Can the Baltimore Ravens Prevent a 1-5 Start to 2025?
This is not where Baltimore thought they would be. This is not where anyone expected Baltimore to be. Before the season began, the Ravens were favored to win the AFC North and were considered near favorites to win the AFC Championship and even the Super Bowl. However, after a win over the Browns and losses to the Bills, Lions, Chiefs, and Texans, the 1-4 Ravens are looking to get back into the win column before their Week Seven bye. Unfortunately, the only things standing in their way are coaching hiccups, a slew of injuries, and the 3-2 Los Angeles Rams.
Some Ravens Return, Others Stay Sidelined
The Week Four 37-20 loss to Kansas City felt like a massacre. The offense was non-existent after the first drive, and the defense was essentially Swiss cheese to Patrick Mahomes, who threw four touchdowns in a game for the first time in almost two years. The game featured early departures from LT Ronnie Stanley, CB Marlon Humphrey, LB Roquan Smith, CB Nate Wiggins, and QB Lamar Jackson, who suffered game-ending injuries. Later in the week, CB Chidobe Awuzie and S Kyle Hamilton would appear on the injury report due to a hamstring and groin injury, respectively. In Week Five, Wiggins would be the only one from the bunch to play in the 44-10 loss to Houston. Hamilton and Stanley would return to practice on Wednesday, with Humphrey and Patrick Ricard returning on Thursday, where the latter would make his first practice appearance since suffering a calf injury in training camp. Not even mentioning Nnamdi Madubuike’s season-ending neck injury, the Ravens seem to expect Smith, Jackson, and Awuzie to sit in the final game before the bye to be healthier for the Week Eight matchup versus the Bears.
With three all but ruled out, and many more who were not mentioned above limited, the offense is expected to be led by Cooper Rush at QB, who threw three interceptions against the Texans, and RB Derrick Henry will try to bounce back after four consecutive games of mediocrity. On the other side of the ball, Hamilton looks to return to the field with former Notre Dame teammate Alohi Gilman joining the team via the trade that sent Odafe Oweh to the Chargers. However, the Ravens will rely on CB Jaire Alexander, second-year CB T.J. Tampa, and undrafted rookie CB Keyon Martin to cover the outside, with veteran Kyle Van Noy and rookies Mike Green and Teddye Buchanan holding down part of the front seven.
Offensive Powerhouse vs. Powerless Defense
If both teams were fully healthy, this game would probably be titled in Baltimore’s favor. However, after the game featuring the movable object in the Ravens' defense versus the presumed stoppable force of the Houston offense, Houston dominated in a big way, showing the entire NFL that the Ravens are not as scary as they have been in recent years. Moving on and looking forward to the Rams, Baltimore must contain Matt Stafford, Kyren Williams, Davante Adams, and the NFL’s leading receiver, who is on pace to break 2,000 yards, Puka Nacua. The task is tall, but the motto of the NFL is “Any Given Sunday,” and this Sunday could be that day.
Matt Stafford is averaging 24 completions on 36 attempts for 300 yards per game so far in 2025, and the Ravens are allowing 262 pass yards and almost three passing touchdowns per game, allowing four pass touchdowns in back-to-back matchups. The key here, like all games, is to rush the QB, which is something the Ravens have struggled to do all season. Now that Odafe Oweh is in LA and Madubuike is done for the year, Mike Green, Kyle Van Noy, David Ojabo, and Aeneas Pebbles are responsible for keeping Stafford from escaping or having more than three seconds in the pocket. Another thing to watch is the secondary play. With Hamilton back in the mix, the defense should play at a higher level than what fans saw last Sunday. As for who matches up directly across from Nacua, the duties will probably be split among Hamilton, Alexander, and Humphrey if the latter plays, based on where Nacua lines up.
Offense Without Lamar
The Ravens should not disregard or disrespect the skill and abilities of Kyren Williams or Davante Adams, but the Rams are so talented on both sides of the ball. More so, the Rams have two stellar pass rushers in Jared Verse and Byron Young. Three offensive tackles for Baltimore were limited in practice on Wednesday, but were listed as full participants on Thursday. The run game led by Derrick Henry must be a focal point on Sunday versus the Rams if the Ravens want to stay competitive. After recording 169 yards and two touchdowns in Week One, Henry rushed for 148 yards and two touchdowns in the next four games combined. This comes down to the game plan, play calls, and overall execution, but Cooper Rush must be able to sprinkle in successful pass plays if the Ravens want to string together successful plays and drives.
Final Prediction
I don’t want to make a prediction. The Rams are a better team than the Texans, and the Ravens have not been playing up to their standard, resulting in Kyle Hamilton calling fans “spoiled”, and I agree. Ravens fans are spoiled to have a QB like Lamar, a historical defense, and a future Hall of Famer in Derrick Henry. With that in mind, and looking at the facts, in my opinion, the Ravens have too many points of emphasis to focus on this week; it feels inevitable that something will slip through the cracks. Granted, I have no room to speak. I am barely six feet tall and haven’t played football since high school, so I cannot judge the actions that take place behind the closed doors of the Under Armour Performance Center. I don’t want to call this a blowout brewing, but the rain may not be the only thing to fall in Baltimore on Sunday.
