| Team: | Baltimore Ravens |
| Year: | 2020 |
| Record: | 11–5 |
| Division Place: | 2nd AFC North |
| Coach: | John Harbaugh |
| General Manager: | Eric DeCosta |
| Off Coach: | Greg Roman |
| Def Coach: | Don Martindale |
| Owner: | Steve Bisciotti |
| Stadium: | M&T Bank Stadium |
| Playoffs: | Won Wild Card Playoffs (at Titans) 20–13 Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Bills) 3–17 |
| Mvp: | QB Lamar Jackson |
| Uniform: | Baltimore Ravens Uniforms 2016-23.png |
| Shortnavlink: | Ravens seasons |
The 2020 season was the Baltimore Ravens' 25th in the National Football League (NFL) and their 13th under head coach John Harbaugh. They failed to improve upon their franchise-best 14–2 regular season and were denied their third consecutive AFC North title following a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 12 after 18 of their players contracted COVID-19. Despite this, as well as a 6–5 start, the Ravens won their five remaining games to finish 11–5 and after a win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 17, clinched their third consecutive playoff berth. The Ravens rushed for 3,071 yds during the regular season, best in the NFL for the second consecutive season.[1]
In the playoffs, the Ravens defeated the Tennessee Titans 20–13 in the wild-card round, avenging their Divisional round loss to the Titans from the previous year. The win marked quarterback Lamar Jackson's first career playoff victory and was the Ravens' first win in the playoffs since beating the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2014–15 NFL playoffs. Baltimore's season would end in the divisional round for the second straight year, this time to the Buffalo Bills by a score of 17–3. As of 2024, the Ravens remain the most recent AFC wild card team to win a playoff game.
| Position | Player | Tag | 2019 team | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE | Calais Campbell | Traded | Jacksonville Jaguars | ||
| LS | Nick Moore | UFA/XFL | Tampa Bay Vipers | ||
| DE | Derek Wolfe | UFA | Denver Broncos | ||
| ILB | Jake Ryan | UFA | Jacksonville Jaguars | ||
| OT | Parker Ehinger | UFA | Baltimore Ravens | ||
| TE | Jerell Adams | UFA | New Orleans Saints | ||
| RB | Kenjon Barner | UFA | Atlanta Falcons |
| Position | Player | Tag | 2020 team | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TE | Hayden Hurst | Traded | Atlanta Falcons | ||
| OT | James Hurst | Released | New Orleans Saints | ||
| CB | Brandon Carr | Team Declined Option | Dallas Cowboys | ||
| WR | Seth Roberts | UFA | Carolina Panthers | ||
| NT | Michael Pierce | UFA | Minnesota Vikings | ||
| DE | Chris Wormley | Traded | Pittsburgh Steelers | ||
| ILB | Josh Bynes | UFA | Cincinnati Bengals | ||
| ILB | Patrick Onwuasor | UFA | New York Jets | ||
| DE | Ufomba Kamalu | Released | |||
| ILB | Jake Ryan | Released | |||
| S | Earl Thomas | Released |
See main article: 2020 NFL draft.
| Round | Selection | Player | Position | College | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 | ||||||
| 2 | 55 | |||||
| 3 | 71 | from New England | ||||
| 3 | 92 | |||||
| 3 | 98 | from New England | ||||
| 3 | 106 | |||||
| 4 | 143 | |||||
| 5 | 170 | from Minnesota | ||||
| 6 | 201 | from Minnesota | ||||
| 7 | 219 | from Miami via Minnesota |
| Player | Position | College | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Dereus | ||||
| Evan Adams | ||||
| Daishawn Dixon | ||||
| Sean Pollard | ||||
| Marcus Willoughby | ||||
| Jeff Hector | ||||
| Nick Vogel | ||||
| Dom Maggio |
The Ravens' preseason schedule was announced on May 7, but was later canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[10]
| Week | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buffalo Bills | M&T Bank Stadium | Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | |
| 2 | at Dallas Cowboys | AT&T Stadium | ||
| 3 | August 30 | Carolina Panthers | M&T Bank Stadium | |
| 4 | at Washington Football Team | FedEx Field |
The Ravens' 2020 schedule was announced on May 7.
