Four Reasons Why the Baltimore Ravens Shouldn’t Panic Just Yet

The alarm bells are ringing out loud and clear in Baltimore following a disastrous start to the 2025 NFL season. The Ravens headed into the new campaign brimming with Super Bowl ambition, with the bookies considering them a +500 joint favorite alongside the Buffalo Bills in preseason. However, they have endured a miserable start which not even their most visceral of critics could have predicted, slumping to a dismal 1-4 record, allowing a staggering 160 points across those four defeats.

Things came to a head in their week five clash with the Houston Texans at M&T Bank Stadium. With Lamar Jackson sidelined with a hamstring injury suffered during the blowout loss to the Chiefs the week prior, the Ravens endured yet another embarrassment. With stand-in quarterback Cooper Rush throwing three interceptions, C. J. Stroud led Houston to a resounding 44-10 victory, seemingly obliterating any aura that Jim Harbaugh’s side had left.

The NFL odds providers have since responded, and it makes for grim reading. That lofty preseason billing is now nowhere to be found, and the latest Bovada NFL odds have Baltimore pushed all the way out to +1700. But while the bookies may well be panicking about where the Ravens are headed, here are four reasons why supporters shouldn’t.

Lamar Jackson’s Impending Return

There are stars, and then there are generational quarterbacks who change the very dynamic of the game. Lamar Jackson is the latter—a one-man cyclone capable of winning games on his own. Baltimore’s offense without him? Disjointed, hesitant, and stripped of its electricity. But here’s the analytical heartbeat: before his Week 4 hamstring injury, Jackson boasted a pristine 9:0 touchdown-to-interception ratio, operating with the crisp authority displayed during his two MVP-winning campaigns.

Lamar’s entrance for MNF was

pic.twitter.com/nB7l4ZKdmX

— Bovada (@BovadaOfficial) September 23, 2025

Sideline reports confirm what Ravens fans are desperate to hear—while Jackson is expected to miss Week 6, he should be back sooner rather than later. Over the last two years, the former University of Louisville sensation has missed only a single full game, defying the old narratives surrounding his durability.

Any team in the league would be worse off without Jackson, and the Ravens are no different. With him, the offense fires at a league-high 28.2 points per game, working in tandem with powerhouse Derrick Henry to terrorize opposition defenses. Upon the main man’s return to the fold, expect that double-barreled shotgun-like aerial and ground assault to be firing on all cylinders once more.

The Gauntlet is Over

The schedule makers showed little mercy on the Ravens, ensuring that they earned their tag as Super Bowl favorites. Four 2024 playoff teams—Buffalo, Kansas City, Detroit, and Houston—descended on Baltimore in a five-week maelstrom. The consequence? Defensive breakdowns, battered confidence, and a statistical bleeding: 160 points surrendered in four defeats. Yet here’s the silver lining: the remaining matchups rank as the eighth-easiest in the league.

A daunting Week 6 Rams clash is next up, but then comes a perfectly timed bye week, which should see Lamar Jackson back up to full fitness and ready to hit the ground running for a string of fixtures that are more than winnable: Bears, Dolphins, Vikings, Browns, and Jets. Teams with flaws. Teams Baltimore feasted on last year as they went 6-1 against sub-.500 foes. Shedding injuries, regaining focus, and capitalizing on this friendlier stretch will be decisive. With Jackson’s return imminent, a 4-1 or even 5-0 sprint is no fantasy—and that will catapult them back into the Lombardi conversation.

AFC North in Disarray

Every NFL season produces a division where chaos reigns. Welcome to the AFC North, 2025 edition.

The Steelers might boast a 3-1 record, but the jury is still out on how they will fare with the aging Aaron Rodgers under center. And even if they do continue to thrive, the rest of the quartet is in disarray.

The Browns currently sit 1-4, with two rookies as their only quarterback options. The Bengals, meanwhile, are 2-3 and have completely fallen apart since Joe Burrow was downed with yet another injury, losing their last three games by a cumulative score of 113-37. All of that means that while the Ravens might be struggling right now, the door is wide open for a resurgence once Jackson returns.

Unpredictable Playoff Picture

Remove the Buffalo Bills from the equation, and the AFC playoff landscape looks as unpredictable as ever. Kansas City is in the midst of the worst start of the Mahomes era. Houston and Denver have been inconsistent. Even hot-starting upstarts like Indianapolis and Jacksonville remain largely unproven on big stages. As such, Baltimore won’t fear any of them once the postseason gets underway, providing they get their foot in the door.

This is the paradox of the 2025 race—a weak middle class means a late surge can vault a team from despair to wild-card certainty. Nine wins, as Pittsburgh showed in 2023, can earn a postseason shot. Baltimore’s battle-tested core, with a top-tier QB in Jackson and the softest patch of their schedule ahead, has every reason to believe they’ll slip through the chaos and into January relevance.

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