Ravens Remain the Measuring Stick in the NFL

"We did exactly what we said we needed to, played complementary football freakin football, man," Campbell said. "When we needed it most, every f---ing phase picked up the slack, man. That's how you win games against teams like that, man. And now you know what the f---ing barometer is like on the AFC. That's a great f---ing win."

Campbell expressed immense amounts of respect for the Ravens and the type of challenge they present on any given Sunday, Monday, Thursday, Saturday and sometimes even Wednesday if its Christmas. He also made it abundantly clear how much beating them means at the macro level and how it further elevates them into the upper echelon of legitimate title contenders.

Ravens head coach Harbaugh and his team have had plenty of notable and utterly dominant wins over elite opponents and put together stretches in multiple seasons since 2019 where they've looked like the best team in the league without a shred of doubt. However, they also have been the signature win for several other teams who have gone on to hoist the Vince Lombardi trophy or at least made it to Super Bowl and multiple conference title games over the past decade.

Last season, their Week 13 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles was one of the most celebrated wins during the defending Super Bowl champions' run to winning a second title in the last nine years. The piledrive tackle that then-rookie nickel corner Cooper DeJean made to single-handedly bring down Derrick Henry in the open field for a minimal gain in a third-and-long checkdown sparked their team's defensive celebrations.

The Ravens' lone conference title game appearance since the 2012 run came two years ago in 2023, when they were the top seed in the AFC and hosted the championship bout for the first time in franchise history. Instead of capitalizing and making the occasion even more momentous by prevailing, it will forever live in infamy as they suffered their worst lost of the season and the Kansas City notched the most impressive win of their run to eventually win a second straight Super Bowl.

Back in Week 1, they had a golden opportunity to exorcise some demons and set a strong tone for the start of the season. The matchup was against the same team and in the same venue where their 2024 title hopes were extinguished in the Divisional round. They appeared well on their way to doing just that. However, an epic late fourth-quarter collapse made the Buffalo Bills look like the team of destiny. The Bills have yet to lose a game heading into a Week 4 cupcake matchup with the lowly and winless New Orleans Saints.

The Lions' performance in and preparation for this past week's game personified everything the Ravens strive to be and have been in the past. A team that is well-prepared, well-coached and physically imposing on both sides of the ball.

Knowing how big a win against Baltimore would be and the unique challenge their two-time MVP quarterback presents, Detroit's prep for the matchup went as far as to bring former Ravens wide receiver and converted quarterback Malik Cunningham to simulate Jackson in practice. It helped the Lions' defense immensely as they recorded 7 sacks and 30 pressures. Their offense completely flipped the script on the Ravens by dominating time of possession, unleashing and leaning on a punishing ground game and being both aggressive and efficient when it came to converting third and fourth downs.

This season is still very young and despite a surprisingly disappointing start and mounting pile of key injuries, the Ravens still have time and the requisite pieces on both sides of the ball get things turnaround. They need to leave no stone unturned in the preparation process, especially when facing top contenders, play more aggressive at the point of attack on both sides of the ball and consistently execute at a high level on all three phases and be willing to pull more weight in one if another falls short. After being proclaimed the deepest and best roster in the league on paper throughout the summer, a few key injuries can't be enough to derail what could still be a Super Bowl-winning campaign.