The Ravens have played their most complete six quarters of football in their last six quarters of play.
That’s not controversial, right? The second half of their Week 8 win against the Buccaneers and the entirety of their Week 9 victory against the Saints provided examples of the team’s offense and defense both being capable of functioning at high levels at the same time. No statistic better defines this dominance than time of possession. In the last two games, the Ravens have averaged a time of possession advantage of 38:05 to 21:55.
For context, the top time of possession team in the league this season is the Nick Chubb-led Cleveland Browns, averaging 32:31. (The Ravens are third at 32:12 per game.) The Ravens have put together a staggering 38:05 average in the past two games despite not having J.K. Dobbins on the field at all and Gus Edwards for most of the last five quarters.
That’s truly remarkable. And while it’s easy to point out that the Buccaneers and Saints don’t appear to be overwhelming competition, road games in the NFL are never easy to win. In addition to what they haven’t had at running back, the Ravens also haven’t had their best pass-catcher (Mark Andrews) or their top wide receiver (although they’ll have to get used to life without Rashod Bateman).
This time of possession dominance is a reflection of a team that appears to have found its identity again. Their defense appears to be coming together at the right time. Not only has Justin Houston been one of the most remarkable stories of the NFL season, Tyus Bowser’s return provided a lift (with David Ojabo potentially still to join the mix) and Roquan Smith was, at the least, as good as advertised in his Baltimore debut. When the Ravens combine those efforts with long scoring drives (like their two seven-plus-minute touchdown possessions in the first half against New Orleans), they become reminiscent of the remarkable 2019 squad.
They’re still not perfect, of course. Lamar Jackson has been a little inconsistent on throws after starting the season in almost flawless form. There have still but downright maddening issues like the delay of game penalty in the fourth quarter against New Orleans that backed the Ravens up from second-and-5 at the Saints’ 14 to what would eventually become a third-and-14. Instead of turning that into a three-score game and essentially slamming the door shut, the Ravens gave the ball back to New Orleans still with a chance to get back into it. (Thankfully Houston would go ahead and slam the door shut himself.)
With the Ravens now able to sit back and enjoy their bye week, get healthier and consider a second-half schedule that doesn’t appear to be very daunting, it would seem difficult for the team’s supporters to not feel good about the direction of the squad. And yet there’s a feeling that still looms in the background.
“Is this good enough to beat the Bills and/or Chiefs in the playoffs?”
That’s the subtext, right? That’s the thing we can’t help but think about even as the Ravens play exceptional football. What they’re doing is outstanding … but what will it look like when (a presumably healthy) Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes is their opponent?
To be clear, there is of course no answer to this question. The Ravens, by virtue of what they did at the trade deadline, are essentially announcing that they believe the answer is “yes.” They seem to have fully recommitted to the Greg Roman strategy and intend to control the ball and play defense. Whether they’re doing that because it’s what they always wanted to do or simply out of necessity given their personnel, who knows?
But because of their past playoff struggles, losses to the best teams they faced earlier in the season and few opportunities to record “statement” wins for the rest of the year, this question will continue to linger. Even if the Ravens keep up this time of possession dominance, they’ll be hard pressed to prove that it will translate to how they play against the top teams in the conference come January. It’s easy to say things like “running the ball travels” and “defense wins championships,” but that kinda still has to be proven by this group.
Again, it’s important to note that the answer is NOT “no.” We can’t possibly know what the answer is! But it will be the primary story of the rest of the season.
Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox