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The Baltimore Ravens figure to be must-see television most of the 2020 season, but why is that the case? It has everything to do with some elements of drama that could be at play.
Recently, Fox Sports contributor Colin Cowherd took time out on his show to name the most interesting teams of the 2020 season. As he said, the Ravens fit the bill, and do so in high fashion. Cowherd had the Ravens as the No. 3 most interesting team this season.
Cowherd said:
“Is Lamar Jackson going to keep growing? I think they’re the best team in the NFL. I think he’s now supported with a virtually perfect offensive cast. They added J.K. Dobbins. They already had a great rushing attack,” he said. “I do believe there’s a lot of people out there that think the more you see of Lamar, the less impressive he is. I don’t happen to be one of those people. I think he’s going to go to the next level and get to the Super Bowl. There are doubters, and doubters equal drama. And so I’m going to watch.”
Not only is there drama, but there is also suspense given it’s unknown how the Ravens might finish and if they can live up to expectations for this coming year. That’s true given how well the team has managed to draft as well as handle free agency.
All of that shapes up to make the Ravens interesting viewing, and might only make things more dramatic no matter what ends up happening.
Ravens Predicted For Tough 2020 Finish
This drama could make for big ratings, especially if the Ravens struggle to the finish. Recently, USA Today writer Nate Davis took a look at making some predictions for next season, and while he had the Ravens doing some big winning, he didn’t have the title coming home to Baltimore.
According to Davis, the Ravens are going to win the AFC North, go 13-3 and win the AFC Championship while advancing all the way to the Super Bowl. There, they will lose to the New Orleans Saints.
“The top seed in last year’s AFC playoff bracket has a golden opportunity to make amends given it will travel a league-low 6,310 miles while playing this year’s easiest schedule (.438 opponent winning percentage in 2019) – one that wraps with non-playoff teams from last year over the final six weeks. Factor in the addition of veteran DL Calais Campbell and potential impact rookies in LB Patrick Queen and RB J.K. Dobbins … and this doesn’t seem like a fair fight.”
Fair fight or not, losing in the Super Bowl would be a huge frustration for the Ravens, who have spent the offseason improving in a ton of ways in order to take steps forward. Technically, it would be a step forward for the team, but it would still represent another disappointment a year after the team was booted from the playoffs early on.
Ravens Motivated Heading Into 2020 Season
Recently, NFL.com writer Marc Sessler put together a list of teams which will come into the season with a chip on their shoulder. According to Sessler, the Ravens are high on the list thanks to how last season ended.
Sessler wrote:
“Those same Titans operated as a chaos-inducing, third-party candidate by marching into Baltimore and thrashing the Ravens. To the naked eye, Baltimore appeared lost in the latter stages of a belladonna voyage as Derrick Henry flung dazed defenders into the terrible Maryland night. In a flash, the mighty Ravens — their 14-2 record, their MVP quarterback and all their boasts — were reduced to salt. Few teams burn more brightly for a chance to make things right.”
The way the Ravens lost in 2019 should have them very motivated into 2020, and could drive them forward most of the year. It’s safe to say of all the pain that was endured last season in the playoffs, nobody sustained as much as Baltimore.
How they deal with it will tell how they are able to push forward this season, but it’s a good bet they will take things personally.
Ravens Already High in 2021 Super Bowl Odds
A look at some very early odds was revealed by Caesars a few months back, and perhaps surprisingly, the Ravens were high on the list in spite of their frustrating finish to 2020. As a whole, the Ravens have the second best odds to take home the Lombardi Trophy at 7-1 a year from now.
Here’s a look at some of the early odds for next season:
So far, the offseason continues to progress through free agency and the draft and the Ravens have been very busy in both, having one of the best drafts in the league while also adding solid talent across the board in free agency. What do their odds look like now? The same at 7-1, as things have not been re-racked since early February.
The Ravens have a long way to go, but the schedule they will be dealing with should offer them some chances in order to make these dreams a reality in 2020-21.
The expectations combined with some of the early intrigue make the Ravens a team to watch closely this season.
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