowers has changed this season.
It's no longer about whether he is a true No. 1 wide receiver. Now words such as "elite" and "unstoppable" are being used to describe Flowers, who has had a sizzling start to the season despite dealing with a hamstring injury.
The Athletic's Robert Mays said Flowers' breakout is due in large part to how Offensive Coordinator Declan Doyle is deploying him.
"Zay Flowers has been a good player for a while for Baltimore, but the tweaks in his usage this year have made him borderline unstoppable," Mays said on "The Athletic Football Show."
Mays said the key has been how much more Flowers has been used in the slot.
"He's been in the slot on 57% of his routes this year, per Next Gem Stats. That's compared to 31% last year," Mays said. "This is obviously a very conscious choice from the Ravens' coaching staff to put him in there. He's run 32 routes from the slot this year. He has been thrown the ball on 16 of those plays. So he has a 50% target rate from the slot. He is averaging 8.8 yards per route run on those plays from the slot. He's averaging 1.3 EPA per target. He has gained a first down on 37% of his slot routes. Last year, Zay Flowers had 16.3 EPA out of the slot. This year, he is 21.
"The vision that the staff has had for him, and the way that they were like, 'This is how we're going to use this guy and we're going to cook people' has been awesome."
Unnecessary Roughness Penalty on Kyle Hamilton Shows 'How Maddening It Is to Play Defense in 2026'
Of the 13 penalties called against the Ravens in Sunday's win over the Tennessee Titans, the unnecessary roughness call on safety Kyle Hamilton was especially frustrating.
"What exactly was Kyle Hamilton supposed to do?" The Baltimore Banner’s Childs Walker wrote. "Cam Ward took the snap and dropped back as if to pass. His blockers fired off their marks. Hamilton blew around the right edge, made a clean hit to Ward's chest and offered his hand to help the Tennessee quarterback to his feet. Nothing dirty to see there.
"Only the Titans had called a timeout a split-second before the snap and Hamilton did not hear an official's whistle over the sound and fury of a typical NFL third down. What appeared to be a sack turned into an unnecessary roughness penalty on Hamilton and a massive assist to the Titans' scoring chances (the Ravens ultimately stopped them near the goal line). The home fans reacted with their angriest serenade of the young season."
For the record, almost every other player on the field also didn't hear the whistle. Walker said the play is an illustration of how maddening it is to play defense in 2026.
"Points are fun, and honest attempts to improve player safety are essential to the future of the sport, but we can tell the truth here," Walker wrote. "The balance has shifted too far toward offense. The 2000 Ravens defense, so revered, could not exist a quarter of a century later. Not even close. It would be buried in yellow flags week after week."
Head Coach Jesse Minter said the penalty on Hamilton was a result of "unfortunate timing," and he understands why it was called.
"That's just one of those plays. It is what it is," Minter said. "I do respect the fact that the league wants to protect the quarterbacks, so I want to start with that, because if that happened to our quarterback, I'd be sitting there saying the same thing."
Speaking of penalties, the Ravens 13 penalties for 131 yards were an issue in Sunday's game and have been a problem in the early part of the season. However, the Ravens aren't the only team getting flagged a lot.
In Week 4, there were the most flags seen in a single week in over a decade. In the Seattle Seahawks' win against the Los Angeles Chargers, there was a combined 30 penalties for 280 yards and in the Jacksonville Jaguars' win over the Cincinnati Bengals, there were a combined 24 penalties for 233 yards.
What Ravens' History Says About Their 3-1 Start
The Ravens are off to a 3-1 start, and history suggests that bodes well for their playoff aspirations.
ESPN’s Jamison Hensley noted that this is the 13th time the Ravens have won three of their first four games. They made the playoffs in 10 of their previous 12 seasons that they started 3-1, including its Super Bowl-winning 2000 and 2012 seasons.
"The only times Baltimore failed to make the postseason after beginning 3-1 were 2016 and 2021," Hensley wrote.
The 2021 team actually got off to a 5-1 start, but ended the season on a six-game losing streak to finish 8-9, as Lamar Jackson suffered a season-ending injury in Week 13.
Ravens' Next Opponent Is on a Roll
If the Ravens are going to be 4-1, they're going to have to beat a hot Atlanta Falcons team on the road on Sunday night.
In case you missed it, the Falcons steamrolled the host New Orleans Saints on Monday night, 45-24, to even Atlanta's record at 2-2 after an 0-2 start. The Falcons beat the Packers in Week 3 in Green Bay, 35-14.
Led by running back Bijan Robinson, Atlanta rushed for 242 yards against the Packers and 205 yards against the Saints. They have the No. 2 rushing offense and the No. 1 rushing defense.
