How can the Ravens Improve for Next Season?

The Baltimore Ravens have enjoyed countless years of dominance in the AFC North Division and as a perennial contender for a place in the AFC Championship game and a spot at the Superbowl, yet the 2021/22 season has been one to forget for the Baltimore faithful as they now look ahead to the off-season.

Since the franchises establishment back in 1996, the Ravens have risen to become a major championship contender throughout their short history, which has culminated in two Vince Lombardi trophy’s at Superbowl’s XXXV and XLVII.

(Superbowl XLVII highlights) 

The Ravens have also formed formidable rivalries with the Pittsburgh Steelers and other division clubs with the Maryland giants often dominating the AFC North Division with their most recent winnings coming the prior year in 2020.

However, despite the constant years of divisional dominance and the development of championship caliber star names, the Ravens have failed to earn a spot in the NFL post season for the first time in four years after a damaging defeat to their bitter rivals Pittsburgh on the final day of the regular season.

With the Ravens season now over with no further post season action, fans will be looking ahead to the 2022/23 season with a list of legal sports betting sites now available on OLBG for any fans willing to place their bets for the following campaign as the Ravens look to remain as a hotly playoff contender.

• A poor ending to an initially promising season:

The Ravens ended their 2021/22 season on a sour note despite starting the season with an 8-3 record from their first eleven games, which featured impressive victories over AFC champions Kansas City Chiefs and fellow playoff contenders LA Chargers and the Indianapolis Colts. 

After such a positive start to the season, the Ravens soon found themselves locked in a near never-ending losing streak that spanned five games heading into the final matchup of the season against the Steelers with a victory being a great necessity to guarantee that they would still reside in the playoff race.

With the Colts losing in a shocking and decisive manner to the bottom seeded Jacksonville Jaguars, the Ravens still remained heavily in the race to earn a passage into the post season but would be outdone by Steelers icon Ben Roethlisberger in his final regular season game for the franchise.

Despite a tremendous display from the Ravens former Pro Bowl running back Latavius Murray, who completed 150 rushing yards which also resulted in the Ravens’ only touchdown of the game, the contest was decided after 36-yard Chris Boswell field goal in overtime which confirmed that the Ravens were eliminated from the playoff picture.

A truly damaging end to what initially looked to be a very promising season for the Baltimore faithful which was especially under great jurisdiction after former MVP and All-Pro Quarterback Lamar Jackson was severely injured during the Ravens 24-22 loss against the Cleveland Browns way back on December 12th.

Jackson has not played for the team since that game with the Ravens offence being solely dependent on backup Quarterback option Tyler Huntley, which overall has not panned out well and resulted in the Ravens ending their season on a disappointing negative record.

While Huntley has been a great steal for the Ravens after he was an undrafted prospect coming out of Utah, Jackson’s overlapping qualities and experience of anchoring the Baltimore offence has certainly been missed with the off season likely coming at a perfect time for the franchise.

• Looking ahead to the 2022/23 season

Jackson’s injury certainly affected the franchise greatly and likely played a pivotal role in the poor run of form heading into the season’s climax, yet there is still greater pastures on the horizon with the 2022/23 campaign being one for Ravens fans to look ahead to.

While the Ravens may not have the overall luxury of picking as high in the upcoming NFL Draft compared to other lower seeded franchises, a top twenty overall Draft pick would certainly help to strengthen the rosters depth and future potential as the Ravens have enjoyed a plethora of respectable Draft selections since the franchises establishment from a number of the country’s top collegiate programs.

While some franchises may be sighting a potential rebuild on the horizon, the Ravens still have a roster that is more than capable of gaining a passage into the post season should their key stars remain healthy with Jackson’s absence being the ultimate dent into any future play off plans for the remainder of the 2021/22 season.  

The Ravens will enjoy the complementary of picking within the first round this year but are in no need of deciding to move to a full scale rebuild any time soon.

While it certainly was an abrupt ending to the 2021/22 season for the Baltimore Ravens, the off season is sure to bring a multitude of excitement surrounding the 2022 NFL Draft and the return of Lamar Jackson for the following campaign that can leave Ravens fans with great aspirations for next season.