The Baltimore Ravens are a team in the national football league. They are in the AFC North division, along with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns, and Cincinnati Bengals. This article is being written after week 7, right now, the Ravens are 5-2, the Steelers are 4-2, the Browns are 4-2, and the Bengals are 3-3. The Ravens currently lead the division and are tied for the second-best record in the AFC with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Kansas City Chiefs, and the Miami Dolphins. In this article we will break down each of the Raven’s games this season so far.
Kicking off the 2023 NFL season, the Ravens hosted the Houston Texans, a team with the 2nd and 3rd overall picks in the 2023 draft. The Texans drafted quarterback CJ Stroud, out of Ohio State, with the second overall pick. Everyone was excited to see the rookie play his first game in the NFL. During the offseason, the ravens made a lot of moves. They signed quarterback Lamar Jackson to a 5 year, 260-million-dollar contract. Also, they signed veteran wide receiver Odell Beckam Jr, who was making his return to the NFL this season. In the 2023 draft, the ravens selected wide receiver Zay Flowers, out of Boston College. He looked like a stud and the Ravens seemed to have a exciting season ahead of them. The Ravens went on to win this game 25-9, but during the game, they suffered a lot of injuries. The worst of the injuries was to running back J.K dobbins, who tore his achilles, ending his season in just the first game. Everyone on the ravens played just a mediocre first game, there is still a lot of work to be done.
In week 2, the ravens traveled to Cincinnati to face their division rivals, the Bengals. Every game against division opponents is very important in the NFL, and the Bengals eliminated the ravens from the playoffs in the 2022 season, so the ravens really wanted this win. Baltimore got off to a great start, scoring a touchdown on the first drive of the game. The Ravens were leading at halftime, but the Bengal’s were close behind. The 2nd half of the game went back and forth, but the Ravens came out on top, with a final score of 27-24. Some of the top performers in this game were safety Geno Stone, who came up with a huge interception in the 4th quarter, and tight end Mark Andrews, who had 5 catches and a touchdown. The Ravens headed back home to Baltimore for what they thought would be an easy matchup in week 3.
The Ravens were back in Baltimore for their week 3 matchup against the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts drafted QB Anthony Richarson with the 4th overall pick in the 2023 draft. In week 2, Anothony went down with a concussion, so he was ruled out for the matchup against the Ravens. That meant the backup Gardner Minshew would be getting the start. The Colts are not a very good team, and with their QB out, this should’ve been an easy win for the Ravens. Baltimore was up 7-0 in the first quarter, but then went into halftime losing 10-7. In 4th quarter ended in a 19-19 tie. The Ravens then lost the game 22-19 in overtime. This was a terrible lose for the ravens. The defense played fine, but the offense needed to step up.
The ravens started their 3-week road trip starting in week 4, against the Cleveland Browns. The Browns are in the Ravens division, so this was an important matchup. The Browns are historically the worst team in our division. Baltimore bounced back from last week, winning 28-3. The defense played an amazing game, only allowing a field goal the entire game. Tight end Mark Andrews had a great game, catching two touchdown passes. This was a great win after a very embarrassing loss in week 3.
In week 5, the Ravens traveled to play their biggest rival, the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Ravens Steelers rivalry is arguably the biggest rivalry in the NFL, so no matter what when these 2 plays, it is always a close game. Baltimore was up 10-0 in the first half. The Steelers have one of the best defenses in the league, so putting up 10 points and holding them to none was very good. After the half, everything went downhill. The Steelers kept cutting down are lead, until they finally took the lead and won the game 17-10. The Raven’s receiving core is what sold us this game. They hadn’t dropped a pass the entire season, and this game they dropped multiple passes, including some in the endzone. They could’ve easily won this game, but unfortunately lost making their record 3-2.
For week 6, the team traveled all the way to the United Kingdom to play. The NFL is trying to expand the league to a wider audience, so they hold a couple of games in Europe every year. They pick a random team to play overseas each season, and the Ravens got picked to play against the Tennessee Titans. The Titans signed star wide receiver Deandre Hopkins over the offseason, adding a big piece to their offense. Baltimore took a big 18-3 lead in the first half. The Ravens defense kept playing a great game, going on to get their first international win, with a final score of 24-16. Rookie receiver Zay Flowers had his best game yet, with 6 receptions for 50 yards, and a touchdown. Now the Ravens traveled back to Baltimore to play their hardest game of the season so far.
The Ravens hosted the 5-1 Detroit Lions in week 7, who are one of the hottest teams in the league right now. Detroit made a big statement by beating the reigning 2023 Super Bowl champs, the Kansas City Chiefs, in week 1. This game was a huge test for the Ravens, because before this game they hadn’t played any elite teams, and everyone didn’t know if the Ravens were actually a great team. The Ravens proved all the doubters wrong, making a huge statement in this game. Baltimore won 38-6. This was an amazing win and showed that they are an elite team. Lamar Jackson played arguably one of his best games ever, throwing for 357 yards and rushing for one touchdown, and also threw 3 touchdowns.
Baltimore is now sitting at 5-2, and looking great. It looks to be an exciting season ahead for them!
