Baltimore Beatdown
The latest power rankings following their Week 15 blowout of the New York Giants.
Most national pundits haven’t changed their views or opinions on the Baltimore Ravens who returned from a much-needed and well-timed bye and trounced the New York Giants 35-14 in a confidence-boosting Week 15 tune-up ahead of a critical division matchup on a quick turnaround. The consensus belief is that they are still a top 10 team in the league with most not moving them at all while others did slightly up or back on their respective lists. Now, it’s time to see where the team lands in the NFL landscape of power rankings heading into Week 16.
Setting aside the fact that Baltimore beat up on what may be the worst team in the NFL on Sunday, quarterback Lamar Jackson has quietly maintained his claim as the best player in the league. Josh Allen is having his moment in the sun (and I expect the Buffalo quarterback will ultimately win MVP), but Jackson still tops Allen in every major statistical passing category—and outplayed him head-to-head earlier in the season. What’s more, I’d argue that Jackson has a worse supporting cast than Allen this season and has played tougher competition, Sunday’s game against the Giants notwithstanding. Jackson’s five touchdowns against New York and 355 yards of total offense made for one of the weekend’s best stat lines.
The one-time 2024 MVP front-runner is playing as well as he did in 2019, his first MVP season, and better than he did last year, his second MVP season. Jackson leads the league in EPA per dropback (.33) and passer rating (120.7). On top of that, he’s averaging 53 rushing yards per game, the most among quarterbacks. On Sunday, he threw five touchdown passes, had a 154.6 passer rating and rushed for 65 yards.
The late bye week allowed the Ravens to catch their collective breaths, re-evaluate the playoff situation and take stock of what it’ll take for them to catch the Steelers for the division crown. Winning the AFC North should be their only focus now, of course. They hold wild-card tiebreakers over the 8-5 Chargers and Broncos, so the Ravens don’t need to sweat that now. The schedule also lays out nicely for them, with a short road trip to face the battered Giants before the crucial rematch with the Steelers in Baltimore. Win those two, and the season takes on a different tenor. We know the Ravens can beat almost anyone; their five losses have come by a total of 22 points. That said, defeats to the Raiders and Browns suggest they also are capable of losing to almost anyone, too.
Biggest improvement: Big pass plays allowed
The Ravens’ secondary turned its...
