NFL Power Rankings 2020 preseason: Where do LA Rams fall?

Team 2 – Baltimore Ravens (14-2)

The Baltimore Ravens were shredded by the run last season. So they dramatically improved their run defense. If they succeed, the Ravens will be one of the toughest teams to face in 2020. But the Ravens have been such an up and down team in recent years. Will Lamar Jackson be able to impose his will upon the NFL once more?

2019 summary

The Baltimore Ravens smacked teams early and often with an offense that seemed to score at will, and then their defense did a good job defending the pass and protecting that lead. Of course, that ended when the Ravens ran into a buzzsaw of the Tenessee Titans. It remains uncertain as to how the Ravens will respond in 2020.

Players lost

The team will sting a bit from the loss of DT Michael pierce, who was a solid performer in all aspects of their defense. But it could have been much worse, and the young energetic offense remains essentially intact.

Players added

The Ravens were very active in free agency, eager to improve what proved to be a rather porous run defense. The team added good value veterans with DE Derek Wolfe, OG DJ Fluker, ILB Patrick Onwuasor, and ILB Josh Byrnes. But the Ravens draft was the talk of the town, as the linebacker needy defense landed top-rated ILB Patrick Queen and then went back to add LB Malik Harrison.

2020 outlook

The Baltimore Ravens had the feel of a team that will dominate the NFL until another team hits them hard. Will the Ravens recover from the devastating Titans loss? For now, we’ll side with the belief the hard halt to the 2019 season will motivate the team in 2020. Of course, they had the benefit of being the only talented team in the division. The other three AFC North teams did improve as well.