The Cincinnati Bengals have new life this season thanks to their Week 7 win over the Steelers, and a surprise divisional basement dweller is part of the reason Who Dey Nation should have a lot of hope.
Whereas the good guys now have a win-to-win edge on Pittsburgh, the prohibitive AFC North favorite Baltimore Ravens are limping out of their bye with a 1-5 record. Lamar Jackson's injury has a lot to do with that, but things in Baltimore are much worse than anyone could've imagined.
A recent deep-dive story that featured over 25 sources interviewed in and around the Ravens organization suggests the reputed juggernaut could be headed for a major meltdown.
Bengals benefiting from Ravens' collapse as exposé paints grisly picture in Baltimore
A four-reporter team led by Brian Wacker at The Baltimore Sun went HAM as the kids say on the state of the Ravens.
One veteran on offense said the following about offensive coordinator Todd Monken's system: "It just feels different. I just don’t feel like guys are being put in positions to succeed with this offense."
Regarding the team-wide metldown, another offensive player suggested the rest of hte league has caught on to what Baltimore is doing. Head coach John Harbaugh and his staff have simply failed to adjust or evolve on either side of hte ball:
"Three years ago, we had a new OC, new DC. Teams didn’t have any film on us. Now, they’ve seen everything that we’ve done, so we have to be more creative and put guys in spaces [to succeed]."
No denying that the Ravens have looked brutal on defense, yet when Jackson has played in 2025, he's thrived. A 71.6% completion rate, 10 TD passes to just one INT, and 7.9 yards a pop on 21 carries suggest Baltimore will be just fine when Jackson gets back from his nagging hamstring issue.
Yet another offensive player shot the blame over to the defense, which has a lot of young players who don't know how to handle the pressures of the NFL grind. Fourth-round rookie Teddye Buchanan is being counted on to call the defense, sporting the green do ton his helmet. First-rounder Malaki Starks is starting at safety.
Superstar running back Derrick Henry, per The Baltimore Sun, gathered teammates after a practice to tell them they needed to have fun again and the results would follow. Welp, so much for that at least when it comes to the locker room. Get a load of this passage from The Sun's feature:
"The Ravens promptly removed several recreational staples from the locker room, including the basketball hoop near Jackson’s and [Zay] Flowers’ stalls, the pingpong table that rookies Buchanan and Mike Green often battled on after practice, the once-popular cornhole boards, and yes, the video game consoles, often lit up with intense rounds of Super Smash Bros., that regularly drew small crowds of teammates late in the day."
After those fun and games were removed from the common area, Baltimore proceeded to lose twice more. Henry's pep talk came a couple days before the Ravens proceeded to lose 17-3 to the Rams at home.
Again, so much of these issues are a result of Jackson not playing since Week 4. The stunning collapse that led to a loss in Buffalo in the season opener seems to have carried over through the Ravens' Week 7 bye.
Jackson should be able to return against the Chicago Bears this Sunday, yet it might be too little, too late...if he can.
Sounds like it’s not looking good for QB Lamar Jackson to play this Sunday against #DaBears. Per @DanGrazianoESPN - he’s had multiple “conversations with people familiar with this situation that led me to believe Jackson might miss another game.”😳
— Ben Devine (@Chicago_NFL) October 22, 2025
It goes to show how valuable an elite quarterback can be — and what his performance can mask with such a flawed roster in place.
This is bizarre territory for Baltimore to be in. It seems like very single season, GM Eric DeCosta restocks the depth chart with great talent through the draft, and the Ravens just keep rolling along.
Perhaps all these years of near-misses in the playoffs — where Jackson has often played far from his best — are starting to catch up to everyone. Baltimore was an assumed top-tier Super Bowl contender coming into 2025. The team was 1-3 even before Jackson exited the lineup.
Suddenly, there's a massive opening in an already wide-open AFC for the Bengals to exploit. Their resurgence with Joe Flacco under center provides hope for Joe Burrow's mid-December return, and a Week 8 matchup with the 0-7 New York Jets should land Cincinnati back at .500 with a 4-4 mark.
You have to assume the Ravens will rally. Nevertheless, they're on the brink of a full-on implosion unless they turn things around very soon.