Baltimore Ravens are the best team in the NFL

It’s a magical time for the NFL. The calendar hasn’t turned to October yet and the sample size is limited, so the sky can fall for a particular franchise based on a game result. On the other hand, a convincing win can catapult her to holy ground on the debate shows.

The Baltimore Ravens are a good example of this. After coming up just short in their season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs, John Harbaugh’s team blew a late lead and lost to the underwhelming Las Vegas Raiders.

Teams that start 0-2 typically don’t do well in the long run, so there were real concerns about the Ravens, a legitimate Super Bowl contender. They haven’t done anything since but look very much like world champions. They went to Dallas and beat the Cowboys in Week 3, which was enough for ESPN’s Rex Ryan to believe the Ravens were the best team in the National Football League.

After Baltimore defeated Buffalo 35-10 on Sunday night, more and more people may adopt Ryan’s point of view. And he did something like a victory lap Stand up this morning.

“I know that,” Ryan said. “No team in the history of the National Football League has outscored its opponents by more than 100 yards in every single game through the first four weeks of the season. Are you kidding?”

It’s a special morning for ground-and-pound enthusiasts as Derrick Henry racked up 199 yards to pace a rushing attack that gained 271 yards. And probably a nice play for those who had Ravens futures and are keeping their diamond hands.

As far as the argument goes, it’s pretty reasonable. The Chiefs keep recording victories and obviously Baltimore can play with them as a visiting team. Tonight’s matchup between the Seattle Seahawks and Detroit Lions will go a long way toward establishing some hierarchy and giving people more time to think about the 4-0 Minnesota Vikings and Sam Darnold. Expect the Ravens’ play to be the most sustainable, especially as it progresses later in the season and establishing a rushing attack becomes even more important.