The Baltimore Ravens won their fourth straight game in Week 11 when they took down the Carolina Panthers, but it certainly wasn't pretty, and it has caused quite a few overreactions to come flying in as a result. Against a lowly Panthers squad, Baltimore only managed to win by a score of 13-3, which has raised a lot of concerns among fans, despite the fact that they won.
The Ravens were coming off of their bye week look to prove they were rejuvenated and healthy, but ended up looking lifeless for much of the game, especially on offense. The defense didn't have to do much to slow down Baker Mayfield and company, but the offense took their sweet old time putting Carolina to bed, making for an unexpectedly suspenseful contest.
Baltimore is trying to figure out how to piece things together on offense with all the injuries they are dealing with, and it has made for some ugly football and upset fans. Those upset fans have had quite a few heinous overreactions, so let's take a look at three such overreactions and see why they are labeled as such.
1. The Ravens will end up losing the AFC North to the Bengals
With the win, the Ravens maintained their stranglehold atop the AFC North, but it isn't as secure as it once looked to be. Not only have the Ravens been winning ugly during their recent stretch, despite the fact that the only team they beat during that stretch that doesn't currently have a losing record is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but the Cincinnati Bengals appear to be getting hot as well.
The Bengals have won four of their last five games, and are doing their best to gain some ground on the Ravens right now. Their offense is only going to get healthier, which should help compensate for their sketchy defense. If both teams stay neck and neck with each other, that could make their Week 18 matchup to end the regular season the game that decides who wins the division.
Of course, it's tough to ignore the Ravens subpar play as of late, but Baltimore has the inside track in the division as of right now considering they have a one game lead on Cincy, and the fact that they won their first meeting this season. The Ravens haven't looked great lately, but they have enough talent on both sides of the ball to figure things out, and that should ultimately help them win their division when all is said and done.
2. Lamar Jackson and the Ravens offense is in trouble without Rashod Bateman
Part of the reason the Ravens have been struggling on offense is because they lost their top wide receiver in Rashod Bateman for the rest of the season with a foot injury. Bateman didn't exactly produce like a top receiver considering he really only played in five games this season, but his big-play abilities helped open up Baltimore's offense.
This has had a pretty big impact on Lamar Jackson, who was already struggling to find targets he trusts behind Mark Andrews in the passing game. Bateman and Devin Duvernay were big-play threats who complemented Andrews well and gave the Ravens RPO-offense the flow it needed to succeed. But ever since Bateman's departure, Jackson has been searching for answers, and he hasn't found many to this point.
Getting Andrews back for the Panthers game after he missed Week 9 certainly helped, but chances are Jackson and the Ravens offense will figure things out moving forward. They could lean on their ground game more given their plethora of running backs, and even if they want to pass, Jackson has proven he can make it work with whoever is on the field with him. It may not be pretty, but Baltimore's offense will likely continue to find ways to score points.
3. Kenyan Drake should be the lead running back for the rest of the season
The Ravens wide receiver room is thin, but in Week 11, so was their running back room. Kenyan Drake was thrust back into the action with Gus Edwards out and J.K. Dobbins still on the injured reserve, and he generally held his own when he got the ball (10 CAR, 46 YDS, 2 REC, 7 YDS).
At this point, it almost makes sense to just make Drake the lead running back considering he's always been available, and hasn't been horrible when he's gotten the ball. He's averaging 4.7 yards per carry (largely due to Jackson's threat as runner) which is pretty solid, and while Justice Hill is averaging 5.6 yards per carry, chances are a larger sample size would shrink that number.
Drake is fine, but it's clear the Ravens offense has much greater potential with a guy like Edwards or Dobbins in the backfield. Baltimore will be hoping that Edwards can return for Week 12, and Dobbins sounds like he's nearing a return as well. And when they do return, that should spell a much smaller workload for Drake, even though he's held his own while filling in for Baltimore's top running back duo.
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