The Ravens have played 328 games in franchise history. They are 183-144-1 in those games. Only four of those games have been played without Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, or Terrell Suggs on the field. Four out of three hundred twenty eight. Let that sink in. The last time the Ravens played a game without either of those three was October 11, 1998, a game the Ravens lost to the Tennessee Oilers 12-8. This means that at least one of those future Hall of Famers graced our presence every game from 1999-2014. Today’s Flashback Friday revisits that period and shows just how dominant the Ravens’ defense was last 16 years.
Between the years 1999 through 2014 the Ravens defense gave up, on average, 16.5 points per game, which was the best in the NFL during that stretch. The Pittsburgh Steelers came in a very close second, as seen in the table below. More than half the teams in the NFL have failed to produce a single-season defense that held opponents to less than 16.5 points per game over the course of the last 15 years, let alone do it for better than a decade and a half. There are fifteen teams that had a single-season defense hold opponents to less than 16.5 points per game over the past 16 years. Only a handful of them have done it in multiple seasons (PIT, NE, CHI, TB, MIA). The Ravens have averaged it for 16 straight seasons.
The Ravens’ defense also recorded 10 shutouts during that timeframe, including four during their record-breaking defensive season in 2000. The Ravens finished with a top 10 defense in 12 out of those 16 years (2002, 2007, 2012, and 2013 were the only years they didn’t). 12 out of 16 years is tops in the NFL. The New England Patriots came in second with 11 out of 16 years (Brady only won four Super Bowls because of their defense. But shhh, don’t tell anybody). Ironically, the Ravens still won Super Bowl 47 despite having a less-than-stellar defense. ** Waves hello to Joe Flacco’s Super Bowl MVP trophy**
From 1999-2014, Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, and Terrell Suggs combined for 3152 tackles, 160 sacks, 107 interceptions, 48 fumble recoveries, 3 safeties, and 3 blocked punts. That comes to a combined average of 197 tackles, 10 sacks, and 7 interceptions per season. For 16 straight seasons. Now imagine getting that kind of production from your starting middle linebacker, primary pass rusher, and safety consecutively for more than a decade and a half. Those are gaudy numbers, but that was the Ravens way.
That will continue to be the Ravens’ way as well. The torch has been proverbially passed to the younger generation of stars – C.J. Mosley, Brandon Williams, Carl Davis, Jimmy Smith, and others. This is the new breed of defensive Ravens. No one can realistically hope for the Ravens’ defense to put up similar numbers over the course of the next 16 seasons. But if Flacco and the Ravens’ offense have something to say about it, they won’t have to. A flock of ravens (the bird, not the players) is often referred to as an unkindness. That’s exactly what these Ravens intend to continue to be.
