The number of injuries that the Baltimore Ravens have endured this season is well-documented. Before activating rookie Rashod Bateman from injured reserve ahead of Week 6, the Ravens had a league-high 17 players on injured reserve, including guys like J.K. Dobbins and Marcus Peters. Despite Baltimore’s injury woes, they find themselves with an impressive 5-1 record to begin the season, putting them in first place in the AFC.
Lamar Jackson is playing at an MVP level and the defense is coming off of a game where they just stifled Justin Herbert and the offense of the Los Angeles Chargers to only six points. Of course, John Harbaugh deserves some credit for being able to prepare the team every week.
That begs the question: Can the Ravens proceed to win a Super Bowl this season despite the number of injuries they have experienced? Let me explain why Baltimore could surprise some people when the playoffs arrive.
Lamar Jackson Is Taking His Game To Another Level
The quarterback position is inarguably the most important position in the NFL. It’s almost a prerequisite for a team to have a talented signal-caller if they want to have any aspirations of advancing to a Super Bowl.
While Jackson has won an MVP in his career already, he might be playing the best football of his career through the first six weeks for the Ravens. Jackson is currently completing a career-best 67.5 percent of his attempts for 1,686 yards, nine touchdowns, and five interceptions.
The dual-threat quarterback has also rushed for 392 yards and two touchdowns on 64 attempts. Jackson has a terrific command of Baltimore’s offense right now and he’s showing vast improvements in his aerial game. And for those that say that Jackson doesn’t excel from come-from-behind situations, he’s displayed multiple times this year that he’s capable of bringing the Ravens back from deficits to win games.
With Marquise Brown, Mark Andrews, Bateman, and a multi-faceted rushing attack at his disposal, Jackson is reaching new heights with his game. Given Jackson’s improvements, the Ravens can compete with anyone in the NFL right now.
The AFC Doesn’t Have A Clear Top Team
In recent years, the Kansas City Chiefs have been the clear No. 1 team in the AFC. Patrick Mahomes is regarded as the best quarterback in the NFL and the offense of the Chiefs has been nearly unstoppable. However, this season, there isn’t a team in the AFC that feels unbeatable like Kansas City has. And even this season, the Chiefs have undergone some struggles, including a loss to Baltimore.
Yes, the Buffalo Bills look to be the best team in the conference, but can they maintain their level of play on both sides of the ball for the rest of the season?
Besides Jackson and the offense, the Ravens have been able to get notable performances from their defense when they’ve faced top-tier quarterbacks. Unfortunately, Baltimore has a shorthanded roster right now, but that shouldn’t cause us to write them off.
As long as Jackson can remain healthy, the Ravens have an opportunity to defeat any team they go up against. It does help that there isn’t a clear-cut team in the AFC that Baltimore wouldn’t want to see in the postseason.
