Ravens' Returning Power Rusher Will Determine Team's Success This Season

The Baltimore Ravens have not been off to a hot start this season after not being able to put together a winning streak this season, but the return of Gus Edwards could give them that much-needed spark on offense.

Edwards has not touched the field since tearing his ACL during practice in September 2021, and he showed how much he missed playing for the Ravens fans as he made his season debut spectacularly against the Cleveland Browns in Week 7.

"The Gus Bus" powered through the Browns' defense multiple times in his first NFL game in 645 days, breaking the plane twice for the Ravens' two touchdowns on the night.

His ability as a power runner has been sorely missed by the Ravens this season since his ability to give the Ravens some much-needed yardage on the ground as evidenced by his touchdown runs–one seven-yarder and a one-yarder to lighten the load of the passing game.

Head coach John Harbaugh noted that the team needs his power in the running game to help diversify their offense as other active running backs like Kenyan Drake and Justice Hill are more on the speedy and athletic side.

"All that power – we've been missing that a lot. We've got a lot of 'scat' backs, fast, elusive backs, but he (Edwards) can do both. But we've been missing the power, and it showed today. He was hitting the holes and getting like five yards a carry sometimes," Harbaugh said in the post-game press conference.

"It meant a lot to us to have him back, too, because we missed him, too. He didn't just miss the game; we missed him, as well. I'm glad he got his two touchdowns today and iced the game for us."

It certainly did look like the Ravens were playing a more inspired offense knowing that Edwards is available to move the chains during crucial situations, and the Rutgers product is more than happy to help out but did not neglect to thank the offensive line for their help.

"It was tough yards, but we did some good things with [combination] blocks and everything. Big shoutout to the offensive line on both of those touchdowns for... making it easy on my part," he said.

His durability for the rest of the season will be a big question mark for the fans moving forward as his skills are simply too valuable to not have when they face tough run-stopping defenses down the road.

However, the Ravens will not face a top-ten rushing defense the rest of the way, save for the Atlanta Falcons in Week 16.

The Ravens can definitely go on a huge winning streak in their remaining 10 games with Edwards leading the charge in the backfield, plowing through the defense for short gains.

With J.K. Dobbins being out for six-to-seven weeks as he undergoes another procedure to clean his knee, Edwards is expected to lead the charge in his stead while leaning on co-stars Justice Hill and Kenyan Drake for help.