The Ravens are almost back to .500, but now is not the time for them to feel satisfied

Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Rashod Bateman celebrates with offensive tackle Roger Rosengarten after a play against the Minnesota Vikings during the second half of an NFL football encounter Sunday Nov in Minneapolis Baltimore won - AP Photo Stacy Bengs AP Stacy Bengs Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Rashod Bateman celebrates with offensive tackle Roger Rosengarten after a play against the Minnesota Vikings during the second half of an NFL football meeting Sunday Nov in Minneapolis Baltimore won - AP Photo Stacy Bengs AP Stacy Bengs OWINGS MILLS Md AP When the Baltimore Ravens were - coach John Harbaugh s job was to keep the season from going off the rails He remained defiantly hopeful that they could turn things around and make the playoffs Now after three straight wins the message is that the job isn t done I think the comment remains to be stated Harbaugh explained Monday We have a long way to go and that s where our guys are at The Ravens won - at Minnesota on Sunday forcing three turnovers and benefiting from eight false start penalties by the Vikings It wasn t a dominant success but Baltimore will gladly take it while trying to fight its way back into the playoff picture The Ravens - are now only one tournament behind Pittsburgh atop the AFC North That s because Harbaugh s brother Jim coached the Los Angeles Chargers to a win over the Steelers on Sunday night More good luck texts than usual John Harbaugh explained And I was very pleased with the outcome Aside from injuries turnovers played a big factor in Baltimore s disastrous start this season and in its failure to advance further in the playoffs in contemporary years So when the Ravens picked off two passes and recovered a Minnesota fumble on Sunday it was a welcome sign Baltimore also had a plus-three turnover margin the previous week in a win over Miami They re not only taking away points for them but putting our offense in a better position safety Kyle Hamilton revealed What s working Baltimore s defensive turnaround continues After allowing points per encounter in Weeks - the Ravens have yielded an average of in the four games since The schedule plays a role in this The first five games included matchups with the Bills Lions and Chiefs Then Baltimore held the Rams to points an impressive accomplishment before wins over the Bears Dolphins and Vikings It s clear Baltimore is gaining confidence and that might only continue with the Browns and Jets up next on the schedule What demands work The Ravens have not been good in the red zone this season and Sunday was no different They settled for field goals on their first three trips inside the before definitively managing two touchdowns one of which came after a fumble gave them the ball at the Minnesota We need to be scoring touchdowns down there We re good enough to do it Harbaugh commented It s a combination supposedly of we have to keep putting our guys in the best position we can with great plays and creative things to do You have to run the ball in the red zone That s really critical and then you have to do things right down there and find a way to get open Baltimore was creative in short-yardage situations Sunday including one play when the Ravens lined up like they were going to run a tush push with tight end Mark Andrews taking the snap under center Then Andrews pitched the ball to Lamar Jackson and the star quarterback easily outran defenders to the edge to gain the necessary yardage The Ravens still haven t shown they can consistently line up and run the ball up the middle with Derrick Henry in short-yardage situations when the defense expects that although they did get Henry going a bit in the second half Stock up Rookie safety Malaki Starks intercepted a pass for the second straight match A first-round draft pick before the season Starks went through particular growing pains but is making progress It s starting to click for him and he s reacting just a little bit faster Harbaugh announced He s conscientious so he consistently wants to do things right Stock down Tight end Isaiah Likely had only two catches for yards on five targets Injuries Harbaugh established receiver Rashod Bateman sprained his ankle and noted he should know more about the injury Wednesday Key number The Ravens have had a plus- turnover margin for each of the past two games It s the first time they ve done that in consecutive weeks since when they produced a plus- in Week against Green Bay then plus- against Houston in Week and against Detroit in Week Next moves The Ravens play at Cleveland on Sunday They beat the Browns - in Week AP NFL https apnews com hub NFL Source