Ravens Still Among NFL Elite in Latest Power Rankings

Most national pundits haven't changed their view of the Baltimore Ravens, even after another historic collapse, in which they fell to the Buffalo Bills 41-40 in Week 1. While the consensus belief is that they are still a top 3 to 5 team in the league, confidence in their ability to win big games is being called into question. Now, it’s time to see where the team lands in the NFL landscape of power rankings heading into Week 2.

Sports Illustrated: 3 (Last week: 1)

I think one of the advantages of being the Ravens at this point is that losses like these tend not to linger. We have our own personal narratives about Baltimore “failing” to make a Super Bowl when the reality is that the team plays in the same conference as Patrick Mahomes—just ask the fleet of good AFC quarterbacks that never made the Super Bowl at the expense of Tom Brady. For the better part of three and a half quarters, the Ravens looked like the best team in football, and I’d expect them to continue to do so. - Conor Orr

ESPN: 3 (Last week: 4)

Hopkins knows how to make an unbelievable first impression. His first catch for the Ravens was a one-handed grab that resulted in a 29-yard touchdown in the third quarter. It was his fourth one-handed touchdown catch since 2017, which is tied with Courtland Sutton and Garrett Wilson for most in the NFL over that span. The Ravens have a wide receiver who is dynamic after the catch (Zay Flowers) and another who can stretch the field (Rashod Bateman). But Baltimore needed a receiver like Hopkins who can make contested catches just like this. - Jamison Hensley

The Ringer: 3
(Last week: 4)

I’m not a Ravens fan, but watching this team come apart in the fourth quarter on Sunday left me fuming. Not because it was inconceivable that the Bills could rally—Josh Allen can engineer a comeback against anyone—but because the sequence of events that led to this collapse was painfully predictable. We’ve seen it before: Baltimore builds a big lead, goes into a shell in the fourth quarter hoping the clock runs out, turns the ball over in a key spot, and coaches terribly mismanage an end-of-game situation. Check, check, check, check. Lamar Jackson has routinely been failed by his defense throughout his career. Baltimore has the fifth-worst passer rating allowed to opposing quarterbacks in the fourth quarter since 2019, and it regularly surrenders big plays late in games, just like it did against the Bills on Sunday night. There have been three separate coordinators calling the defense over that time… so maybe we should ask the head coach why these problems persist? - Diante Lee

NFL.com: 3 (Last week: 2)

With seven minutes left in the fourth quarter on Sunday night, I started asking myself whether Baltimore deserved to leapfrog Philadelphia. I think I would've made the switch at No. 1 -- had the Ravens finished the job. Instead, they end up here after a shocking double-digit-win-turned-loss. Ravens fans have developed thicker skin over the years, but this one had to sting. Through eight drives, the Ravens had 410 yards and 40 points. Derrick Henry's second touchdown -- a 46-yard lighting bolt that increased Baltimore's lead to 40-25 -- felt like the knockout blow in Buffalo. But the Ravens squandered the final three possessions, with Henry's fumble being the killer. Then the defense, which had actually played very well in the first 50-plus minutes, was absolutely undressed at the end. It's wild to think that a few minutes of game time could have this big a swing on an outcome (and my impression of a team), but here we are. I still believe the Ravens are going to blowtorch most of the league, but this one will stick in the craw for some time. - Eric Edholm

Sporting News: 5 (Last week: 3)

The Ravens looked great with Henry and Jackson for three quarters until the wheels came off offensively and defensively. Blown leads with John Harbaugh and critical mistakes late keep costing the team in big games, something that needs to be corrected well before the stakes are raised (again) in the playoffs. - Vinnie Iyer

Yahoo Sports: 4 (Last week: 2)

When the Ravens have to travel to Buffalo in January, it will be because they blew that game Sunday night. The good news for Baltimore is its offense showed how good it can be through three quarters. The big challenge will be not letting that devastating loss linger for a few weeks. - Frank Schwab

The Athletic: 8 (Last week: 2)

Let’s be honest. Had the final five minutes gone differently Sunday, they’d probably be our No. 1 team. They were so dominant for so long that night that it feels weird to have them this low. The running game is again great (wow, Derrick Henry), and Lamar Jackson looked stellar. But that loss could have some big home-field implications a few months from now.- Chad Graff and Josh Kendall

USA Today: 4 (Last week: 2)

They coughed up yet another double-digit fourth-quarter lead and became the first team ever to lose despite scoring at least 40 points and rushing for at least 235 yards in a game. Though this setback could come back to bite Baltimore when it comes time to seed the AFC playoff field, let's not lose sight of the fact that the Ravens are likely to score 40 and run for 235 with relative regularity in 2025. - Nate Davis

Pro Football Talk: 4 (Last week: 4)

Outplaying a team means nothing, if you can’t outscore them. - Mike Florio

Bleacher Report: 3 (Last week: 3)

For most of Sunday's game, the Ravens offense smoked the Bills. Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry and Zay Flowers all did as they pleased. And then Henry fumbled, Buffalo recovered, and a game that was all but decided suddenly wasn't. And that could be the rub with these Ravens—much as it was for a Baltimore secondary that was 31st against the pass in 2024. The Ravens are ridiculously talented on offense, but allowing 497 yards of offense is going to get you beat regardless. Next Monday's Lions-Ravens tilt just became appointment television. And if a Detroit offense that struggled in Week 1 against the Green Bay Packers suddenly gets on track, then Baltimore will have major issues. - Gary Davenport

CBS Sports: 5 (Last week: 5)

This team's identity has always been defense, yet that unit let them down against the Bills. The pass rush has to be better. - Pete Prisco

New York Post: 4

Because he has his own killer in those situations, John Harbaugh should’ve known better than to punt to Allen’s Bills on fourth-and-3 from the Ravens’ 38-yard line and clinging to a two-point lead with 93 seconds remaining. Lamar Jackson’s three-touchdown game (two passing, one running) went for naught when Henry (169 rushing yards and two touchdowns) lost a fumble. - Ryan Dunleavy

Fox Sports: 3 (Last week: 2)

They were almost in consideration for the top spot, but as great a coach as John Harbaugh is, he’s prone to some head-scratching late-game management. The Ravens are obviously a great team. But they might have been beaten by a better one. - Ralph Vacchiano

Sharp Football Analysis: 2 (Last week 1)

Baltimore flexed the kind of ground supremacy and defensive prowess on Sunday that earned them the #1 spot on these rankings in the preseason…through about three quarters. Granted, a 15-point lead with less than 12 minutes remaining would be enough to bury most competition the Ravens will face this season, but the reigning AFC runners-up proved to be more than just any old competition. - Will Mauro