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The majority of national pundits remain high on the Baltimore Ravens after a dominant outing by their defense and despite a sloppy performance on offense by their own admission in a Week 1 win over the Houston Texans. Now, it’s time to see where the team lands among the NFL landscape of power rankings heading into Week 2.
Fox Sports: 6 (Last week: 6)
Nothing about the 25-9 win against Houston was particularly impressive, but maybe that’s the point. It was the first game in a new offensive scheme, and Houston’s pass rush made Lamar Jackson look very uncomfortable. Despite that, the Ravens get the win and the cover. How much does the loss of J.K. Dobbins affect things moving forward?
Draft Network: 6 (Last week: T-7)
The Ravens defeated the lowly Texans on Sunday, but injuries were the story of Week 1 in Baltimore. J.K. Dobbins is out for the year after tearing his Achilles. Safety Marcus Williams will miss time with a pectoral injury and could be sidelined for the entire season. Offensive linemen Ronnie Stanley and Tyler Linderbaum are week-to-week. And a quad injury kept Mark Andrews from suiting up against Houston.
ESPN: 6 (Last week: 8)
The 2023 No. 22 overall pick lived up to the hype in Week 1. He not only set a Ravens record for most catches in a debut, but he dazzled with shifty moves in the open field. Flowers’ 54 yards after the catch were the second most in a rookie wide receiver’s first career game since 2020. With tight end Mark Andrews sidelined with a quad injury, Flowers became Lamar Jackson’s go-to target, accounting for over half of Jackson’s 17 completions. He was one of the few bright spots for an underwhelming performance by Baltimore’s new-look offense.
CBS Sports: 6 (Last week: 8)
The new-look offense wasn’t quite as dominant in the first game against the Texans as some expected, but it did some good things. Losing running back J.K. Dobbins with a torn Achilles tendon is a big blow.
Sportsnaut: 6 (Last Week: 8)
There are plenty of things that the Baltimore Ravens offense needs to work out, but that’s to be expected considering the new personnel and the change in play-caller. Baltimore’s defense looks as good as it did in the second half of the 2022 season and when you pair that with an elite quarterback, you’ve got one of the best NFL teams. Of course, the Ravens could tumble down the NFL power rankings quickly if the injuries keep piling up on both sides of the ball.
Bleacher Report: 8 (Last week: 9)
The Ravens handling the Houston Texans with relative ease isn’t surprising. Baltimore is considered a Super Bowl contender by some. Houston, um, isn’t. But the Ravens didn’t play especially well in this game. While Head Coach John Harbaugh was proud of his team’s effort level, he told reporters there’s also a lot to work on ahead of next week’s date with the rival Bengals.
The Athletic: 8 (Last week: 6)
Enjoy the top 10, Ravens, because at this rate you may not be able to finish the season. With tight end Mark Andrews out with a quad injury, Baltimore watched as running back J.K. Dobbins tore his Achilles to end his season, safety Marcus Williams left with what The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reported is believed to be a torn pectoral muscle, and offensive linemen Ronnie Stanley (knee) and Tyler Linderbaum (ankle) left the game and didn’t return because of injury.
The Ringer: 8 (Last week: 7)
The Ravens’ defensive and special teams units will, of course, factor into the team’s overall success this year, but it feels like the performance of the offense will be the most important factor.
Sports Illustrated: 9 (Last week: 11)
Silly that we still even have to mention this but, what do you know? Lamar Jackson looks pretty good in a receiver-heavy Ravens offense. The snap counts from Sunday don’t lie: Baltimore’s third and fourth wide receivers out-snapped its second tight end. Will this continue when Mark Andrews comes back? We don’t know. What we do know is that Jackson looked great establishing a quick game and then working defenders high and low. Zay Flowers is going to be a star.
Sporting News: 9 (Last week: 7)
The Ravens unleashed their new pass-happy offense but still ran well despite not involving Lamar Jackson as much and losing J.K. Dobbins again for another season. They still need to worry about their defense being a liability against better offenses.
Yahoo Sports: 10 (Last week: 10)
Injuries are already hitting the Ravens. J.K. Dobbins is out for the season, and they’re going to have to look at veteran options to replace him. Safety Marcus Williams and offensive linemen Ronnie Stanley and Tyler Linderbaum left Sunday’s game with injuries. Tight end Mark Andrews missed Sunday’s game. It’s not great to have injuries piling up this early.
NFL.com: 10 (Last week: 7)
Even without Mark Andrews in Week 1, expectations for the new offense were higher than what the Ravens produced against the Texans. It wasn’t bad, mind you, but it’s clear Baltimore is still adjusting to new offensive coordinator Todd Monken’s system. What was bad: losing three offensive players to injury in the game. We already know RB J.K. Dobbins is done for the year with an Achilles tear, while OLs Ronnie Stanley (knee) and Tyler Linderbaum (ankle) are considered week to week, per head coach John Harbaugh. Even if the latter two are ultimately not long-term worries, the setbacks compounded an underwhelming opening offensive performance. The pieces are there for Baltimore to be dangerous on that side of the ball, as first-round pick Zay Flowers had a strong debut and Lamar Jackson flashed occasional magic. But the room for improvement is obvious.
Sharp Football Analysis: 10 (Last week: 6)
It was a win, but Baltimore committed 13 penalties in what was a sloppy offensive showing. They also lost J.K. Dobbins for the season, Marcus Williams to a long-term injury, and two starters on the offensive line. The emergence of Zay Flowers was promising, but the offense will need to play better against the Bengals this week.
USA Today: 11 (Last week: 8)
Given QB Lamar Jackson didn’t take a preseason snap, little surprise an entirely new offense failed to impress. But the primary worry is the amount of injuries Baltimore has already sustained – TE Mark Andrews, LT Ronnie Stanley, C Tyler Linderbaum, S Marcus Williams and, worst, RB J.K. Dobbins, who’s gone for the year with an Achilles injury.
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