| Team: | Baltimore Ravens |
| Year: | 2018 |
| Record: | 10–6 |
| Division Place: | 1st AFC North |
| Coach: | John Harbaugh |
| Off Coach: | Marty Mornhinweg |
| Def Coach: | Don Martindale |
| General Manager: | Ozzie Newsome |
| Owner: | Steve Bisciotti |
| Stadium: | M&T Bank Stadium |
| Playoffs: | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (vs. Chargers) 17–23 |
| Uniform: | File:Baltimore Ravens Uniforms 2016-23.png |
| Shortnavlink: | Ravens seasons |
The 2018 season was the Baltimore Ravens' 23rd in the National Football League (NFL), their 11th under head coach John Harbaugh, and their 17th and final season under general manager Ozzie Newsome.
In Week 6, the Ravens set a franchise record, sacking Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota 11 times in a 21–0 win.
After struggling to a 4–5 start, the Ravens went on a 6–1 run to finish 10–6 on the season, thanks to the emergence of rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson, who replaced longtime QB Joe Flacco due to injury. The Ravens clinched the AFC North after defeating the Cleveland Browns in Week 17, reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2014 and winning their division for the first time since 2012; they also finished the regular season ranked first in total defense. However they lost to the Los Angeles Chargers 23–17 in the Wild Card playoffs, which was the first time since 2006 that the Ravens went one-and-done and their first Wild Card playoff loss since 2003.
See main article: article and 2018 NFL Draft.
Draft trades
On February 13, the NFL announced that the Ravens will play the Chicago Bears in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game on Thursday, August 2, at the Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio.[3]
The remainder of the Ravens' preseason opponents and schedule were announced on April 11, 2018.
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Recap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HOF | vs. Chicago Bears | W 17–16 | 1–0 | Recap | |||
| 1 | Los Angeles Rams | W 33–7 | 2–0 | M&T Bank Stadium | Recap | ||
| 2 | at Indianapolis Colts | W 20–19 | 3–0 | Lucas Oil Stadium | Recap | ||
| 3 | at Miami Dolphins | W 27–10 | 4–0 | Hard Rock Stadium | Recap | ||
| 4 | Washington Redskins | W 30–20 | 5–0 | M&T Bank Stadium | Recap |
The Ravens' 2018 schedule was announced on April 19.
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Recap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 9 | Buffalo Bills | W 47–3 | 1–0 | M&T Bank Stadium | Recap | |
| 2 | at Cincinnati Bengals | L 23–34 | 1–1 | Paul Brown Stadium | Recap | ||
| 3 | September 23 | Denver Broncos | W 27–14 | 2–1 | M&T Bank Stadium | Recap | |
| 4 | September 30 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | W 26–14 | 3–1 | Heinz Field | Recap | |
| 5 | October 7 | at Cleveland Browns | L 9–12 | 3–2 | FirstEnergy Stadium | Recap | |
| 6 | October 14 | at Tennessee Titans | W 21–0 | 4–2 | Nissan Stadium | Recap | |
| 7 | October 21 | New Orleans Saints | L 23–24 | 4–3 | M&T Bank Stadium | Recap | |
| 8 | October 28 | at Carolina Panthers | L 21–36 | 4–4 | Bank of America Stadium | Recap | |
| 9 | November 4 | Pittsburgh Steelers | L 16–23 | 4–5 | M&T Bank Stadium | Recap | |
| 10 | Bye | ||||||
| 11 | November 18 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 24–21 | 5–5 | M&T Bank Stadium | Recap | |
| 12 | November 25 | Oakland Raiders | W 34–17 | 6–5 | M&T Bank Stadium | Recap | |
| 13 | December 2 | at Atlanta Falcons | W 26–16 | 7–5 | Mercedes-Benz Stadium | Recap | |
| 14 | December 9 | at Kansas City Chiefs | L 24–27 | 7–6 | Arrowhead Stadium | Recap | |
| 15 | December 16 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 20–12 | 8–6 | M&T Bank Stadium | Recap | |
| 16 | at Los Angeles Chargers | W 22–10 | 9–6 | StubHub Center | Recap | ||
| 17 | December 30 | Cleveland Browns | W 26–24 | 10–6 | M&T Bank Stadium | Recap | |
In a blowout win over the Bills, Ravens QB Joe Flacco passed for three touchdowns before being relieved by rookie Lamar Jackson, while Bills QB Nathan Peterman was benched for rookie Josh Allen after posting a 0.0 passer rating.
After 10 years with the team, this would become Joe Flacco’s final start and last game as a Raven as he suffered a hip injury and was replaced by Lamar Jackson, who went on to start the final 7 games of the season. Flacco was ultimately traded to the Denver Broncos during the off-season.
