Winning is a Habit – Can the Ravens Make it Theirs?

It took a little recovery time before I could write this. I can’t be the only Baltimore sports fan who spent most of the week diving into other interests and distracting themselves from the Ravens’ woes and the O’s playoff defeat. Being a sports fan is a habit you can’t shake with a bad weekend. Monday is for sulking and for throwing things in frustration. Tuesday is for mistakenly thinking you got over it. Wednesday you look at your fantasy football lineup and start analyzing the weekend’s games. Thursday might as well be Purple Friday Eve because you’re ready to jump back into your jersey and cheer for the team.

It’s been enough time, it’s time for me to get back to my sportswriting perspective and go for it.

This is Week 6’s 4 Downs.

First Down: Trust can’t be won back in one game, but the Ravens can turn over a new leaf

It’s hard for the Flock to trust their team. They just saw a game in Pittsburgh where they were cruising with a 10-point lead only to see dropped passes, a blocked punt, and a costly interception ruin their day. If the Ravens did the little things right they would have destroyed the Steelers. Instead, they self-destructed. After messing around and finding out with the Colts, they literally let victory slip through their hands in Pittsburgh. It’s going to take a lot for the Ravens to win back our trust. We talk about the same things every week. The Ravens have to avoid beating themselves. It’s almost as if they have a self-destruction magnet hanging above their helmets.

Vince Lombardi famously said “Winning is not a sometime thing; it’s an all the time thing. You don’t win once in a while… you don’t do things right once in a while… you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately so is losing.”

The Ravens have never needed this perspective more than they do now. The Ravens are falling victim to their bad habits. This is a team that had an honest chance to go 5-0 to start the season, despite a serious amount of injuries. The Ravens had multiple chances to ice the Colts and let it slip away. They could have sunk the Steelers in the first half but miscues kept Pittsburgh in the game. The key to the Ravens’ season is consistency. It’s doing the little things and it’s finishing games. Good habits that become nearly automatic like muscle memory – that’s what the Ravens need to develop. There is no doubt that they can take down the Tennessee Titans.

One game won’t earn back trust. The Ravens need to be winners. They need to do things right all the time.

Second Down: The Defense is not the problem

Baltimore held the Steelers to 17 points, and that’s with a safety. The Steelers only had 289 yards in the game. Kenny Pickett was sacked three times and the Steelers had to punt six times. The Ravens held the Browns to 166 total yards in Week 4. The Browns only averaged 2.6 yards per play, gave up four sacks to their rookie quarterback, and punted eight times. The Ravens sacked Gardner Minshew five times in Week 3, forced seven punts, and, recorded a safety that should have iced the game. The Bengals were one-dimensional against the Ravens in Week 2 and the Geno Stone interception was the difference in the game. C.J. Stroud has impressed everyone in his rookie campaign which makes the opening victory of the season look more impressive. The Ravens held the Texans to nine points and the defense had five sacks.

The defense has more than held up their end of the bargain. The offense has to deliver more points and more finished drives. It’s that simple. The Ravens give up 266.4 yards per game which ranks second best in the league. Do you know where the Titans stack up offensively? Their offense ranks as the ninth-worst unit in the league, picking up 293.6 yards per contest. If things hold their course, the Ravens will sack Ryan Tannehill three to five times, force a handful of punts, and should give up under 20 points.

If that doesn’t equal a win, the Ravens offense will have a lot of explaining to do.

Third Down: Travel to London is the ultimate X-Factor

The stress of a road trip pales in comparison to the flight ‘over the pond’ for a game in the United Kingdom. The last time the Ravens had a game in London was in 2017. They looked as if they were still asleep at kickoff and lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars 44-7. That time, the Ravens left for London on Thursday for their Sunday battle. This time around the Ravens will have been in London almost a full week. They should be acclimated to the different time zones and they should be recovered from their travel. Instead of an excuse, they have an opportunity to redeem the team on foreign soil. This is an experience that could bring the Ravens closer together and could propel positive momentum. The trip could be a positive distraction from their meltdown in Pittsburgh.

The sports media always talks about the 24-hour rule in the NFL and how there’s no time to be complacent. The Ravens’ work week started early because of their journey and it could be the key to leaving the negative energy in Pittsburgh.

Fourth Down: No Bye in sight

You would think that the Ravens would have a bye week after their trip to London. Instead, the NFL schedule makers gave the Ravens a tough fight with a very good Detroit Lions team. The cost of this trip may not be a loss, it could be what happens after the trip. A fatigued and well-traveled team may not be in the right frame of mind for the Detroit Lions. The Lions started the season with a win over the Kansas City Chiefs and are 4-1. If they beat the Buccaneers this week they will make a big statement that they are contenders. It may sound weird to be worried about a game against the Lions, but they’re good this year. Thankfully for Baltimore their Week 7 game is at M&T Bank Stadium.

The Ravens don’t get their bye until Week 13. The good news for the Ravens is that after their London game, four of the next five games are in Baltimore. Now let’s connect this to the third down take-home point: The Ravens need to start doing the right thing all the time. They need to build positive momentum in London because there is no rest for the weary and the Ravens collapses against the Colts and Steelers have erased their margin for error.

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