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The bye week is here in Baltimore. What a relief.

After entering the season with Super Bowl expectations, the Ravens are 1-5 and 3 1/2 games out of first place in the AFC North. According to ESPN’s Football Power Index, they have only a 16.5% chance of winning their third straight division title and only a 25.2% chance of making the playoffs.

With quarterback Lamar Jackson, inside linebacker Roquan Smith and other key contributors poised to return, there’s still hope for a turnaround. But it’s fading fast.

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Here’s what reporters Jonas Shaffer and Giana Han and columnist Kyle Goon make of the team ahead of a potentially season-altering stretch.

Besides Lamar Jackson’s health and their 1-5 record, what’s the Ravens’ most pressing issue?

Shaffer: What’s happened to this team’s player development? Arguably the only veteran contributors who’ve taken a clear step forward since last season are Nnamdi Madubuike, who won’t play another snap this year; Nate Wiggins; and Jordan Stout. Even a well-regarded rookie like Malaki Starks, whom coaches say never makes the same mistake twice, seems to make a handful of mistakes every week. The Ravens will need Jackson to put on a cape if they have any hope of reaching the playoffs, but the team he helped carry to an AFC North title last season looked a lot more competent than this one has.

Han: There is no pass rush left. Every aspect of the defense works together, so if there’s no pass rush, the secondary will struggle as well. Part of it is bad luck. How were the Ravens to know that, right after trading Odafe Oweh, Tavius Robinson would get hurt? They probably didn’t expect Adisa Isaac’s injury to come back to bite them. And, of course, the loss of Nnamdi Madubuike is far-reaching. But, even with all those guys present, the pass rush was struggling. And this offense hasn’t been good enough to win shootouts when the defense struggles.

Goon: I said it a few weeks ago, and it’s only gotten worse since — a decimated defensive front that will struggle to stop the run. The foundation of a great defense is making the opponent one-dimensional, but the Ravens don’t have the personnel to do that right now. They’re 26th in run yards allowed and are giving up 4.5 yards per carry. Missing Nnamdi Madubuike for the year, Tavius Robinson for the next two months and trading Odafe Oweh leave the front fangs of this defense looking a little too blunt. The short-yardage situations on second and third downs keep Baltimore’s healthy pass rushers from teeing off. It feels as if the Ravens will need to resort to gimmicks to get any QB pressure for the rest of the year, a problem which is rooted in how porous they are against the run.

Ravens player Daniel Faalele, left, watches as teammate Derrick Henry, bottom center, gets tackled by Rams players Josiah Stewart, bottom and Tyler Davis, right, during the third quarter at M&T Bank Stadium on October 12, 2025.
Ravens guard Daniel Faalele, left, watches as Rams defenders take down running back Derrick Henry. (Kaitlin Newman/The Banner)

Which unit has been the team’s most disappointing?

Shaffer: It’s hard to pick between the Ravens’ lines. The offensive line returned four of five starters from a group that looked like one of the NFL’s better fronts near the end of last season. But every starter has disappointed, and it’s hard to imagine Jackson will feel comfortable when he returns. The defensive line’s falloff has been steeper, with one of the NFL’s best run defenses turning into a sieve for stretches this season. The Ravens can at least blame injuries there, but no one expected C.J. Okoye to turn into a more reliable piece up front than Broderick Washington. Travis Jones’ contract year breakout hasn’t happened, either.

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Han: This offseason was full of praise and high expectations for the secondary. And then the Ravens gave up almost 400 yards through the air in their first game. Although those numbers have dropped, partially because teams have found so much success in the run game, the secondary has been responsible for a few big plays or pass-interference penalties per game. I have faith these young players will grow and that Kyle Hamilton can right the ship, but I have not been dazzled the way I expected to be.

Goon: The run game. I don’t understand how a team with a healthy Derrick Henry can’t chew up 100 yards on the ground. Even when Lamar Jackson was healthy, the Ravens struggled to run after romping in Buffalo in Week 1. The blame feels like a mixture of offensive line regression — how did Daniel Faalele take this many steps back after becoming at least somewhat respectable last year? — Henry’s fumbling issues and head-scratching play-calling. This team should be able to grind out games on the ground. But, especially with disappointments on short yardage and in the red zone, the Ravens haven’t been the overwhelming force they were just last season with most of the same cast.

Which unit will make the biggest jump after the bye?

Shaffer: Over the next couple of weeks, the Ravens should get one of the NFL’s best running quarterbacks (Jackson) and one of the NFL’s best fullbacks (Patrick Ricard) back. If coach John Harbaugh’s unhappy with his guard play, the Ravens might also get a shakeup along the offensive line that could diversify their running game. Any offense with Jackson, Derrick Henry, Justice Hill and Keaton Mitchell in the backfield should have a floor as a top-10 rushing attack, and the bet here is that the Ravens figure things out after the bye.

