The Baltimore Ravens have transformed themselves since their bye week. Once one of the worst defenses in the NFL, which gave up over 35 points in five of their first six games, to a team that have not allowed their opponents to score 20 points in their last four games.
Winners of three in a row and the return of quarterback Lamar Jackson have the Ravens poised to go on a run in the second half of the season. The team is confident and sits at 4-5, just one game behind the Pittsburgh Steelers, with two games to play later in the season against them.
After a tumultuous beginning to the season, the Ravens are finally starting to settle in and become the team that everyone had predicted they would become.
Hitting Their Stride
One of the biggest reasons for the Ravens’ defensive turnaround is the excellent play of star safety Kyle Hamilton. Hamilton’s versatility in playing multiple positions has been a significant part of the Ravens’ turnaround on defense.
Kevin Eck of Ravens.com wrote about head coach John Harbaugh’s assessment of why Hamilton is such a great player in his November 11 article.
“Good genes, I think; probably good genes,” Harbaugh said. “He is talented. But the other thing is, versatility is not just talent; it’s also understanding the game and also studying. He’s got to know a lot. There’s a lot he has to know, process and understand about the gameplan, and I just think he kind of knows the whole defense. He probably could line up in any position. We’ll keep him away from nose guard, how about that? You can play him at all the other ones. But, he’s special that way.”
Hamilton believes this preparation is helping the team start to play to their full potential and hit their stride, as he spoke about in his post-game interview following the Minnesota Vikings game. Ravens.com provided the transcript.
“I think we’re starting to hit our stride. It’s not a surprise to us. I think we’re playing to our potential now, and that has to be sustained,” Hamilton said. “We’re happy we got the win, but we’re not ecstatic about what our record still is. We still have stuff to do, and [we have] people to prove wrong, people to prove right, so this is a good building block going forward in the season.”
Part of playing to their potential on defense is creating turnovers, and the Ravens have started to do just that in bunches.
Winning the Turnover Battle
One key factor in the Ravens’ turnaround has been their ability to force turnovers, which has increased over their three-game winning streak. Winning the turnover battle usually is an indication of a team winning the game, and for the Ravens, this has been the case as well.
Jeremy Brener of Sports Illustrated, in his November 10 article, wrote about how the Ravens’ turnovers have been leading to wins, and how their turnover differential stacks up with other successful teams around the league.
“The Ravens’ turnover differential is now at zero through the first nine games of the season,” Brener wrote. “Of the 13 teams with a positive turnover differential, 10 have winning records, so it’s a sign that it leads to winning football games.”
A significant part of the Ravens’ turnaround this season has been getting their swagger back on defense, and they appear poised to make their playoff push.
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