Lamar Jackson back, Baltimore wants to prove on the ground that you can win the supreme grail.
Baltimore Ravens: 10 wins – 7 losses, second in AFC North, sixth in AFC
2nd in the AFC North, the Baltimore Ravens find the playoffs after having missed them last year following a bad series of 6 defeats in a row.
An expected qualification but Baltimore goes to the playoffs with more uncertainties than certainties. In attack, no player was spared from injury. Quarterback Lamar Jackson missed the last 5 games of the regular season and the question is what form he will return to.
It’s double or quits for the Ravens and Lamar Jackson. In the event of a good run, the question will no longer arise: Lamar Jackson should extend his long-term contract. If ever there is an early elimination, questions about Lamar Jackson’s future will arise. Will the quarterback want a new challenge? Will Baltimore just tag him?
How did they get there?
Roller coasters. That’s how you could title the Ravens’ regular season. After starting with 3 wins and 3 losses, the Ravens chained 4 consecutive victories, including a prestigious victory against Tampa Bay to take the lead in their division, before falling back into irregular form.
Baltimore took advantage of Pittsburgh and Cleveland’s poor start to the season with their quarterback problems to escape to the AFC North and AFC Conference. Then they saw Cincinnati and their 7-game winning streak pass them by in the division but the Ravens had already done the work to qualify. The last games of the season are just a bonus for a team that was deprived of its star quarterback.
The key player: Lamar Jackson (QB)
What would Baltimore be without him? Waiting for a big contract during the offseason, he did not get what he wanted, especially compared to what his competitors are getting in the position.
In the first 3 games of the 2022 season, his record is impressive. 12 touchdowns (including 2 on the run) and 2 interceptions. The result was more complicated with only 8 touchdowns (including 1 on the run) for 5 interceptions before his injury. It must be said that the player was not helped by a cast of limited receivers and an offensive line less sovereign than usual. We have seen that without him, Baltimore is less exciting and less scary.
Fortunately for him, Baltimore didn’t come out too badly (2 wins – 3 losses), but his absence could have been a handicap for the playoffs. Also the best runner on his team, the MVP of the 2019 season arrives at the right time to bring Baltimore to the Super Bowl. A final that Ravens fans have been waiting for since the 2012 season.
Why are they going to go all the way?
Defenses win titles. And that of Baltimore is part of the top 3 in terms of number of points conceded. It is also one of the best teams with the ratio balls recovered / balls lost (+7).
The ground game is the heart of this team. Efficient in attack (2nd in the number of yards) and in defense (3rd in the number of yards conceded), the team relies on a committee of runners provided in addition to Lamar Jackson. In defense, the arrival of Roquan Smith from Chicago allowed Patrick Queen to flourish to become the most impressive pair of linebackers in number of tackles (182).
Why won’t they go?
Baltimore seems to be bucking the league trend of aerial play. Mark Andrews is a tight-end and yet he is the best receiver on his team in terms of yards. Next up: DeMarcus Robinson, a receiver signed during the season.
It’s the same in defense. Despite the additions of Kyle Hamilton and Marcus Williams as safety posts, the air defense conceded a lot of yards despite a more than respectable number of interceptions (14). Faced with teams like the Chiefs or the Bengals – whom they will face as a wildcard – with good air squads, the Ravens will have to rise to the occasion if they want to appear in these playoffs.
Injured players
In addition to Lamar Jackson, cornerback Marcus Peters and defensive tackle Calais Campbell were absent in the final game of the regular season. Both players are expected to be back for the wildcard match.
For the rest, the other players are long-time injured and have already ended their season. Among these players, we can find receiver Rashod Bateman, cornerback Kyle Fuller or defensive tackle Michael Pierce.
Prognosis
Accustomed to playoff deadlines since 2000, Baltimore will however face Cincinnati for the first time in its history in the playoffs. If experience speaks for the men of John Harbraugh, the form and quality of the workforce speaks for the men of Zac Taylor, champions of the AFC North. If Baltimore manages to impose its pace and muzzle Cincinnati’s aerial attack, then the Maryland team could pose problems in what remains above all a meeting between two teams of the same division.
