Gut-Check Time: These Ravens Have Something to Prove

What a wild season it’s been in the AFC North!  I don’t think anybody predicted the season would go as it did for at least for three of the four division teams. The only non-surprise (to me at least) was that the Browns were not good. The Bengals were obviously the biggest disappointment. Obviously, the Joe Burrow injury was a big part of that, but the team disappointed even when he was in there. I thought the Bengals would be competing for the AFC North title at the beginning of the year.

That brings us to the Steelers and the Ravens. Coming into the season, the Steelers had one big question: Does Aaron Rodgers have anything left?  Early on, it looked like Rodgers had found the fountain of youth. Then, thanks in large part to struggles by the Ravens, it looked like the Steelers had put away the division despite their flaws coming into Week 17.  All they needed to do, even after Tyler Huntley led the Ravens to a road victory against the Green Bay Packers in Lambeau Field, was to beat the aforementioned Cleveland Browns.

Naturally, the Steelers choked and set up a winner-take-all division title game to end the regular season on Sunday Night Football!

Forget the X’s and O’s in this one! These squads are remarkably similar in several ways. Both have veteran coaches, Mike Tomlin and John Harbaugh, that have put together very good overall records, but both have disappointed in their own ways, and have driven their respective fanbases wild, with many calls for their teams to move on to another coach. It’s truly gut check time for both franchises.

This is a Ravens site, so I will speak from the Ravens perspective. Regardless of where you fall on the “Change is Needed” spectrum for the Ravens, the bottom line is that this is gut-check time for the entire Ravens team. I think it’s safe to say that nobody outside of that locker room has confidence in this team. Every single Raven in that locker room has something to prove! Let’s hope they band together and finally play like us fans hope they are capable of and flip the narratives. It’s prove-it-time once again for several Ravens; I’ll highlight a few here.

John Harbaugh

Probably villain #1 for many Ravens fans. Harbaugh is living off his past Super Bowl and success. But….that was 2012….He needs to prove that he can still be a Super-bowl winning coach in today’s NFL.

Zach Orr

Another coach that has earned the ire of many Ravens fans. I do think he was thrown into the Defensive Coordinator position WAY too early. To say he’s had his struggles would be an understatement, but now’s the time if he wants to prove he can make this defense elite.

Todd Monken

Monken has received a lot of criticism about the lack of offensive production this season.  He was rightly questioned (in my opinion) about the lack of carries by Derrick Henry. He responded to that perfectly against Green Bay with Tyler Huntley at QB. Now, the question becomes, how will he help propel this offense with Lamar Jackson under center? No doubt about it: if the Ravens want to make a playoff run, Monken and the offense are going to have to play a lot better than they have much of the season, especially in the red zone.

Lamar Jackson

In my opinion, Lamar has faced lots of unwarranted criticism about his commitment to the team, not being tough, etc. Those are garbage criticisms that I don’t understand why he faces and others don’t; part of me wonders if that comes from agents that are ticked off they can’t get his money and are afraid others may follow suit, but I digress. BUT, there is one criticism of Lamar that won’t go away until he proves otherwise: he has not had his best games in the playoffs. The only way that criticism goes away is if he proves his critics wrong with a brilliant postseason run!

Marlon Humphrey

Marlon Humphrey has agitated many fans, both on and off the field. On the field, he is not playing like the cornerback he was when he was signed to his big deal. Off the field, Marlon can rub people the wrong way with his social media takes, podcast, etc. Personally, I could care less about that stuff, even if it is sometimes annoying, but he needs to prove he’s still got some game left and step up and make big plays when it matters; Sunday night and hopefully throughout the playoffs. He may need to do that if he wants another healthy contract, from the Ravens or another team.

Mark Andrews

Mark Andrews has made some great plays with the Ravens and has good chemistry with Lamar. BUT, the criticism is he chokes under pressure. After last postseason, it would be sweet redemption for Mark Andrews if he could make some key plays in crunch time to lead the Ravens on a postseason run.

Roquan Smith

Like much of the defense, he has had his ups and downs. But, when you’re making $20 million/year, ups and downs are not acceptable. Much like Humphrey, Roquan Smith needs to prove he’s worth the money when it counts.

Daniel Faalele

Faalele has rightfully been the butt of many jokes this season.  Like it or not, the coaching staff has made it clear that he is the RG. Let’s hope he can somehow show us why this coaching staff has confidence in him—I’m not optimistic on this one, but I would love to be proven wrong!

Derrick Henry

Derrick Henry has had a brilliant career.  BUT, he came to Baltimore to win a Lombardi trophy! Henry has had his own struggles this year, particularly with ball security. Let’s hope we get the angry Derrick Henry that ran all over the Packers.  Let’s hope Henry’s ticked off for greatness and ready to will this team to victory!

In conclusion, it’s gut check time for these Ravens! Fans have grown tired of the same failures. Confidence in this team might be at an all-time low, or at least the lowest it’s been in a very long time. No matter where you fall on the spectrum regarding the level of confidence in this team—It’s clear. It’s gut check time for the Ravens.  It’s now or never.

Let’s hope these Ravens band together and put together a most improbable run!

The post Gut-Check Time: These Ravens Have Something to Prove appeared first on Russell Street Report.

Source: https://russellstreetreport.com/2026/01/02/street-talk/something-to-prove/