The NFL season is different for every team each year. Some teams live up to the expectations they’ve set for themselves, while others fall short. And the unfortunate reality is only one team gets to call themselves Super Bowl champions at the end of the season. From the evolution of Lamar Jackson as a passer to the hard-hitting development of the defense, the Baltimore Ravens’ season was filled with plenty of highs and the team seemed to be peaking at the right time. But once again, the Ravens are dealing with the aftermath of a disappointing playoff loss where they lost the turnover battle 3-0 and failed to make enough key plays when it mattered. While they fell short of their ultimate goal, the Ravens showcased their talent, determination, and growth throughout the season, showing they can hang with the league’s best teams. As the Ravens set their sights on the future, this offseason should serve as both a crucial stepping stone and a blueprint for overcoming the hurdles that have held them back in recent seasons. With the right adjustments, Baltimore can emerge from the lessons learned and return even stronger in 2025 and beyond.
Though obvious, the first area to focus on is extremely important: the turnover battle. During the regular season, the Ravens were one of the best teams in the league in this regard. Lamar Jackson had his best season ever, throwing 41 touchdowns to just four interceptions. However, in the game that mattered most, Jackson had two costly turnovers. While most of Jackson’s turnovers in the regular season came from the opposing defense making plays on the ball, he is much more to blame for the two turnovers against Buffalo, plain and simple. But Jackson isn’t the only one to blame. The fumble by Mark Andrews was a perfect example of trying to do too much with the ball. He had a comfortable first down on 2nd-and-11, but instead of securing the play, he lost control of the ball after attempting a half-hearted spin move. For Ravens fans, this play brings back too many painful memories, such as the Zay Flowers fumble in last year’s AFC Championship game. In each case, it feels like players are trying to make a play when it isn’t necessary – only for it to end disastrously. While the Ravens are used to making those flashy plays, those plays are much riskier against other Super Bowl-contending teams. As it’s been said many times before: turnovers hurt you twice as much in the playoffs. If the Ravens want to have serious intentions of making a deep postseason run, then – as simple as this sounds – they need to learn how to continuously protect the football.
Another important lesson that the Ravens can take from this season is the importance of making adjustments when necessary. At the start of the year, new defensive coordinator Zach Orr, and the Ravens defense faced significant criticism for not living up to the standard of Ravens football. The defense ranked near last in yards allowed per catch and appeared to be a major liability for one of the best offenses in the league. In their toughest moment, Orr made the decision to move Kyle Hamilton back to deep safety and replace Marcus Williams with Ar’Darius Washington. After these changes, almost overnight, it felt like the defense started playing back up to the Ravens’ standard. This same philosophy can be applied to the offense: when things aren’t working out, don’t get discouraged—make adjustments to find what works. Looking back at the divisional game against the Bills, this mentality could have been useful. It seemed like the Ravens’ running game was stifled early on, and they didn’t return to it until it was too late. This marks the second consecutive year where the Ravens’ offense has struggled because they couldn’t adjust the game plan after being challenged early on. The reality for the Baltimore Ravens and Todd Monken is – they have to be willing to adjust in the postseason before it’s too late. Whether it was 6 carries for players not named Lamar Jackson in the 2023 AFC championship game, or going back to the run significantly too late in the divisional round most recently – they have to show a better capability of adjusting when it matters.
The Ravens are consistently a playoff-contending team. Kyle Hamilton has repeatedly stated that he believes the Ravens don’t need any additional weapons. However, raw talent can only take a team so far in the NFL. If the Ravens want to achieve more than just being playoff contenders, they need to learn from their past mistakes. As the saying goes, those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Unfortunately, this is exactly what we’ve seen from the Ravens in each of their recent playoff losses.
