It could be a long, hard climb for the Ravens to get back atop the AFC, especially with the way the upper-echelon teams have built their rosters.
The Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills, and Kansas City Chiefs all have hired-powered, explosive offenses that keep opponents on their heels.
The Ravens had trouble with big plays last season — they couldn’t create them and they couldn’t stop them.
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow was especially problematic for the Ravens, throwing for 941 yards with seven touchdowns in just two games.
Burrow is in his second year and will only get better and the Ravens are going to need to adjust to knock the Bengals from their perch atop of the AFC North.
However, the rest of the AFC could be a notch below the Ravens. The Steelers and Browns could be looking for a new quarterback in the next year or two, so they are also facing some uncertain futures.
John Harbaugh parted ways with defensive coordinator Don Martindale after the season. The responsibility will be on the new defensive coordinator to shut down the aggressive attacks of the AFC.
[Related: Kris Richard Could Bring Change to Ravens Defense]
Last season, Baltimore had myriad injuries and finished with 19 players on Injured Reserve. Safety Chuck Clark was the only remaining starter in the secondary healthy by the end of the season.
Cornerback Marcus Peters suffered a season-ending knee injury in training camp and that immediately posed a huge challenge for the Ravens.
Fellow cornerback Marlon Humphrey was largely inconsistent before season-ending torn pectoral muscle Week 13 against the Steelers. Humphrey managed just one interception over 15 games.
As a result, Baltimore finished last season ranked 32nd against the pass, allowing a franchise record 278.9 yards per game.
They gave up an NFL-high 16 plays of 40 or more yards passing. The Ravens finished 25th in yards allowed, which was their lowest mark in almost a quarter of a century.
“With the injuries, I can say that’s probably a key part that changed our minds about a lot of things, but at the same time, you never know how the season would have played out, you never know what the coaches would have called, what they would have preferred,” linebacker Patrick Queen said. “So, you could have said we blitzed more, we probably would have blitzed less than what we did.
“You never know with just how the season played out and all the teams that we had to play, and [if] we would have had key matchups; it’s tough to say. So, we’ll have a plan next year, for sure, with all the guys coming back.”
The Ravens also need to add depth because several players in the secondary are free agents, including cornerback Jimmy Smith, Chris Westry and Anthony Averett, along with safeties DeShon Elliott, Geno Stone and Anthony Levine.
As a result, Baltimore GM Eric DeCosta might have to overhaul the secondary.
One interesting candidate for the new defensive coordinator is Cowboys secondary coach Joe Whitt. This past season, Dallas led the NFL with 26 interceptions.
The Ravens had just nine interceptions this past season, which ranked near the bottom of the NFL. Only the Bears, Jaguars, Jets and Raiders had fewer interceptions.
Baltimore also needs to boost its pass rush to help the back end of the defense. The Ravens struggled to get to the quarterback and this put the entire defense under pressure for much of the season.
The offense struggled with Lamar Jackson sidelined for five games because of an illness and ankle bruise. The Ravens also lost three running backs on their depth chart in training camp but still managed to have one of the league’s top rushing attacks.
However. the Ravens struggled to make explosive plays downfield and the offensive line allowed 57 sacks, which was the second-most in the league behind the Chicago Bears (58).
The Ravens will ideally be healthier next season and can get back to their winning ways.
However, there are questions surrounding this roster, and DeCosta has already started delving into the changes.
