NFL 2016: Regular season grades for every team
By John Buhler
The Baltimore Ravens had an okay year in 2016. They didn’t make the AFC playoffs, but Baltimore definitely had its moments where it looked like a top-10 team in the NFL. Losing on the final possession to arch rival Pittsburgh in Week 16 to be eliminated from playoff contention is the definitive moment from this year’s Ravens team.
Baltimore won its first three games against bad teams, then proceeded to lose a bunch in a row to look like a fraud in the AFC North. Pittsburgh had its issues mid-season and Baltimore took advantage of the Steelers having to find themselves and down years from Cincinnati and Cleveland to take control of the division for most of the fall.
The Ravens’ strengths in 2016 included their stout run defense, kicker Justin Tucker, and the ageless Steve Smith Sr. at wide receiver. What ultimately did the Ravens in late in the season was an inability to find continuity on offense. Firing former offensive coordinator Marc Trestman in favor of promoting quarterbacks coach Marty Morhinweg didn’t give the Ravens running game the legs it need to push for a deep playoff run.
Overall, Baltimore had talent issues on both sides of the ball. The Ravens overcame a lot of them, but ultimately were a limited team to begin with. This is a team that can contend in 2017, but were really a year away all along. A lot of optimism with this team exists, but head coach John Harbaugh has to do a better job of assembling an offensive staff. One more lousy offensive staff and he might be out of a job.