Baltimore Ravens Defense Hits Historic 'Triple-Crown' Mark

The Baltimore Ravens defense put together a dominant season as the top unit in the NFL.

The Baltimore Ravens as a franchise have had some of the best defensive units in NFL history, and the 2023 defense is no different. 

Star quarterback Lamar Jackson is poised to win his second MVP after leading the team to the best record in football at 13-4, but he wouldn't have been able to do it without consistently great play from his defense. 

Roquan Smith led the Baltimore Ravens in tackles this season with 158 / USA TODAY SPORTS

Baltimore secured an impressive benchmark when the regular season finished, leading the league in opponent points per game, takeaways and sacks this year for a "triple-crown" of sorts. 

The Ravens held opponents to just 16.5 points per game this season, beating out the Kansas City Chiefs by 0.8 points for the lowest mark in the league. They tied with the New York Giants in both turnover differential at +12 and total turnovers at 31. The two teams even had their 31 turnovers split the same exact way, with 18 interceptions and 13 fumbles recovered. Geno Stone led the team in interceptions with seven and sophomore Kyle Hamilton was second on the team with four. 

With 60 sacks this year, Baltimore not only led the NFL, but it tied the single-season franchise record for sacks which was set in the 2006 season in one less game. Multiple players on the defensive unit set career-highs in sacks including Justin Madubuike, Jadeveon Clowney, Odafe Oweh and Kyle Van Noy. 

The linebacker duo of Roquan Smith and Patrick Queen cemented the best defense in the NFL with sideline-to-sideline coverage on every snap. The two combined for 291 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, 14 passes defended, 5.0 sacks, two forced fumbles and two interceptions. 

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Thanks to their league-leading regular season record, the Ravens will enjoy a bye during Wild Card Weekend before facing a yet-to-be-determined opponent in the Divisional Round.