Though they are the AFC’s top seed right now, are the Ravens really the greatest team in the conference?
In his “Fact or Fiction” piece, Gilberto Manzano of Sports Illustrated addressed the issue and came to the conclusion that the Ravens (8-3) are not the top team in the AFC.
“The Ravens appear to be one of the two best teams in the AFC, but they’re not the best in the conference,” Manzano stated. “The Chiefs remain the top team in the AFC, because they have proven they can win Super Bowls.”
Although Manzano wrote his piece before the Chiefs (7-3) fell to the Philadelphia Eagles, 21-17, on “Monday Night Football,” it doesn’t seem like the outcome would have affected him.
“We’ve seen this Ravens movie before, with a Lamar Jackson-led offense cruising through the regular season only to miss out on postseason success,” Manzano stated.
“The Ravens have far too many unanswered questions. If they don’t get off to a fast start in the postseason, can the 2019 MVP and his pass catchers be able to play from behind?
Can playing from behind put pressure on Baltimore’s pass rush? The Ravens’ defense has performed on par with the Chiefs’ defense, but it lacks Kansas City’s youthfulness and quality.
Indeed, the Chiefs have had offensive difficulties this year, but given what Patrick Mahomes has done in the previous several seasons, they deserve a pass.
If Jackson leads the Ravens to the top seed in the AFC, maybe he can win over the skeptics.”
Manzano makes a valid point when he says that the Chiefs should be given a break because of their prior success—they have won two of the four Super Bowls in which they have represented the AFC. It’s also appropriate to note that during the Jackson administration, the Ravens have not gone deep into the playoffs.
That being said, it’s probably untrue to say that the Ravens are incapable of coming back from behind in the postseason.
In January of last year, they overcame a seven-point deficit against the Cincinnati Bengals in the third quarter to tie the game and come within one yard of winning it before Tyler Huntley’s fumble was recovered for the game-winning touchdown. In 2021, they overcame a 10-point deficit to defeat the Tennessee Titans in the wild-card round.
In addition, this season’s Ravens offense is more balanced than previous ones, and they have more weapons in the passing game. On the other side, wide receiver is the Chiefs’ greatest vulnerability. They lost against the Eagles due to multiple drops.
The Ravens’ schedule may be the largest barrier to securing the top seed. Baltimore still has two games left: at home against AFC East leader Miami (7-3) and AFC North foe Pittsburgh (6-4), and away at NFC West leader San Francisco (7-3) and AFC South leader Jacksonville (7-3). Buffalo (6-5) is the only team Kansas City presently plays at home with a winning record.
Due to their superior conference record, Kansas City would be the top seed if both the Chiefs and the Ravens prevail.
Collaboration has resulted in the Ravens having the league’s strongest pass rush this season. According to Jonas Shaffer of the Baltimore Banner, the unit functions similarly to a basketball team, and they even discuss it that way in conference rooms.
The Ravens have the best pass rush in the NFL; according to TruMedia, they lead the league with 44 sacks, which is tied for the most throughout the first 11 weeks of a season since at least 2000. Maybe it’s because no pass rush uses basketball as much as this one does,” Shaffer noted.
The top four pass rushers for the Ravens were all athletes in high school, and one more was a college student.
Chuck Smith, their pass rush guru, advises players to approach the position like a basketball player. The team’s locker room compares the plays themselves to defensive traps, one-on-one games, screens, and corner 3-pointers.”
As an illustration:
“A few weeks ago, safety Geno Stone was in a defensive meeting, reviewing film of the Ravens’ pass rush,” Shaffer stated. “Defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald’s pet play was seen in one particularly noteworthy clip: Patrick Queen, an inside linebacker, blindsides the guard obstructing Justin Madubuike’s path to the QB by charging headlong into him. It was a football play that resembled the pick-and-roll, a basketball move that is very common.
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