The Ravens Got Knocked Down Yesterday But This Season Is Far From Over

Devastating loss yesterday to say the least. Winning divisional games on the road are a tall task no matter who you’re playing. We had the game right in our hands and just couldn’t finish the game. Almost made the goal line stand when we needed it, almost had the miracle TD when we needed it, and got neither. The Bengals made the big plays and the big flops and we played like garbage for most of the game. Sometimes that’s all it takes to turn the standings upside down. It is what it is.

So we have our work cut out for us now. We’re 5-3 at the halfway point, but essentially a full game behind Cincinnati by virtue of the tie-breaker. I figured we’d be at about 5-3 or 6-2 at this point, so I’m not discouraged. Lost in all of this is that the Ravens still have the highest point differential in the entire league. Granted, we beat up on some crummy teams, but that’s what you’re supposed to do and I won’t apologize for it. You never like losing, but it’s still a better sign to lose by one possession than get blown out, and that’s what the Ravens have done so far. Better yet, we’ve got arbitrary statistics that show how awesome the Ravens are on both sides of the ball.

At the midway point of the season, #Ravens have the second-highest rated offense and top-rated defense, according to @PFF.

— Ryan Mink (@ryanmink) October 27, 2014

That’s nice and all, but 5-3 is 5-3. Which usually doesn’t sound that bad, but this division is completely up for grabs. A monster road game against a suddenly revived Steelers team on Sunday night starts the first of 4 tough road games left on the schedule. And it’d be in our best interests to go 3-1 or 2-2 at the worst if we’re interested in taking the division. I don’t lose sleep over home games because we’ve been so exceptional at home over the years. But our season will be made in those road games. And in my eyes, it really boils down to Joe Flacco and the secondary. Take out the Tampa game and Joe’s been garbage on the road this year. We know what he’s capable of on the road in big games, we just need that Joe to show up and not yesterday’s.

And then we need the secondary to hold up. Jimmy Smith has been playing like a top 5 shutdown corner all season, and his foot sprain is as concerning as losing that game is. Domonique Franks is god awful and can’t be trusted covering anybody in his place. And for whatever reason, we’ve got Will Hill, a pro bowl talent at safety, only taking 12 snaps while Darian Stewart and Matt Elam took a collective 121 snaps. That makes zero sense. BOTH of those guys have played poorly enough to grab a seat, but we can only find 12 snaps for Hill? Fix it Harbs. Fix it now before it’s too late.

I still have faith in this team to win the division. We’re capable of doing great things. The heat’s just turned up a little higher now. We like it that way. Get revved up for Sunday night, because it’s going to be a heavyweight bout.