Since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, there have been just four teams to start the season 1-5 and make the postseason.
The Ravens want to become the fifth — joining the 1970 Bengals, 2015 Chiefs, 2018 Colts, and Washington in 2020.
The odds, clearly, are not great. But with a bye-week reset, head coach Jim Harbaugh noted on Monday that the Ravens have a clear goal in mind now for the rest of the season.
“Our focus is going forward and what we can accomplish for the next 11 games to try to earn our way into the playoffs, which obviously, as [it was] pointed out last night, has not been done very often with the record we have,” Harbaugh said in his press conference. “But, we still believe we can do it.”
The biggest reason why? The anticipated return of quarterback Lamar Jackson in Week 8 after the team’s bye.
“I’m leaning into [Jackson’s return] pretty hard,” Harbaugh said. “If I was on the couch with a psychiatrist right now, if I was spilling it, I would have to say I’m leaning really hard into that, really hard. For any kind of psychological wellbeing, spiritual wellbeing, I’m leaning hard on that happening. So, I’m very hopeful that that happens.”
But aside from that, Harbaugh believes in the veterans on the team to provide the leadership needed to rebound from this year’s poor start.
“I believe in our guys. I really like our guys. I have great respect for our guys,” Harbaugh said. “Our guys are really special people, and if you looked at every one of those guys that you’re talking about — the veteran leaders — you could see why I would say that. But, we’re working on that, because when you face adversity like this in football — just like in life, we say [that] all the time but — it’s true, and that’s why you asked the question, because we all live our lives; it’s something you have to really be intentional about, and you have to talk to people about and ask them how they’re doing and see what they’re thinking, what they can do, what they think they can do, what they think needs to be done, what the best ways to say things or to approach things and try to help with that as much as you can when you’re in this kind of position.
“That’s what I try to do. It’s really important to try to do that, so I feel like we’re going to get great, great veteran leadership; I believe that, and we’re going to have to, to your point. Nothing is going to be more important than that.”
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh told reporters after Sunday’s loss to the Rams that the club was planning to have quarterback Lamar Jackson back for the team’s Week 8, post-bye matchup against the Bears.
But before that, the Ravens played both Cooper Rush and Tyler Huntley yesterday. And even though Rush played the first three quarters before Huntley came in as relief, that was apparently not supposed to be the case.
“My plan was to play both throughout the course of the game,” Harbaugh said in his postgame press conference. “As we went through the game, as you feel the game, when you make a change, it wasn’t going to be necessarily a change. It was going to be Cooper then Tyler; it could have been Tyler, then Cooper again. It could have been any one of those things.
“[With] the way the first half went, it didn’t seem to be a moment to bring him out. [During the] second half, we had a drive going, and then we turned it over. So, I think you could say that, maybe, but I don’t necessarily think there was an obvious moment to do that. But the plan all along was to play both quarterbacks.”
Rush was ineffective, going 11-of-19 for 72 yards with one interception. Huntley helped move the ball better, going 10-of-15 for 68 yards. Plus, Huntley rushed three times for 39 yards.
But either way, the Ravens did not score after their opening possession in the first quarter.
The Ravens are perhaps the NFL’s most disappointing team this season, with a 1-5 record through Week Six. But after their bye in Week Seven, they have reasons for optimism about turning things around starting in Week Eight.
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said after today’s loss to the Rams that he expects starting quarterback Lamar Jackson and middle linebacker Roquan Smith to return after the bye and play in Week Eight against the Bears.
“We’re going to have healthy players back. Our quarterback’s going to be back. That’s a big one. Our middle linebacker will be back,” Harbaugh said.
Harbaugh acknowledged that it’s not easy to make the playoffs after a 1-5 start, but he expressed confidence that the Ravens team we’ll see for the remaining 11 games of the season will be significantly better than the Ravens team we’ve seen for the first six games of the season. Perhaps enough better to make some noise in the postseason.
The Rams got off to a slow start in Baltimore, but put together a nice second half to bounce back with a 17-3 victory over the Ravens.
While Los Angeles scored both of its touchdowns in quick succession early in the third quarter, the game’s turning point may have come late in the second period. The Rams’ defense stuffed tush-push attempts by the Ravens with Mark Andrews handling the ball on second- and third-and-goal from the 1-yard line. Then Derrick Henry was stopped behind the line of scrimmage on fourth-and-goal at the 1, keeping the game tied 3-3 at halftime.
The Rams then took a 10-3 lead at the start of the second half, with Kyren Williams making a deep catch on fourth-and-3 to move the chains before taking in a 3-yard touchdown.
On the ensuing drive, a Zay Flowers fumble gave the Rams the ball back at the Baltimore 21. It took just two plays for the Rams to get in the end zone again, this time with a Matthew Stafford 8-yard pass to Tyler Higbee.
That was Stafford’s 12th passing touchdown of the season.
Stafford finished the contest 17-of-26 for 181 yards with a touchdown.
Puka Nacua caught just two passes for 28 yards. He had to exit the game in the first half with a foot injury, but did come back into the game for a few snaps in the final 30 minutes.
The Ravens were able to get some things going with running back Derrick Henry, who finished the contest with 122 yards on 24 carries. But Cooper Rush — making his second consecutive start for an injured Lamar Jackson — was so ineffective that the Ravens put in Tyler Huntley early in the fourth quarter.
Though Baltimore moved the ball with Huntley, the club didn’t fare much better. Huntley drove the Ravens down into the red zone, but an incomplete pass on fourth-and-10 from the 15 resulted in a turnover on downs.
The Ravens were stopped on downs again on their final possession.
Huntley ended his day 10-of-15 for 68 yards. He also rushed for 39 yards on three attempts. But he was sacked four times in two possessions.
Rush was 11-of-19 for 72 yards with an interception.
Flowers caught six passes for 46 yards but also had two fumbles.
With the win, the Rams are now 4-2. They will spend the next several days in Baltimore before heading to London to take on the Jaguars in Week 7.
The Ravens are now 1-5 and reeling as they head into their Week 7 bye. But quarterback Lamar Jackson may be back from his hamstring injury when Baltimore plays Chicago in Week 8.
Cooper Rush is out. Tyler Huntley is in.
Down 17-3 and in need of an offensive spark, the Ravens have switched quarterbacks early in the fourth quarter.
Rush was 11-of-19 for 72 yards with an interception.
Huntley has appeared in 20 career games with nine starts for Baltimore over the course of his career. Huntley was even a Pro Bowler for the Ravens in 2022.
We’ll see if he makes a difference as Baltimore has one quarter before a Week 7 bye.