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Recap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 13 | Cleveland Browns | W 38–6 | 1–0 | M&T Bank Stadium | Recap | |
| 2 | September 20 | at Houston Texans | W 33–16 | 2–0 | NRG Stadium | Recap | |
| 3 | Kansas City Chiefs | L 20–34 | 2–1 | M&T Bank Stadium | Recap | ||
| 4 | October 4 | at Washington Football Team | W 31–17 | 3–1 | FedExField | Recap | |
| 5 | October 11 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 27–3 | 4–1 | M&T Bank Stadium | Recap | |
| 6 | October 18 | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 30–28 | 5–1 | Lincoln Financial Field | Recap | |
| 7 | Bye | ||||||
| 8 | November 1 | Pittsburgh Steelers | L 24–28 | 5–2 | M&T Bank Stadium | Recap | |
| 9 | November 8 | at Indianapolis Colts | W 24–10 | 6–2 | Lucas Oil Stadium | Recap | |
| 10 | November 15 | at New England Patriots | L 17–23 | 6–3 | Gillette Stadium | Recap | |
| 11 | November 22 | Tennessee Titans | L 24–30 | 6–4 | M&T Bank Stadium | Recap | |
| 12 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 14–19 | 6–5 | Heinz Field | Recap | ||
| 13 | Dallas Cowboys | W 34–17 | 7–5 | M&T Bank Stadium | Recap | ||
| 14 | at Cleveland Browns | W 47–42 | 8–5 | FirstEnergy Stadium | Recap | ||
| 15 | December 20 | Jacksonville Jaguars | W 40–14 | 9–5 | M&T Bank Stadium | Recap | |
| 16 | December 27 | New York Giants | W 27–13 | 10–5 | M&T Bank Stadium | Recap | |
| 17 | January 3 | at Cincinnati Bengals | W 38–3 | 11–5 | Paul Brown Stadium | Recap | |
Lamar Jackson went 20 for 25 for 275 yards and 3 touchdowns and was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week.[11] With the 38–6 win, the Ravens became the first team in NFL history to win three consecutive season openers by 30 points or more[12] and the only NFL team to have scored at least 20 points in their last 24 regular season games.
The Ravens defense dominated the Texans, sacking Watson 4 times, with one interception and one fumble returned for a touchdown. Houston was limited to 51 yards total rushing, compared to the Ravens' 230 yards.
This loss snapped a 14-game regular season winning streak dating back to week 4 of last season; it also dropped Jackson's record as a starter to 0–3 against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. It was the Ravens' only multi-score loss of the season.
Lamar Jackson threw for 193 yards and 2 touchdowns, rushed for 52 yards and 1 touchdown making him the fastest player in NFL history to reach 5,000 yards passing and 2,000 yards rushing.[13]
Baltimore's defense dominated the matchup, sacking rookie Bengals' QB Joe Burrow seven times and allowing just 3 points in a blowout win. It also was the Ravens' fourth straight win over the Bengals.
After taking a 17–0 halftime lead, Baltimore survived a furious second-half rally from the Eagles, stopping a two-point conversion, recovering the ensuing onside kick, and getting a first down in the final two minutes to earn their third straight win, and their first ever road win over the Eagles. It was John Harbaugh's 2nd return to Philadelphia.
With the loss, the Ravens fell to 5–2 and lost to the Steelers for the first time since week 9 of the 2018 season. It was also Jackson's first career loss to the Steelers since taking over as starter.[14]
After losing a tough game at home to the Steelers the previous week, the Ravens looked to bounce back against the Colts. The Ravens offense was limited to 55 yards of total offense in the first half, the fewest since Lamar Jackson took over as the Ravens quarterback in 2018, and trailed the Colts 10–7 going into halftime. In the second half, the Ravens scored 17 unanswered points while the defense forced a turnover, a punt and 2 turnover on downs against the Colts. With the win, the Ravens improved to 6–2. This was also the franchise's first ever road win in Indianapolis.
With the upset loss, the Ravens dropped to 6–3 and ended their record streak for most consecutive regular season games scoring at least 20 points, at 31.
