Ravens DC Reveals Turning Point

The Baltimore Ravens' defense has turned a corner over the past few weeks.

Nov 7, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey (44) reacts after forcing a fumble during third quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images / Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images

The difference between the way the Baltimore Ravens' defense has played over the past few weeks and the way they played earlier in the season is simply night and day.

Through roughly the first half of the season, the Ravens' defense was arguably the worst in football, certainly against the pass. Baltimore allowed nearly 300 passing yards per game, on pace for the most by any team in several years, and ranked near the bottom in most other categories as well.

Rock bottom came in Week 10 against the Cincinnati Bengals, when the Ravens allowed 264 receiving yards and three touchdowns to star wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase, who's tormented this team time and time again. After that game, star cornerback Marlon Humphrey had some harsh words for his unit's performance, himself included.

"These wins are getting harder to enjoy based off of what we're doing in the pass defense," Humphrey said. "I feel like when I was a rookie – first-year guy, second-year guy – the vets I looked up to [and] the standard that was there and the pass defense ... We've really lost that standard, and I feel like that falls on me.

"We're going to keep chasing at it. We're going to keep working at it, because I'm not really satisfied with what I've built in this secondary [and] where it's gone. I just don't think [with us] playing like this [that] we can go far. It's cool winning; it's great we're winning, but I want to go far; I want to go to the end. The way we're playing ... Something has got to change."

The rest of the defense heard Humphrey's message loud and clear. Over the past three games, the Ravens have allowed just 165 passing yards per game, just over half of what they were allowing previously. They've also allowed just four total touchdowns in that span.

The turning point, according to defensive coordinator Zach Orr, came in a meeting shortly after Humphrey's remarks. Players and coaches got together for an honest conversation, and it's clearly worked wonders.

"The meeting definitely had an impact, just because we had to do some deep soul searching, and it was a long meeting," Orr said Tuesday. "I think it was good – from a player and coach standpoint – that we expressed what we wanted to get done; they expressed how they felt, and we were able to come together and figure out solutions, because that's all we're about. It's a partnership between players and coaches, and our jobs as players and coaches is to go out there and go play dominant, winning football, from a defensive standpoint.

"Everything that we do is trying to come to that solution, [and] I definitely think that meeting definitely had a part in it, so I wouldn't say that's out of reach."

The Ravens made some notable personnel changes following that meeting. Ar'Darius Washington took over as a starting safety for Marcus Williams, and the will linebacker position has become more of a rotation with Trenton Simpson, Malik Harrison and Chris Board rather than the former getting the vast majority of snaps.

Go figure, the defense improving coincides with the offense coming back down to Earth, so the Ravens still need to do a better job of playing complementary football. Still, it's nice to see the defense make some stops after such a bleak early stretch.

Make sure you bookmark Baltimore Ravens on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!

• Ravens Expect Big Finish From Derrick Henry
• Ravens Suspend WR Diontae Johnson
• Ravens Lose Ground Heading Into Bye
• Ravens Coach Not Focused on HC Openings
• Ravens Coach Sees Hard Knocks as 'Major Distraction'