The numbers posted were 16, 13, 10, 20 and 17. Those are the number of points given up by the Ravens defense over each of the last 5 games; with any scores by the opposing defense on turnovers subtracted, of course. Regardless of who the opponent is, when you give up an average of 15 points per game over a 5 game stretch, that’s pretty good. To top it all off, you’ve been playing without one of your starting safeties, arguably your best corner, stretches without your two best defensive lineman and you lose your other Pro Bowl corner along the way. You add all of this together and you can’t help but be impressed at what the defense has been able to do the last 5 weeks. Yet it seems that no one is talking about this.

There has been a decent amount of criticism thrown at Wink Martindale and the Ravens defense throughout the 2021 season, and justifiably so. The issues have been often discussed and well documented. The biggest culprits have been missed tackles and giving up big plays. The two things have often gone hand in hand as short passes have led to big gains via multiple missed tackles. And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the dreaded “miscommunication in the secondary”, which seems to happen at least once a game.

So far this season, the Ravens defense has allowed 56 passing plays over 20 yards and 13 passing plays over 40 yards. The defense ranks last in both of those categories. For some perspective, in 2020, the pass defense gave up 38 plays over 20 yards and 4 plays over 40 yards for the entire season.

Despite the propensity to give up big plays, along with a lack of turnovers and sacks generated, the Ravens defense has been effective in other ways. The standout stat has been the number 1 ranked run defense by yards allowed. Baltimore is allowing only 85.5 yards per game and a 3.9 yard per carry average. Albeit, these numbers may be a bit skewed because of the struggles in pass defense and teams choosing to attack the Ravens differently. With that said, considering the Ravens have had no Derek Wolfe or LJ Fort all year and have played stretches without Brandon Williams and Calais Campbell, and their best tackling safety, DeShon Elliot, you can’t help but be impressed with how they’ve continued to limit the opposition’s ability to run the ball. Particularly, how they’ve limited Cleveland’s vaunted rushing attack in the last 2 matchups.

The other categories where Wink’s crew have had success is in 3rd down situations and the red zone. So far this year, the Ravens are 7th in the league in 3rd down conversions allowed at 35.8%. As a point of reference, the 2020 defense allowed 3rd down conversions at 48.5% clip. When it comes to red zone TD percentage allowed, the Ravens rank 3rd in the league at 48.3%. For the sake of comparison, in 2020, Baltimore was allowing TDs on 61.2% of red zone possessions.

In spite of the missed tackles and the propensity for giving up big plays, the defense has been able to clamp down when needed. This tendency to be good enough when they have to be has kept the team in games, even with an offense that is struggling mightily to put points on the board and has seemingly lost their identity.

The story of the 2021 Baltimore Ravens is still being written. With 4 games to go and a tenuous hold on the top spot in the AFC North, multiple scenarios are still in play. As they prepare for the stretch run and will face quality offenses, led by the likes of Rodgers, Stafford and Burrow, the defense will need to continue to find ways to get off the field and hold teams to 3 instead of 7 (or 6 or 8) whenever possible. Whether or not the Ravens find their way to a division title or into the postseason at all will be predicated on Wink Martindale finding creative ways to get a lot out of little. Even though the Ravens defensive coordinator has been short on talent throughout much of this season, his unit is playing with pride and determination. In the face of a recent spate of turnovers by the offense, Martindale’s crew has managed to minimize the damage and continue to give the offense opportunities at redemption.

While they’re not going to be compared to the record setting 2000 defense or the suffocating “Organized Chaos” of the Rex Ryan, the 2021 defense is battling to keep the Ravens post season hopes alive. They’ve gone to battle lacking key pieces all season but Martindale has been able to adapt.

For a franchise that has forged an identity based on defense, defined by a generation of excellence, the 2021 edition of that defense may end up being the best kept secret of that proud history.

Jamie Sieck
Jamie Sieck

Jamie has been a Baltimore sports fan since he can remember. He grew up in Gwynn Oak and currently resides in Hampstead with his wife and 2 kids. He graduated from UMBC with a Bachelor of Arts in History. He’s currently employed at Verizon Communications in Hunt Valley.

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