NFL Power Rankings: Are Baltimore Ravens Still a Top-10 Team After Pittsburgh Steelers Loss?
Where do the Baltimore Ravens belong in the power rankings following their 17-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers?
According to the latest rankings via Sports Illustrated's Connor Orr, the Ravens are still viewed as a top-10 team in the league, even with their 3-2 record that has them ranked at No. 8, ahead of the one-loss Seattle Seahawks.
"The Ravens had this one in the bag," Orr wrote about the Ravens following Week 5. "There were so many once-in-a-blue-moon hiccups, especially with the way Lamar Jackson was reading his receivers’ intentions, or simply receiver drops. I wouldn’t read too much into it. Baltimore is still generating turnover-worthy, free-runner blitzes every game. Jackson looks more comfortable and full of options than he ever has."
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson
USA Today
Those same options that Orr mentions also potentially cost the Ravens a win on Sunday versus the Steelers. As the article notes, "hiccups" were a big issue for Baltimore, none being bigger than the seven drops that plagued them offensively.
The Ravens' 15-play scoring drive in the second quarter saw them add to their lead with a field goal to go up 10-0 was just an example of how they potentially left points on the board.
With the Ravens deep in Pittsburgh territory, at the four-yard-line, Jackson fired two incompletions in a row, one to tight end Mark Andrews that went right through his hands, then the second to Rashod Bateman, which was dropped. Both of those throws from Jackson were into the endzone and would've resulted in a touchdown had it not been for the "hiccups."
However, that was just the beginning, as the Ravens suffered five more dropped passes afterward, all of which contributed to the Steelers overcoming the 10-0 deficit with a 14-point fourth quarter.