On his first drive as the starting quarterback for the Ravens, Lamar Jackson orchestrated an 11 play, 75 yard drive with Alex Collins running the ball in for a touchdown. During the drive Jackson did not throw a single pass but rushed 5 times for 46 yards.[4]
Similar to last season, the Ravens' playoff hopes was decided on a 4th down in the waning seconds of the game. Browns QB Baker Mayfield made a quick throw that was picked by Ravens LB C.J. Mosley to seal the game for Baltimore, clinching them their first division title in 6 years and making the playoffs.
See also: 2018–19 NFL playoffs.
The Chargers recorded six sacks, jumped out to a 23–3 lead and halted a late Ravens rally, forcing Lamar Jackson to fumble on the final drive to earn a trip to New England.
On the Ravens' second possession of the game, Chargers defensive end Melvin Ingram forced a fumble from Kenneth Dixon that was recovered by safety Adrian Phillips, giving Los Angeles the ball on the Baltimore 14-yard line. Three plays later, Michael Badgley kicked a 21-yard field goal to give Los Angeles a 3–0 lead. Then the Chargers' defense forced a punt, which Desmond King returned 42 yards to the Ravens' 42-yard line, setting up a 53-yard Badgley field goal that increased their lead to 6–0. Early in the second quarter, Phillips intercepted a pass from Jackson to give the Chargers a first down on the Ravens' 44-yard line. From there, they drove 27 yards to go up 9–0 on Badgley's third field goal. Following another Ravens punt, Los Angeles drove 53 yards in 12 plays to score on Badgley's fourth field goal on the last play of the half, giving them a 12–0 lead.
King returned the second half kickoff 72 yards to the Ravens' 35-yard line, but this time the Chargers failed to score when Badgley's field goal attempt was blocked by Za'Darius Smith. After a Ravens punt, linebacker Patrick Onwuasor forced a fumble from Chargers tight end Virgil Green that was recovered by linebacker C. J. Mosley on the Los Angeles 21-yard line. This set up Justin Tucker's 33-yard field goal, cutting the score to 12–3 with 8:34 left in the third quarter. At the end of Los Angeles' next possession, the Ravens got another scoring opportunity when Javorius Allen blocked Donnie Jones's punt, resulting in Baltimore taking over on the Chargers' 40-yard line; they only managed to gain 4 yards with their next three plays and Tucker's 50-yard field goal attempt was wide right. Los Angeles then drove 60 yards in 10 plays, featuring a 28-yard completion from Philip Rivers to Mike Williams on the Ravens' 15-yard line. On the next play, Melvin Gordon ran the ball 14 yards to the 1-yard line. The Ravens managed to keep Los Angeles out of the end zone for the next three plays, but Gordon scored with a 4th down 1-yard touchdown run on the first play of the 4th quarter; Rivers completed a pass to Williams for a two-point conversion, giving the Chargers a 20–3 lead.
A sack by Ingram on the Ravens' ensuing drive forced them to punt from their 14-yard line and Sam Koch's 31-yard kick gave the Chargers good field position on the Ravens' 45-yard line. Los Angeles then drove 16 yards, including a 9-yard scramble by Rivers on 3rd-and-8, to score on Badgley's 5th field goal, from 47 yards, that gave them a 23–3 lead. Taking the ball back with 9:02 left, Baltimore drove 75 yards in eight plays, including Jackson's 29-yard completion to Willie Snead on 4th-and-11. On the next play, Jackson threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to receiver Michael Crabtree, making the score 23–10. The Chargers recovered Baltimore's ensuing onside kick attempt, but still had to punt after three plays. Baltimore went on to drive 85 yards in 12 plays, the longest a 39-yard completion from Jackson to Dixon. On the last play, Jackson threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Crabtree, narrowing their gap to 23–17 with 2:06 left. Baltimore then forced a punt with 45 seconds to go, giving them one last chance to drive for a winning touchdown, but Chargers linebacker Uchenna Nwosu forced a fumble while sacking Jackson and Ingram recovered it to give Los Angeles the victory.
Rivers completed 22-of-32 passes for 160 yards and rushed for 15 yards. Ingram finished the game with seven tackles (two for a loss of yards), two sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Phillips had five tackles (three solo), an interception and a fumble recovery. King returned a kickoff for 72 yards and had four punt returns for 46 yards. Jackson completed 14-of-29 passes for 194 yards, with two touchdowns and an interception; he was also Baltimore's leading rusher with 9 carries for 54 yards. Onwausor had seven tackles (six solo), a sack and a forced fumble.