Han: To build on my last response, I think the secondary has potential. It’s had a lot of players sidelined by injury, and it should return to health. Getting Pro Bowl inside linebacker Roquan Smith back should also help, because the spine of the defense runs through him, and it’s currently running through a rookie, Teddye Buchanan. The addition of safety Alohi Gilman also gives Zach Orr and Chuck Pagano flexibility with what they can do. Hamilton and Marlon Humphrey will get healthier, and Nate Wiggins and Malaki Starks will improve with experience.

Goon: Umm, is it too obvious to say quarterback? Pro Bowl-caliber receivers have gone underutilized in the past three weeks, and that has a lot to do with Cooper Rush throwing the football. A healthy Jackson makes a night-and-day difference, and if the line can protect him, the Ravens’ anemic passing offense should come alive at last.

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How aggressive should the Ravens be as buyers or sellers ahead of the Nov. 4 trade deadline?

Shaffer: This team does not have a Super Bowl-caliber defense, and I don’t think Eric DeCosta will be willing to part with the draft capital needed to rebuild it into a Super Bowl-caliber defense. (It’s not like teams are in the business of trading away game-wrecking pass rushers, anyway.) If the Ravens win their next two games and enter the trade deadline within two or three games of the Steelers, DeCosta should be willing to offload a top-100 pick for a solid defensive starter. And if they lose their next two games? Start the clock on the 2026 rebuild as soon as possible by trading expendable veterans. This team is too talented and this franchise is too proud to entertain the possibility of a full-on tank, but if Harbaugh’s job is indeed safe this offseason, he can start to earn back equity with the fan base by righting the ship.

Han: Are the Ravens still going for a Super Bowl? The chances are slim, but they’re not nothing, and this isn’t a franchise that likes to give up. They Ravens are constrained by the salary cap, so they can’t be too aggressive as buyers unless they’re willing to give up draft picks — which they usually aren’t. But, if they want to start building for next year, they should be aggressive as sellers, getting rid of expiring contracts and adding young talent or draft picks so they can go for another championship before Jackson hits 30.

Goon: I’m on the record here as saying Eric DeCosta needs to wait and see. This risk-averse front office will undoubtedly be scouring for defensive line and outside linebacker help, but probably at a low cost, if not a free-agent pickup. There are two games — at home against the Bears and on the road against the Dolphins — before the trade deadline. If the Ravens can’t go 2-0 against those teams without additional help, this season isn’t worth the cost of a strenuous recovery effort. It’s better to keep the powder dry on the team’s draft picks and attack next season with as many assets as possible.

Ravens wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins greets fans ahead of the game against the Rams at M&T Bank Stadium on October 12, 2025.
Ravens wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins greets fans before Sunday’s game at M&T Bank Stadium. (Kaitlin Newman/The Banner)

What are the odds the Ravens make the playoffs?

Shaffer: 10%. How often does a team with a sack-prone quarterback, a shaky offensive line, a vulnerable run defense, a punchless pass rush and a fan base already bailing on home games finish above .500? Injuries crippled the Ravens throughout their first six weeks, and they’ll probably hit them again at inopportune moments over the next 12 weeks. Even if Jackson comes back fully healthy, solves his sack problem and leads this offense back to its previous towering heights, will that be enough to power the Ravens to nine wins in their final 11 games? They were better on both sides of the ball last year and went just 8-3 in the same stretch.

Han: 33%. The Ravens essentially have room for just one more loss. And, considering this is a team that has played down to its opponents and dropped random games since I’ve been covering them, I think it’s unlikely they win all but one. They have a number of divisional games that can have fluky results on their schedule, plus the Packers. And yet. And yet ... I’m still giving them a chance, because this division is so, so bad. While the Ravens have a relatively easy schedule from here on out, the division-leading Steelers have the Packers, Bills and Chargers, among others, left on their schedule. Maybe, just maybe, they can catch up if they go on a run.

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Goon: 20%. I think I would have still somehow given the Ravens the benefit of the doubt if Sunday’s loss to the Rams had been a little bit more lively. But the listless offense and the increasingly ravaged defense make me doubt the team’s fight and its ability to overcome key injuries. The schedule definitely falls in Baltimore’s favor, and if John Harbaugh can pull a reclamation job like he did in 2015, there’s plenty of talent to win a very weak AFC North. (The Ravens have maybe two more games to bat former Super Bowl hero Joe Flacco around.) But we simply haven’t seen the competitive fire that real contenders have, and the Ravens will need it to jump back in the mix.