The Ravens rolled onto another winning season led by John Harbaugh. How does Harbaugh and this talented roster continue to be successful?

2020 record: 11-5

  • Division record: 4-2
  • Record against teams with winning records: 4-5 (including playoffs)

The Ravens broke out with a 14-2 record in 2019, and sat atop of the AFC led by the league’s MVP Lamar Jackson. 2020 did not look that much different, as the Ravens smothered teams with their running game and defense.

They were also able to put up 30+ points in half of their regular season games, while holding opponents to 14 points or less in 6 games. The turnovers caused by the feisty Baltimore secondary led by Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters was a key part in putting up all these points

Team Ranks: 

Total Offense 19th (5810 yards)
Passing Offense 32nd (2739 yards)
Rushing Offense 1st (3071 yards)
Total Defense 7th (5276 yards allowed)
Passing Defense 6th (3536 yards allowed)
Rushing Defense 8th (1740 yards allowed)
PPG 7th (29.3)
PPG Allowed 2nd (18.9)
Offensive Line Ranks
PFF 16th
Football Outsiders (Adjusted run yards) 8th (4.59)
Football Outsiders (Adjusted sack rate) 23rd (7.5%)
2020 Offense Play Selection
Pass – 44.1%
Rush – 55.9% (Led NFL)
PFF Top 5 Graded Players in 2020
1. Gus Edwards RB (85.5)
2. Lamar Jackson QB (79.3)
3. Mark Andrews TE (76.5)
4. Marlon Humphrey CB (76.4)
5. Alejandro Villanueva LT (74.9)

Leading Passer: Lamar Jackson 

  • 64.4 completion percentage
  • 2,757 passing yards
  • 26 passing touchdowns

Leading Rusher: Lamar Jackson

  • 1,005 rushing yards
  • 7 rushing touchdowns
  • 6.3 YPC

Leading Receiver: Lamar Jackson (ok fine its Marquise Brown)

  • 769 receiving yards
  • 8 touchdowns
  • 13.3 YPR

Defensive MVP: Marlon Humphrey

  • 11 passes defended
  • 8 forced fumbles
  • 84.3 pass rating when targeted

What doomed them in the playoffs?

This may be the simplest answer to any team’s playoff defeats in 2021. The Ravens could not find the end zone in Buffalo. They actually did have good offensive production, putting up 340 total yards of offense. In comparison, the explosive Buffalo offense had just 220 total yards.

Their best shot at finding the end zone came late in the 3rd quarter when they had the ball at the BUF 9 yard line. Lamar Jackson would find Taron Johnson in the end zone, which is a problem considering he plays for the Bills. Johnson took back this mistake by Jackson back for 6 points and swung all the momentum back on Buffalo’s side.

The dependable Baltimore defense answered the bell, but the even more dependable Justin Tucker did not. Tucker went 1 for 3 in this game with misses from 41 and 46 yards away.  While it was not the main difference maker in this game, it was shocking to see Tucker miss in a big situation.

Story of the season: Ground and pound style continues to flourish

While it was a disappointing ending, the Ravens offense did have another successful season in 2020 led by their rushing attack. They finished with the most team rushing yards in the league for the 2nd season in a row with multiple different rushers to rely on.

They had three different players rush for over 700 yards in Jackson, JK Dobbins, and Gus Edwards. To put this in better context, there were 14 teams last year who did not have one player rush for over 700 yards.

It will be interesting to see if the Ravens tweak their philosophy going forward. They have dominated on the ground since Lamar has been their QB, but have yet to get past the divisional round.