Wait, is the Ravens defense good now? We are opening the November comeback.

The hardest thing in the NFL is Stopping the Ravens’ historically good offenseThe second most difficult might be explaining the Ravens’ situation. routinely confusing defense. Especially this month. Especially regarding what happened on November 7th.

That night, Ravens defeated Cincinnati Bengals 35-34 – standout left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. and an offense missing wide receiver Tee Higgins – they allowed 470 yards of total offense and committed six defensive penalties for 51 yards, enough carnage “We really lost that standard,” cornerback Marlon Humhprey later lamented.

Still, the Ravens’ defense will struggle in December and on Sunday against the NFC East-leading Philadelphia Eagles (9-2) and… will it be a November to be proud of? Incredibly yes. Through those four games, the Ravens’ most maligned unit looked as ready for playoff football as it has all season.

In wins against the Bengals, Los Angeles Chargers And Denver Broncos – The NFL’s sixth, 13th and 19th ranked offenses, respectively FTN’s competitor-adjusted efficiency metrics – and a loss Pittsburgh Steelers (22nd), the Ravens were rated as a top-tier defense. Eighth yards allowed per play (5.0), according to TruMedia. Sixth in success rate (a measure of how often plays lead to positive expected points for the defense). Eleventh in EPA per game. Not particularly elite, but good enough to wonder if the Ravens have turned a corner.

“Yeah, I’ll say that,” outside linebacker Odafe Oweh said Wednesday. “I feel like we did a really good job of communicating, doing the little things well, staying on top of the details and just following the plan for that week.”

What’s working for the 8-4 Ravens and first-year coordinator Zach Orr? Here are three positive trends.

Run defense continues to be elite

In the 8th week, at the end of October, Ravens lose Michael Pierce He has a calf injury that will sideline him throughout November, as well as linebacker Brent Urban suffered a concussion this ruled him out of Weeks 9 and 10. (Pierce could return from injured reserve immediately after Sunday’s game, coach John Harbaugh said Wednesday..) Travis Jones, perhaps the team’s best inside running back, suffered an ankle injury throughout November. All-Pro inside linebacker Roquan Smith, one of the NFL’s premier tacklers. We missed the Ravens’ win on Monday He suffered a hamstring injury against the Chargers.

And yet the Ravens’ elite run defense held on. The team entered November allowing an NFL-best 3.2 yards on designed runs. This month the Ravens have allowed just 3.5 yards per carry.

Overall their run defense ranks eighth in FTN rankings efficiency ranking and fifth in run stuffing rate (percentage of runs going for 0 or negative yards), third in success rate and second in first down conversion rate, according to TruMedia.

The Ravens’ toughest test will come on Sunday. According to FTN, the Eagles have the NFL’s third-best rushing attack; It features quarterback Jalen Hurts (456 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns), running back Saquon Barkley (1,392 rushing yards in the NFL) and an elite offensive line.Ranked No. 3 in the NFL by Pro Football Focus).

“It’s a challenge for us, it’s a challenge for our run defense… because they’re doing it with their offensive line, they’re doing it with their backs, they’re doing it with their own scheme that the quarterback is a part of as well.” and they can give up the run,” Harbaugh said Wednesday. “So there’s a lot going on there.”

Sacks are coming, pressure is increasing

Throughout the Ravens’ first two months, they racked up plenty of sacks without much of a hitch. According to TruMedia, they were fourth in quarterback tackles (24) through Week 8, but 27th in pressure rate (29%); This discrepancy is largely explained by the sheer number of dropbacks opposing quarterbacks receive during blowouts.

In November, the Ravens were second in sacks (15) and fifth in pressure rate (37.7%). And they don’t attack completely upset offensive lines. The Broncos have the NFL’s second-best overall pass blocking grade this season, according to PFF. The Chargers are ranked 13th. Even though the Bengals are ranked 24th, quarterback Joe Burrow’s quick trigger could make him difficult to pressure. Steelers are 26th.

The Ravens haven’t been able to get home very fast this month — they rank 17th in average pressure time and 30th in average sack time, according to TruMedia — but they didn’t need to. They rushed quarterbacks at one of the league’s lowest rates in November (18.7% of dropbacks), preferring to have a scoring advantage on the back end and relying on All-Pro defensive linemen Nnamdi Madubuike (five sacks) and Oweh (5 sacks). They relied on (a career-high eight sacks) to finish games.

“I believe I have a big pulse on the defensive line,” Madubuike said after his three-sack showing against Cincinnati. “I’m a leader on the defensive line and it starts with me, my attitude and my focus. I feel like guys feed off of me and I just take the initiative to stay focused and have high energy to get back out there. Saying it is one thing, doing it is another, so I try to do both and help the team.” That’s what I encourage my friends to do, too.”

sacks drive tends to be terminatorbut pressures are also important. When opposing quarterbacks are under pressure, they have completed just 54.2% of their passes for three touchdowns and three interceptions against the Ravens this season. Passers averaged just 0.01 EPA per pressured back drop against Orr’s defense – comparable to the overall efficiency of Indianapolis Colts quarterback Joe Flacco – but a devastating 0.48 EPA per unpressured drop back – Jackson’s 10th. Comparable to his overall efficiency in winning the week. Bengals (290 passing yards and four touchdowns).

Sunday’s game could be productive for the Ravens’ passing offense. Despite the Eagles’ respectable offensive line, Hurts’ sack rate (9.2%) and pressure rate (41.6%) are among the worst in the league.

Explosive games are less explosive

The Ravens’ defense still has a problem with explosive play. They allowed a run of at least 12 yards or a completion of at least 16 yards on 11.6% of their plays in November; It’s a slight improvement from the first two months (12.9%, fourth-worst in the NFL), but they still have the best performance in the league. 19th best rate since week 9.

However, if there is one good thing about this latest form, it is that the opponents’ explosive passing game is very good. little explosive. Through the Ravens’ first eight weeks, opponents have averaged nearly five completions of 20-plus yards per game (39 total). Over the past four weeks? Less than three per game (11 total). Has this been the first week the past two weeks have featured Tre’Dacious White at cornerback in the rotation and Ar’Darius Washington starting at safety next to Kyle Hamilton? Less than two per game (three total).

Monday’s win might have been the Ravens’ most impressive showing yet. Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert had 16 completions of at least 20 yards in his last three games. He put the prime-time loss behind him with a handful of explosive passes, but none were longer than 19 yards.

“I think it’s just a matter of not making mental mistakes,” Hamilton said Wednesday. “These things are really holding us back. We will have good journeys, people will be in good positions; it’s just a mental mistake here and there and eventually they will score. “So we’ve had fewer of those, and I’m not saying we’ve gotten rid of them completely, but it’s good for us to have less as we move forward.”

Eagles wide receiver AJ Brown, who is third in the NFL in passing yards per game (90.9), will test the Ravens’ toughness on short, intermediate and deep routes on Sunday. With him on the floor this season, Philadelphia’s explosive passing rate was 19.2%.

“There were a couple of times (against the Chargers) where guys got loose on some man coverage,” Harbaugh said Wednesday. “We played too many men and they were running too many man batsmen. “That’s definitely something we need to work on because we’ll see that from these guys (Philadelphia) as well, but I was happy with the way they played.”