Underrated All-Pro's Return Has Boosted Ravens Offense

It's not a coincidence that the resurgence of the Baltimore Ravens' rushing attack after an inconsistent start to the 2025 season has coincided with the insertion of five-time Pro Bowl fullback Patrick Ricard back into the lineup.

A calf injury he suffered late in training camp took longer than expected to heal, including a setback during the initial rehabilitation process and caused him to miss the first six games. During that time, the offense struggled to run the ball with any regularity while they eclipsed 150 yards three times; they were held to under 100 yards in their other three games, including under 50 yards twice.

Since the ninth-year veteran and two-time First Team All-Pro made his debut in Week 8 coming out of the bye, the Ravens have won four straight game and the offense has averaged 165.75 yards on the ground to climb back into the top 5 in the league in rushing.

"I think having 'Pat' Ricard back has been a tremendous boost for us," offensive coordinator Todd Monken. "The things he allows us to do in the run game, [pass] protection, his physicality that he brings is a big part of that. And then anything that we do, it doesn't matter whether it's third down, fourth down, any down and distance, we're always trying to mirror up what we do as best we can. [With] what we've done and what we've presented to the defense, how can we do something off of that? And that [play] just happened to be one of them."

Ricard is not only a physical tone-setter in the run game for the Ravens, but his ability as a devastating lead blocker has sprung ball carriers for their biggest gains of the season and has been integral to improving their short-yardage issues as well. In the team's Week 11 road win over the Cleveland Browns, he made one of the key blocks that created a crease for five-time Pro Bowl running back Derrick Henry to rip off a 59-yard sprint and three-time Pro Bowl tight end Mark Andrews to score a 35-yard touchdown on a key late fourth-and-1 that ended up being the game-winner.

.@PRic508 mic'd up is a lot of this 😂😂

Wired back Wednesday night! pic.twitter.com/VrbDYyUFKk
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) November 17, 2025

Ravens' red zone struggles can't be pinpointed

After being the best offense in the league at making the most of its opportunities in the opposing team's 20-yard line last year with a touchdown conversion rate of 74.2%, the Ravens are the fifth-worst unit in the league with a rate of 47.2% through 11 weeks.

While some have tried to zero in on a particular or primary reason for why they have struggled to mightily in this key aspect of the game, citing poor blocking by the offensive line, questionable play-calling and overall poor execution by the unit as a whole, offensive coordinator Todd Monken believes that it is a culmination of numerous factors.

Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry runs in for a touchdown during the second quarter against the Cleveland Browns. — Nov 16, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry (22) runs in for a touchdown during the second quarter against the Cleveland Browns at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-Imagn Images | Scott Galvin-Imagn Images

"It's – and always is with everything that we do – a combination of things in every facet, aspect of what we do," Monken said. "You have to scheme it better, you have to coach it better, and you have to execute it better. And that's really whether you're doing it really well, or you're doing it poorly. You have to look at it and say, 'OK, how can we be better?' And that's just the way it is."

The Ravens have gone up against three of the top 10 red zone defenses in each of their last three games since two-time MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson returned to the lineup. After going 4-of-4 in the red zone against the Miami Dolphins in his first game back, they went 2-of-5 against the Minnesota Vikings and 1-of-4 against the Browns. They will only face one that ranks in the top 10 in their remaining seven games, which is the Pittsburgh Steelers in Weeks 14 and 18, so their conversion rate is poised to increase substantially over the final month and a half of the season.

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