Times are tough for the Baltimore Ravens right now, sitting at 1-5 and entering their bye week knowing that a lot has to change for this team’s fortunes to start trending upward.
Most of that is centered around Lamar Jackson’s return, which we think will be in Week 8 against the Chicago Bears, as the need for wins is critical.
While the defensive performance was better against the Los Angeles Rams in the 17-3 loss, offensively, they did their best to lose the game with costly penalties and turnovers plaguing them throughout the contest.
As such, the Ravens, in Eric Edholm’s latest power rankings for NFL.com, continue to drop, now at No. 23.
“Let’s start with the excellent news: Lamar Jackson is on track to be back after this week’s bye,” Edholm writes. “Now, the bad: The Ravens are 1-5, with six more road games, and they probably need to go 9-2 or better to make the postseason. They might not play past Week 18, but I think they’ll be a very thorny opponent, taking out their frustrations for the remainder of the season.”
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Can Lamar Jackson be Baltimore’s savior?
In short, yes. But that is a lot to put on his shoulders.
Plus, as Edholm wrote above, the Ravens would need to go roughly 9-2 post-bye. With a defense that did show improvement, can they keep that up? And can the offense, with Jackson returning, click straight away?
Because that is what it is going to take for the Ravens to try and keep this ship afloat, as right now, this ship is taking on a lot of water.
The Ravens have only played one division game (Browns), so that could also help with the Pittsburgh Steelers running away with the AFC North, so Baltimore can, theoretically, still be in with a shot at winning the division.
Yes, it’s all highly unlikely, but with No. 8, anything is possible — even escaping a 1-5 hole.
