NFL Baltimore Ravens Defense In-Depth Betting Analysis

While NFL teams change up their personnel, and sometimes their coaching staff, one a regular basis, many seem to stick to a familiar formula. By that, we mean that you hear the name of a team and you instantly either think of them as offensively or defensively minded. For example, you can’t think about the New Orleans Saints without thinking about a team that is all about offense, while the Pittsburgh Steelers brings to mind the Steel Curtain and hard-nosed defensive football. The Baltimore Ravens are another that have been known for their great defense over the years, but they also now have a very dangerous offense. For the purposes of this piece, we are going to look at their defensive unit heading into 2021 so you can start planning your bets against their NFL odds.

NFL Betting – Baltimore Ravens Defense Expert Analysis For the 2021-22 Season

The Ravens Defense in 2020

After winning 14 games in the regular season in 2019, only to go out in the opening round of the playoffs, the Ravens went into 2020 as one of the prohibitive favorites to win it all. They had some struggles along the way before closing out the regular season with 5 straight wins. The one consistent through it all was their defense, which surrendered a league best 302 points through 16 games.

In pass defense, the Ravens fell just outside the top 5 in the league, surrendering 221 YPG in 2020. They were a little further down the standings when it came to run defense, but you still have to say that their 108 YPG given up is still a very decent stat.

It is perhaps surprising that the Ravens did so well against the pass when you consider that they were down in the middle of the pack in sacks. That said, 39 sacks on the season is not a terrible number by any stretch of the imagination. Surprisingly, they were down near the bottom in INTs, registering just 10 all season long.

There was a lot to like about this defense in 2020, but definitely still some areas where the Ravens can improve.

Ravens Offseason Moves

We need to start this section by talking about the losses that the Ravens took this offseason, two of which were particularly tough. Matthew Judon and Yannick Ngakoue, a pair of very good edge rushers will be plying their trade elsewhere this season, which means that the Ravens have some very big shoes to fill.

The Ravens used the draft to address those losses, picking up a pair of edge rushers that have the potential to make an immediate impact. They are very high on Daelin Hayes, but it is Odafe Oweh who has everyone excited. Of course, we all know that the leap from college to the pro ranks is a big one and not a move that everyone adapts to right away. In Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters, the Ravens have an elite CB duo, but they could be put under some real pressure this season if Baltimore cannot get more pressure on opposing quarterbacks.

The Ravens D has a few new pieces that will need to settle in and step up quickly, but there is enough here to suggest that this might be a top 5 unit this coming season.

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