Ravens Can Fold or Catch Fire in Critical Final Stretch

Despite dropping each of the last two games at home to their top two rivals in the AFC North, the Baltimore Ravens surest path back to the playoffs and winning a record third straight division title remains clear. Win and get in.

This battle-tested team has already proven that it can dig itself out of one hole that felt insurmountable after starting 1-5. They rattled off five straight victories without playing a complete game in all three phases to briefly take the division lead and have a winning record for the first time this season.

Following back-to-back losses to the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers over the past couple of weeks, the Ravens find themselves back below .500. Yet still with their own destiny in their hands, which is more than many other teams around the league can say right now with four games left to play. However, that will quickly change if they don't snap this most recent skid and return home victorious from a rematch with the Bengals in Week 15.

"To say we control our own destiny, that's only if we win," head coach John Harbaugh said. "You have to win to control your destiny. So, that's what we have to do. And it's been that way the last two weeks, and we haven't been able to pull off a win. It was that way the previous four weeks, and we were able to do it."

"So, we need to go win. That's it. We need to win. If you win, then you have a chance to control your destiny. If you don't, then it's going to be out of your hands. It's as simple as that."

Over their final four games, the Ravens face their top two division opponents, and sandwiched in between are a pair of back-to-back primetime games against a pair of teams that are not only currently leading their divisions but are among the league's elite.

After they play the Bengals, they will faceoff with the revamped New England Patriots and co-leading MVP candidate Drake Maye in their final home primetime game of the regular season. On a short week, they'll be traveling to historic Lambeau Field to take on the Green Bay Packers before closing out the season in Pittsburgh with the AFC North crown on the line.

The Ravens have an incredible opportunity emerge as arguably the most dangerous team heading into the postseason if they can run the table. However, given how inconsistent and self-destructive they've shown they can be against quality opponents this year, it's within the realm of possibilities that they could just as easily lose out if they can't find a way to stop being their own worst enemy in key moments and aspects of the game.

Reasons for Pessimism

Baltimore Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely (80) fumbles the ball into the end zone against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 13. — Nov 27, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely (80) attempts to make a catch against the Cincinnati Bengals during the first half at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images | Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

The Ravens only have one win over an opponent with a winning record all season, and it came in Week 8 over the Chicago Bears with a healthy Tyler Huntley under center, fresh out of their bye to keep their season alive.

Instead of sticking with the Pro Bowl reserve who proved he could operate the offense efficiently and without putting the ball in harm's way against a defense that still leads the NFL in takeaways, they reinserted two-time league MVP Lamar Jackson back into the starting lineup, clearly before he was ready.

While the Ravens were able to extend the winning streak that Huntley helped start by rattling off four straight, Jackson has looked like a shell of himself for most of the past six games in more ways than one.

His generational mobility was far from its usual electrifying levels as he dealt with a myriad of other lower extremity injuries, but the most glaring difference and issue with his game has been his shocking inaccuracy and indecisiveness when it comes to passing the ball.

Jackson has consistently missed layup completions that could've gone for chunk gains, over and underthrown wide-open targets for first downs, held the ball for too long and taken ill-advised sacks.

The defense has been unable to generate consistent pressure and confuse upper-echelon quarterbacks with their standard four-man pass rush or simulated pressures. No player on the team has more than 2.5 sacks.

After being one of the best units at not giving up 20-plus-yard plays in the passing game, they've been burned for over half a dozen in the past two weeks alone to quarterbacks with compromised mobility due to age in the case of Aaron Rodgers and injury in Joe Burrow's case.

While their defense has been able to force 12 takeaways in their last eight games, the offense has given it away just as many times, including a season-high 5 turnovers against what is still a much-maligned Bengals unit.

Their red zone offense continues to hold them back as one of the worst in the league after being elite last year and there's no single reason why that remains to be the case because it's almost always a similar mistakes and by different players, whether it's a dropped pass, missed block, errant pass or questionable call by the officials because there was gray area left for interpretation because a play wasn't executed to completion.

Reasons for Optimism

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson runs in for a touchdown against Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Payton Wilson. — Dec 7, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) runs with the ball for a touchdown against Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Payton Wilson (41) during the first half at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images | Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images

The No. 1 reason the Ravens still have a chance to not only run the table but get hot and go on a run to win it all starts and ends with Jackson, who has shown familiar flashes of his legendary explosive playmaking ability over the past two weeks. During that span, he has looked much healthier than he did since making his initial return, and the offense has moved the ball at will at times both on the ground and through the air.

If they can lean into their strengths more on that side of the ball, they can truly begin to catch fire as a team, but especially as a scoring unit. It will require feeding future Hall of Fame running back Derrick Henry in all four quarters and not letting him disappear in pivotal stretches, as well as using Jackson's improved rushing ability to present a legitimate threat to opposing defenses so they don't sell out on the handoffs.

With their offensive line's inability to consistently hold up in pass protection on traditional dropbacks, dialing up predominantly play-action passing plays when they take to the air would help mitigate some that pressure Jackson has been under and moving the pocket would help as well.

Defensively, the pass rush and coverage unit need to work in the same harmonious accord they were in during the team's five-game winning streak. They can't afford to have the same lapses in coverage and breakdowns in communication that led to several of the Steelers' big plays last week, or the timely in-rhythm completions Burrow was able to consistently hit in the second half of their Week 13 meeting after Nate Wiggins left with an injury.

With a fully healthy defensive backfield and front seven that got some timely reinforcements with the activation of outside linebacker Tavius Robinson and defensive back Ar'Darius Washington, they could be poised for a late surge as well if they can stay on the same page and play up to their immense talent level with three All Pros, four Pro Bowlers and a handful of rising stars.

"We still have an opportunity to go win the AFC North and get into the playoffs," All Pro safety Kyle Hamilton said. "We still control our destiny, and that's not going to change where our mindset is, 'Win, and we're in,' from here on out. So, that's something we can control and something we have to go do."

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