From New England to the mid-Atlantic we go today on our current NFL Thursday miniseries: it’s time for the Baltimore Ravens organization. Interestingly enough, the Ravens are the third-winningest team in NFL history, although quirkily, the franchise was “born” in 1996 when the original Cleveland Browns moved east—but left the team colors, history, and name behind in Ohio. Hence, the Ravens were born with a leg up …

The result has been impressive: a .563 winning percentage, 14 playoff berths in 27 seasons, 6 division titles, and 2 Super Bowl championships. All cities should be so lucky: Baltimore lost the bottom-of-the-barrel Colts in 1984 only to inherit the “new” Ravens a dozen years later, and there wasn’t even an expansion-team hangover because the Ravens had an established organization with moderate success to build upon. Noice!

No. 5: 2000 Baltimore Ravens

Surprising that the franchise’s second SB winner did not make the list, and the first SB winner only rates out here. Math is hard to comprehend at times! Either way, these Ravens posted a 12-4 record to finish second in the AFC Central Division. Baltimore had the No. 14 offense, the No. 1 defense, and the No. 3 SRS ranking overall. In the playoffs, the defense took over, as the Ravens outscored four opponents to win it all.

Linebacker Ray Lewis (23 AV), defensive end Rob Burnett (21), defensive tackle Sam Adams (18), free safety Rod Woodson (17), and tackle Jonathan Ogden (15) topped the team in value. With a 95-23 score differential in the postseason, Baltimore really shut down its foes—and readily so. This remains the only Super Bowl champion to not surrender any points to the losing team’s offense. Let that sink in for a second.

No. 4: 2020 Baltimore Ravens

An 11-5 record earned this team second place in the AFC North Division, based on the No. 7 offense, the No. 2 defense, and the No. 3 SRS ranking overall. The Ravens went on the road in the first round of the postseason and beat the Tennessee Titans, 20-13, setting up a showdown with the Buffalo Bills on the road. Alas, the Bills defense clamped down and held Baltimore’s offense in check for a 17-3 victory that ended it.

Quarterback Lamar Jackson (18 AV) was one of only 3 players in double-digit value on this roster, so you can see the Ravens were a little thin at the top. The Titans took a 10-0 lead early in the wild-card round, but it was all Baltimore after that, as the defense held Tennessee’s offense to just 209 yards. However, Buffalo managed to win despite gaining just 220 yards itself; the Ravens just made too many mistakes to win it.

No. 3: 2006 Baltimore Ravens

This team won the AFC North with a 13-3 record, thanks to the No. 12 offense, the No. 1 defense, and the No. 3 SRS ranking (again). But Baltimore had the misfortune of drawing the Indianapolis Colts in the divisional round, and the Colts ended up winning the Super Bowl. In this playoff game itself, neither team could find the end zone, as Indy won, 15-6, in a game of field goals. The Ravens turned the ball over 4 times, too. Ouch!

The best guys on this Baltimore roster? LBs Adalius Thomas (19 AV) and Bart Scott (16). But in the postseason matchup with the Colts, six penalties, the previously noted four turnovers, and two sacks really hurt the Ravens’ ability to score points. Meanwhile, Indy only suffered three penalties, two turnovers, and one sack. The Colts also converted six more third-down chances than Baltimore, so it all added up to a loss.

No. 2: 2008 Baltimore Ravens

Another 11-5 record earned this team another second place in the AFC North—backed by the No. 11 offense, the No. 3 defense, and the No. 1 overall SRS ranking! The playoffs started out promisingly for the Ravens with a 27-9 wild-card win over the Miami Dolphins and a 13-10 victory over the Titans in the divisional round. But the Pittsburgh Steelers—who would win the Super Bowl—stopped all the momentum, sadly.

Lewis (20 AV), FS Ed Reed (17), LB Terrell Suggs (17), and nose tackle Haloti Ngata (16) anchored another amazing defense for this Baltimore squad. The Ravens defense forced five Miami turnovers, and then it suckered the Titans into coughing it up three times. However, the Steelers were tougher, obviously: Pittsburgh won the turnover battle, 4-1, on its way to a 23-14 victory in the AFC Championship Game.

No. 1: 2019 Baltimore Ravens

One time pays for all, right? Well, Baltimore went 14-2 in its best regular-season ever, capitalizing on the No. 1 offense, the No. 3 defense, and the No. 1 overall SRS ranking. However, the Titans finally got some revenge on the Ravens for all the prior playoff eliminations: Tennessee harassed Baltimore into seven penalties, four sacks, and three turnovers to negate 530 yards of total offense in a 28-12 upset victory.

Jackson (25 AV) was the league’s voted MVP, and he was supported ably by T Ronnie Stanley (17), cornerback Marlon Humphrey (16), and guard Marshal Yanda (15). However, the Titans jumped out to a 14-0 lead and never looked back, forcing the Ravens offense to play catchup all game long. When Tennessee scored two more touchdowns within a 3-minute span in the third quarter, the game was effectively over.