The Baltimore Ravens shocked the NFL by breaking several franchise records in their 59-10 beating of the Miami Dolphins in Week 1. With the win came some not-so-silent notices to the rest of the league.
- Lamar Jackson is for real
- This offense is capable of beating teams in a bunch of different ways
- The defense didn’t drop for a second
On Tuesday morning after all the Week 1 games have wrapped up, the NFL apparently took notice. On USA TODAY Sports’ latest power rankings, the Ravens jumped up from No. 17 to No. 5. Here’s what writer Nate Davis had to say about Baltimore after just one game:
“QB Lamar Jackson looked like an MVP. New-look defense appeared up to Baltimore’s perennial standards. But was it all a Miami mirage?”
Of course, many are slighting the Ravens because of just how bad Miami looked. It’s a fair thing to do considering they’re clearly tanking this season. However, it’s one thing to win one-on-one matchups but Baltimore still had to execute those plays. Jackson still had to throw good passes, the offensive line still had to open up holes for the running backs and they had to hit the holes hard. The defense still had to tamp down a Dolphins’ offense that was desperate. They still had to catch the interceptions they got.
Regardless of how bad Miami actually is, a 49-point margin of victory is enough to have the rest of the league pay attention to what the Ravens have going on right now. We’ll see if they can sustain it.
