Last pre-season loss–Falcons in September 2015.
M&T BANK STADIUM, BALTIMORE – The COVID-19 pandemic changed many things regarding life in general and football in particular. Fans were not allowed in most stadiums and, in places where they were, not many were permitted entry. The home-field advantage that loud crowds provided teams like the Baltimore Ravens was no longer a factor. And for the first time since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, road teams won more than 50 percent of regular-season games.
Outbreaks of the virus devastated several rosters to the point where the Denver Broncos had to start a game with a practice-squad wide receiver under center, and the Ravens were without numerous starters for a bizarre yet crucial, Wednesday-afternoon makeup game at Pittsburgh.
But the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Saturday night, the Ravens continued the most insignificant-yet-noteworthy streak in their history, winning their 18th straight preseason game by beating the visiting New Orleans Saints, 17-14, in front of an announced 70,035 fans.
The crowd represented the first substantial accumulation of fans in the stadium since the 2019 season. The campaign ended with a meaningless, rain-soaked home win over the Steelers, followed by a home Divisional round playoff defeat at the hands of the Tennessee Titans.
“It was thrilling,” head coach John Harbaugh said. “It felt like it was supposed to feel. It wasn’t eerie(ly silent) like it was last year. Yeah, it wasn’t that.”
Baltimore has not lost a preseason game since losing their final three August games in 2015, falling in the final contest at Atlanta, 20-19. The previous week saw the team incur its most recent home August loss, 31-13, to the Washington Football Team. The win streak has propelled the Ravens’ lifetime preseason record to 65-32, including a 34-15 home record and 20 wins in their last 23 August home games. Head coach John Harbaugh is now 39-12 in preseason contests.
According to reports earlier in the week, the Ravens now need just one more preseason win to tie an NFL record for the longest August win streak set by the Green Bay Packers between 1959-62, the first four years of Vince Lombardi’s legendary head-coaching reign.
Also, with Saturday’s win, the Ravens are now 6-0 against New Orleans in preseason games, with four of the wins coming at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, site of Baltimore’s Super Bowl 47 victory.
As usual, preseason is a time for any roster’s younger players to make an impression on the coaching staff, which no one got to do in 2020 because the August game was canceled due to the pandemic. These days, with only three preseason contests, such players have one fewer opportunity to show what they can do.
On top of that, next Tuesday is the first of three deadlines for all teams to make roster cuts, albeit slight ones. The deadline requires them to get down to 85 players from the 90-man training camp maximum.
Following that, the Ravens will attempt to continue the preseason win streak and tie the Packers’ record on the road at Carolina against the Panthers (Saturday, Aug. 21; 7 p.m.; WBAL-TV, WIYY-FM).
The game against the Saints will turn out to be the only home August appearance by the Ravens. Two will be on the road with only three preseason games, mainly because the odd-numbered 17-game regular campaign gives Baltimore and all AFC teams the extra game at home in 2021. Baltimore will not play at home again until Week Two, a Sunday-night game on September 19 against the defending AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs.
But the Ravens’ flawless preseasons have been the precursor to playoff appearances in three of the last five years. For those who feel that preseason results are not indicative of what could happen in the season to come, the 2015 campaign, one preceded by a 1-3 preseason, ended with a disastrous 5-11 record, complete with an injury-riddled roster and three separate three-game losing streaks. The other two campaigns ended with only one heartbreaking play keeping Baltimore out of the January/February derby.
As with any preseason game, the night provided a glimpse of the Ravens’ possible depth. The tradition in Baltimore is mostly about defense, and that also happened to be the healthier side of the ball as the Ravens started this game. In recent years, starters have been used less and less in such games, with teams being increasingly concerned about how much quality there is from the middle to the bottom of the roster.
Cornerback Jimmy Smith was the only defensive starter who missed the game due to injury, even though the entire up-front trio sat out, as did some linebackers. But the young, fast, aggressive defense forced six turnovers, four in the first half, recovering three fumbles and intercepting three passes. Second-year late-round draftee Geno Stone picked off two of the passes, both on athletic diving plays, and fifth-round rookie corner Shaun Wade grabbed an underthrown ball with under two minutes to go to seal the win.
Last year, Stone was briefly waived by the Ravens and spent some time with the Houston Texans before returning this season. “I felt like this year, going into the spring, I took a huge leap,” Stone said. “It felt good being back out there.”
The fumbles were forced by second-year inside linebacker Malik Harrison, 2020 draft classmate Justin Madabuike and undrafted safety Ar’Darius Washington. Recovering the miscues were linebacker Chris Board, safety DeShon Elliott, and lineman Aaron Adeoye. Linebackers Board and Patrick Queen, along with rookie Brandon Stephens, led the team with four tackles each, and the much-scrutinized pass rush got three sacks against Saints quarterbacks Taysom Hill and Jameis Winston.
With little practice time after recovering from COVID-19, Lamar Jackson did not take the field for the Ravens, as the coaching staff used differing philosophies for backups Trace McSorley, dealing with back spasms that limited his movement, and Tyler Huntley.
“It happened earlier today,” McSorley said of his back. “It started locking up before I came down to the stadium, so I got with the doctors and trainers and tried to loosen it up.”
Under McSorley, the offense only came to life when the team went no-huddle. As a result, the Ravens were outgained in the first quarter, 77-2, and by 230-121 for the first half. Still, a Justin Tucker field goal and two more from backup Jake Verity – another incredible kicking find by the scouts – were all the Ravens could manage as they got to within 14-9 at the half.
It was up to Huntley (12-for-16, 79 yards, sack, 85.2 rating, 43 yards, seven rushes) in the second half, and with greater offensive flexibility and the weakness of New Orleans’ defensive backups, the unit showed much more rhythm. Huntley directed an 11-play drive into the New Orleans red zone that ended when he fumbled the ball away. Still, he came back midway through the fourth quarter and directed a 79-yard, 12-play drive that featured three third-down conversions and his own seven-yard read-option touchdown run with 6:35 to go that put the Ravens ahead for the first time in the game.
Wade’s interception sealed the game, and the Ravens had yet another August victory.
Despite a few anxious moments, it eventually became clear that once again, when it comes to the Ravens in the preseason, nothing has changed.
