Baltimore Ravens: 1st Place in AFC North

With an impressive victory over the Atlanta Falcons and a Bengals (3-2-1) loss, the Baltimore Ravens have moved into first place in the AFC North. How sweet it is. We’ve all heard the old saying “the season doesn’t begin ’til November.” Well the Ravens look great as October comes to an end.

Baltimore jumped out to an early lead in dominating Atlanta, while Cleveland (3-3) gave away what should’ve been an easy win against Jacksonville. Full disclosure, both games were lopsided and relatively boring so my focus actually was on the Saints game which turned out to be a heartbreaker.

I didn’t watch the Cincy game or check updates, so it came as one big surprise/sigh of relief to hear the Bengals lost, and in dramatic fashion. Our arch-nemesis Pittsburgh Steelers (4-3) narrowly bested a tough opponent Monday night (which I thought was going to be a loss), but even with a win they can’t move into first as long as Baltimore continues to win. Again, I say “How sweet it is.”

With a road trip to Cincinnati looming over Baltimore’s head, now is not the time to get too comfortable.

Still, from Baltimore’s abysmal 2013 season to where they currently stand, things are looking good and getting better for the Ravens.

Joe Flacco looks every bit the Super Bowl MVP leading the offense. Sure there are still some areas that need work, but what quarterback in the NFL don’t we say that about? The fact is we have a great receiving corps that’s getting the ball and we’ve had some young promising players step up and revitalize our run game.

But the real reason behind Baltimore’s 5-2 start is the vastly improved defense. Newer players like CJ Mosley, Elvis Dumervil, and Daryl Smith have brought the pass rush of years past back to Baltimore. The Ravens defense is showing signs of the glory days when Ray Lewis stood in the middle of the field and Ed Reed at safety.

Get ready for November, Baltimore. The Ravens are making another push for the playoffs.