Ravens' Win Against Patriots Fueled By Much-Needed Players-Only Meeting

The Baltimore Ravens entered Week 3 with a chip on their shoulder against the New England Patriots in the latter's home-opener this season and came out with the victory.

Similar to last week against the Miami Dolphins, the offense was running at high-gear as quarterback Lamar Jackson again led them with big contributions from both veterans and young prospects alike, but it was the defense's turn to shine.

It turns out that their key to success was leadership from their established veterans.

Josh Bynes and Marlon Humphrey came up big with interceptions in the third and fourth quarter respectively, while a fumble recovery by Marcus Peters led to the game-sealing touchdown for a score of 37-26.

Jeff Zriebec of The Athletic revealed that the team held a players-only meeting a day before the coaches had meetings and a film review of the loss to the Dolphins.

"Just make sure we took accountability and ownership. We wanted to knock it out of the way. We had to move forward. For us to knock it out altogether and then to come in Tuesday with coaches, there was a greater understanding," Bynes said about what happened behind closed doors.

Longtime NFL defensive end Calais Campbell, who contemplated retirement this past offseason, could not stress enough how frustrated his group was at their performance against Miami.

"We're competitors. There was a little edge that we had all week to try and get back in the win column. But that's football. This team has a lot of fighters," he noted.

A week ago, the Ravens' defense faltered in the fourth quarter as the Dolphins went on a three-touchdown run from 21 points down to tie the game before ultimately winning it all 42-38 with another endzone score in the last two minutes.

Fans and players alike were disappointed with how their vaunted defense, featuring new coordinator Mike Macdonald, was eviscerated by Tua Tagovailoa's six-touchdown performance.

It looked like injuries were again going to play a part in the Ravens' 2022 NFL season, but things held up for them this time around.

The defense finished with a total of 66 tackles, three of which were sacks on Patriots quarterback Mac Jones and five for a loss of yards, while the three interceptions were key to helping out Jackson to end the day with a five-touchdown performance.

It is worth noting that rookie safety Kyle Hamilton, widely regarded as the best at his position during the 2022 draft, is yet to make as big of an impact on the defensive end as his more established peers, though his time in the spotlight is expected to come soon.

Beating out their longtime AFC rivals has swung the momentum back in their favor and there is hope that they can string together a winning streak similar to last season.

The Ravens' mettle will once again be challenged heading into Week 4 as they welcome fellow AFC contenders Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills to M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday, October 2 at 1:00 PM EDT.