The Baltimore Ravens suffered an unceremonious exit from the 2024 playoffs, once again coming up short. Since winning the Super Bowl in 2012, they have four playoff wins — just one more than the Steelers during that span. In fact, two of those four wins are against the Steelers, most recently in the 2024 Wild Card Round.
While they bested their AFC North rivals, though, the Ravens are far from satisfied. As they have every year for the past half a decade, they feel they squandered an opportunity. This year, given the addition of RB Derrick Henry, felt especially galling, it seems.
“I can’t wait to see him next year. I know it was tough on him to end the way it did; tough on all of us,” GM Eric DeCosta said of Henry via team-provided transcripts. “But I think we have a chip on our shoulders to come back next year with a vengeance, to start faster than we started this year, to not start 0-2 next year, to get out of the gates faster. I think Derrick will be a big part of that.”
What kind of vengeance will the Ravens have in store for the NFL in 2025? Realistically, I can’t see them getting much better, at least on offense. Defensively, they shored things up late, but they did struggle early in the season. Justin Tucker appears to have cured himself of his yips, as well.
Now, the Ravens did lose WR Zay Flowers for their postseason run, which didn’t help. But really, their biggest issue all season was self-inflicted wounds. Whether it was stupid penalties or avoidable turnovers, Baltimore got in its own way.
That’s how they lost, after all, to the Buffalo Bills. The Ravens turned the ball over three times, twice by QB Lamar Jackson. TE Mark Andrews also lost a fumble and then dropped a would-be game-tying two-point conversion.
Basically, the Ravens’ vengeance should be channeled into doing what they’re supposed to do, what they are capable of doing. They have the talent and the roster to compete with anybody in the NFL, if they stop hurting themselves.
This past season, they only had themselves to blame, falling to an 0-2 start. Sure, it was no shame for the Ravens to drop an opener against the Chiefs in Kansas City. But then they lost to the Las Vegas Raiders at home and later to the Cleveland Browns. Those are both games that they gave away.
In fact, what the Ravens need is not vengeance at all but discipline and accountability. Vengeance is typically thought of as emotional, often unplanned and unthinking, even reckless. They had too much recklessness in 2024, and that cost them in the end.