Although it was originally scheduled for Thanksgiving night, a COVID-19 outbreak with the Ravens organization caused the game to be postpone three times. 18 players were out for the Ravens, including QB Lamar Jackson, RBs Mark Ingram II and J. K. Dobbins, FB Patrick Ricard, TE Mark Andrews, WR Willie Snead, DE Calais Campbell, and NT Brandon Williams. With the loss, the Ravens fell to 6–5 and were eliminated from AFC North contention. They would be swept by the Steelers for the first time since 2017.
Most of the Ravens starters, including Lamar Jackson, returned as Ravens defeated the Cowboys. The Ravens as a team rushed for 294 yards and two touchdowns, while Jackson added 107 yards passing and two more touchdowns. The game would have also pitted WR Dez Bryant against his former team, but a positive COVID-19 test right before the game caused him to be held out.
In the highest scoring game in the history of the Browns–Ravens rivalry, as well as in the 2020 NFL season, Lamar Jackson rushed for two touchdowns but left the game for a short time in the fourth quarter with "cramps", allowing the Browns to rally from a 34–20 deficit to take a 35–34 lead. Backup Trace McSorley was forced into the game as a result, but left with a knee injury at the two-minute warning. Jackson then came back out and threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to Marquise Brown on 4th and 5, putting the Ravens back in front, 42–35. After Cleveland quickly drove down the field and tied the game, Jackson led the Ravens on a short drive that got them into field goal range, where Justin Tucker booted a 55-yard field goal with two seconds remaining to win the game for the Ravens. A safety on the Browns' final play capped the wild finish and brought the final score to 47–42.
After a thrilling shootout win the week prior, the Ravens routed the Jaguars in Week 14 to keep their playoff hopes alive. Lamar Jackson threw for 243 yards with three touchdowns and an interception while also adding 35 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Jackson second touchdown throw was an 11-yard pass to WR Dez Bryant late in the second quarter. It was Bryant's first touchdown since Week 14 of the 2017 season. It also marked the first time since Week 13 of that same season that he along with Larry Fitzgerald and Antonio Brown all caught touchdown passes in the same week.[15]
The Ravens won their fourth straight game behind another dominant running performance as the team rushed for 249 yards. Their win coupled with critical losses by the Cleveland Browns against the New York Jets and the Indianapolis Colts against the division rival Pittsburgh Steelers put the Ravens in a "win and in" playoff scenario against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 17.[16]
Needing a win to clinch a playoff berth, the Ravens rushed for a club-record 404 yards — the fourth team since 1950 to rush for more than 400 in a single game — and Lamar Jackson became the first quarterback to rush for over 1,000 yards in more than one season as the Ravens routed the Bengals for their fifth straight victory.[17] The Week 17 win secured the Ravens' third straight playoff run under Jackson.[18]
See also: 2020–21 NFL playoffs.
| Round | Date | Opponent (seed) | Result | Record | Venue | Recap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wild Card | January 10, 2021 | at Tennessee Titans (4) | W 20–13 | 1–0 | Nissan Stadium | Recap | |
| Divisional | at Buffalo Bills (2) | L 3–17 | 1–1 | Bills Stadium | Recap |
The Ravens achieved their first playoff win since 2014 and the first for quarterback Lamar Jackson, outscoring the Titans 20–3 after trailing 10–0. It was also Jackson's first win in a game in which he trailed by two scores. In the five playoff games between the two teams, the home team has yet to win.
The Ravens' season ended with a game in which they scored the fewest points since John Harbaugh became head coach. Lamar Jackson was intercepted in the end zone for a pick-six, then was later knocked out of the game with a concussion.
| Recipient | Award(s) | |
|---|---|---|
| Orlando Brown Jr. | Pro Bowler | |
| Calais Campbell | Week 6: AFC Defensive Player of the Week[19] Pro Bowler | |
| Morgan Cox | Pro Bowler 1st team All-Pro | |
| Marlon Humphrey | Pro Bowler | |
| Lamar Jackson | Week 1: AFC Offensive Player of the Week Week 14: AFC Offensive Player of the Week[20] | |
| Matthew Judon | Pro Bowler | |
| Patrick Queen | Week 5: AFC Defensive Player of the Week[21] | |
| Patrick Ricard | Pro Bowler | |
| Justin Tucker | Pro Bowler 1st team All-Pro |