Baltimore Ravens Boast NFL's Top Points Differential; Best Defense Since 2000?

The Baltimore Ravens have posted a +115 points differential through nine games in 2023, and no other team is close.

The Baltimore Ravens put away the then-NFC West-leading Seattle Seahawks on Sunday 37-3, and it added to an already dominant lead in the race for the highest points differential in the league.

The Ravens have scored 239 points while allowing just 124, for a points differential of +115 - the fewest in the NFL. The Bills are the next highest - if you want to call it that - at +80.

Baltimore is 7-2 and tied with the Kansas City Chiefs for the best record in the AFC, and second-best record in the NFL, behind the 8-1 Philadelphia Eagles. But the points differential shows how truly dominating the Ravens have been this season. The Eagles have posted a +57 while the Chiefs are just ahead at +65.

The wins have been impressive this year. Baltimore has beaten the Seahawks 37-3, Lions 38-6, Browns 28-3 and Texans 25-9, while the two losses were by a combined 10 points - one of which occurred in overtime.

While all the attention is on the Eagles in the NFC as the league's best team, there's not a lot of awareness of the fact that the Ravens are by far the NFL's most dominant. It's not just apparent in points differential either. Through nine games, Baltimore is outgaining opponents by a measure of 3,363-2,319 in terms of yardage.

The 2023 Ravens' defense is being compared to - *cough, cough* - the 2000 unit that led the league in points allowed (10.3), run defense (60.6 yards allowed/game) and takeaways (49).

As dominant as this year's unit has been, it doesn't match up with the 2000 Super Bowl-winning defense. This year's Ravens defense is allowing 13.8 points per game allowed, 91.9 yards rushing allowed per game, and 13 takeaways.

It might not be 2000, but Ravens fans hope the result is the same - a Lombardi Trophy at the end of the season.