Report: Ravens Have Best Chance to Go From Worst to First
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Ravens' struggles last year were widely believed to be an aberration.
The oddsmakers are convinced Baltimore will have a bounce-back year and win the AFC North.
The Ravens were recently ranked as having the best chance to go from last place in 2021 to first place this year, according to CBS Sports, which has their odd to win the AFC North at +140.
Here's their breakdown.
In what might be an NFL first: The Ravens are actually FAVORED to win the AFC North one year after their last place finish. That reason alone made it easy to put the Ravens at the top of this list.
The thing about Baltimore is that their 8-9 record in 2021 was arguably impressive when you consider how many players they lost to injury. I could try and list them all here, but I don't think there's enough bandwidth on the entire internet to go through every name. Not only did they lose Lamar Jackson for five games, but they also lost key starters like cornerbacks Marcus Peters and Marlon Humphrey, along with running backs J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards.
Now that everyone's healthy, the oddsmakers like Baltimore's chances of making the playoffs and I have to say, I agree with them.
Fortunately for the Ravens, the only big injury they've suffered so far this year is to their mascot, who had to be carted off the field during Baltimore's preseason finale.
CBS noted that the Ravens have gone from worst to first one time in franchise history in 2006 after going 6-10 the previous year.
The other teams that have the best odds were:
8. Seattle Seahawks
7. New York Jets
6. New York Giants
5. Detroit Lions
4. Jacksonville Jaguars
3. Carolina Panthers
2. Denver Broncos
1. Ravens
