/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/47116270/usa-today-8311463.0.jpg)
Editor's Note: FanDuel is running a $1,000,000 fantasy football league in week 1. The Top 46,000 teams win cash with $100,000 paid to first place. Join now!
The fatal flaw of the 2014 Ravens team was their secondary, a unit decimated by injuries and hurt by sub-par safety play. While the rest of the team was good enough to overcome this flaw and win 11 games, including Pittsburgh in the playoffs for the first time, they could not when it came down to facing a hall of famer at quarterback. Tom Brady had his way with the Ravens secondary, utilizing trick plays and short rhythm passing in order to negate the Ravens elite pass rush, resulting in their elimination despite a stellar game from Joe Flacco and the offense.
In a season which the Ravens faced a who's who of top quarterbacks- including Ben Roethlisberger, Matt Ryan, Drew Brees, Andrew Luck, Phillip Rivers, and Cam Newton, the Ravens gave up the most passing yards in franchise history (4,341 yards).
This season, they face far fewer- the regular season schedule includes only Ben Roethlisberger, Russell Wilson, andPeyton Manning among top quarterbacks, and that plus an improved secondary bodes well for the Ravens pass defense. While the Ravens don't back down from a challenge, and would likely prefer to be battle tested against top quarterbacks in the regular season, this should help a Ravens team already strong against the run finish in the top 10 defenses this season.