No Contest

This wasn’t the Miami Dolphins. It wasn’t the Cincinnati Bengals for that matter, either. This was another Baltimore Ravens win over another team with legitimate championship dreams, and so it’s finally time to say what’s become quite obvious: There is no better team playing football in the NFL right now.

It was shocking enough that the Ravens dominated the Houston Texans during a 41-7 win at M&T Bank Stadium. What was even more startling was the reality that Baltimore is elevating to an entirely different level as the race for postseason positioning intensifies. We already knew the Ravens had a spectacular offense led by quarterback Lamar Jackson. Now the Baltimore defense has started to look more like the trademark stifling units that served as the foundation for this franchise’s two Super Bowl wins.

The Ravens were plenty scary when teams only had to figure out how to slow down Jackson. Give them a squad where every unit, including special teams, performs at a high level and it’s hard to think any opponent can contain this bunch at the moment.

“Any time you’re 8-2, you’ve got a special group of guys,” said Ravens running back Mark Ingram. “And I think we really have a special group of guys. Guys who understand each other. Guys who believe in each other. Guys who want to fight for each other. Guys who understand the value of preparation one day at a time. We have a goal of being champions, so we don’t have time to rest.”

There is no denying the sense of urgency in the Ravens these days. They compete as if their season is on the line each week. They play with a combination of enthusiasm and conviction, a sense that they’ve got to prove their value every time they step on the field. It’s the kind of vibe you normally see from pro teams once January rolls around, which means head coach John Harbaugh already has tapped into something pretty special in this squad.

This is a team that has thumped the Seahawks in Seattle and stomped the previously undefeated New England Patriots on national television. The Texans came into this contest as arguably the third-best team in the AFC — one that had an extra week to prep because of their bye — and they left town on Sunday with a 34-point defeat. Even the skeptics who want to say the Ravens have fattened up on bottom-dwellers like the Dolphins and Bengals can’t doubt the squad they crushed today. Kansas City is the only true contender to beat Baltimore this year and the Ravens only lost that game by five points on the road.

The point here is that this squad is no longer a fun little story about Lamar Jackson and his transformation into a superstar quarterback. It’s about a team that is building the chemistry, the confidence and the cohesiveness that tends to define championship squads.

“The defense was locked in all day,” said Ravens outside linebacker Matthew Judon. “I think we had one terrible drive, where we missed some tackles and some alignments. But [the Texans’ offense is] on scholarship, too. They made their plays as well. But when the offense is clicking, that’s on them. When the defense is clicking, we have to have [our] offense’s back. And that’s what we did today.”