The Baltimore Ravens are in the results business, and after being 1-5, the franchise isn’t interested in style points as it pertains to winning football games.
All that matters is winning, because a loss would be devastating to their playoff chances, and against the Cleveland Browns in a 23-16 win, Baltimore was far from stylish.
Lamar Jackson was sacked five times, threw two interceptions, and the offense lost a fumble, yet still found a way to win the game and keep their season alive, despite it not being pretty.
And for CBS Sports’ John Breech, his “C” grade in the win reflects the so-so nature of the game.
“With Lamar Jackson taking a beating in this game (he got sacked five times), the Ravens decided to turn to their rushing attack and that worked wonders against the Browns,” Breech wrote. “Divisional games are unpredictable, so it’s hard to ding the Ravens (5-5) too much for this performance, but with the Steelers, Packers and Patriots still remaining on the schedule, they’re going to have to play better if they want to continue to win.”
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We know that the NFL is a week-to-week league, and for the Ravens, getting to 5-5 is great, but staying in this form is now key.
The schedule still has four division games, coupled with the New England Patriots and the Green Bay Packers, so Ravens fans can’t breathe a sigh of relief yet.
Good work has been done to get the franchise to a position where it can now attack the second half of the season and hopefully punch its ticket to the postseason. Still far from a done deal, the Ravens appear to have things sorted on both sides of the ball, but bigger tests await down the line.
Baltimore is in a good frame of mind after a four-game winning streak, but we know how quickly the football gods can change outcomes.
So tread carefully, Baltimore.
Adam Schultz is a freelance writer at The Sporting News. An Australian journalist with years of experience covering the Dallas Cowboys and the NFL, Adam has interviewed several high-profile athletes in Australia for various sites and brings a unique view on the NFL.