The Baltimore Ravens Story (2024)

The Baltimore Ravens are coming off an extremely successful year, with an extremely disappointing ending.

Quarterback Lamar Jackson won his 2nd career MVP in 2023, which he may or may not have deserved over running back Christian McCaffery, but was certainly the Quarterback to earn the award.

The Ravens went 13-4 in the 2023 season, earning them the 1-seed in the AFC. After a first round bye, and handling a fiery and up-and-coming Houston Texans team in the Divisional Round, the Ravens would take on the fabled Patrick Mahomes-lead Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship.

The thing about the 2023 Kansas City Chiefs though, is that this was by far the weakest Kansas City offense we’d seen in the Mahomes era. If there was any time to get one over on this Dynasty, this was it.

As large chunks of the NFL fanbase hate to see teams experience too much success, and with certain non-team-affiliated persons giving the Chiefs a poor image in the public eye, it seemed as if the whole world was behind the Ravens. Memes were trending on social media with captions like “Save us Lamar” “Deliver us Lamar”.

But the Chiefs were also sporting their best Defense of the Mahomes era, and Lamar would only put up 1 touchdown in the game. And even though Kansas City didn’t put up a single point in the second half, the Ravens would lose 17-10, and miss their chance at going to the Super Bowl.

A crucial blow to the Ravens in this game, was on the first snap of the 4th quarter, when star rookie receiver Zay Flowers fumbled the ball while diving into the endzone, resulting in a Chiefs touchback.
Although Flowers had a fantastic rookie season, and was the best receiver on the Ravens in that game with 115 yards and the team’s only touchdown, this turnover, when the team was so close to a score in a game that would be decided by just 7 points, was likely the moment that killed their season. Admittedly, this was simply just an incredible play by Chiefs Defensive Back L’Jarius Sneed, and isn’t a moment that should be used to drag Flowers, but it will be interesting to see how the young star responds to that being the lasting memory of his rookie year.

Entering 2024, the Ravens still have what is considered by many to be a top-5 defense in the NFL, with players like superstar middle linebacker Roquan Smith, and emerging stars like Safety Kyle Hamilton.

The most notable move for the Ravens this offseason, was the signing of future Hall of Fame Running Back Derrick Henry, who after 8 seasons of dominance on the Tennessee Titans, decided to move on and take his shot at a ring with a contender.

The Ravens were already THE top rushing team in the NFL last season, even with their starter JK Dobbins suffering a season-ending Achilles tear early in the year. Adding Derrick Henry to that running game, Baltimore fans are watering at the mouth thinking about the potential dominance of Option plays with Lamar Jackson and King Henry, as the Ravens intend to make another push for a Super Bowl title.

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