Ravens’ 2025 Season: One Kick From Glory

Ravens’ 2025 Season: One Kick From Glory

  • October 26th, 2026
  • By Marneen Zahavi
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  • 12 views

Baltimore Ravens 2025 Season

The Ravens’ 2025 season was supposed to end in February. It ended instead on a cold January night in Pittsburgh, with a 44-yard kick drifting wide right. Baltimore entered the year as a Super Bowl favorite. It stumbled to a 1-5 start, clawed back into the race, and reached Week 18 with the AFC North on the line. The Ravens finished 8-9 and missed the playoffs. Two days later, the franchise parted ways with John Harbaugh after 18 seasons. Few years in team history packed more hope, more heartbreak, and more consequence into seventeen games.

A Contender Built for February

Offseason Moves and Sky-High Expectations

Baltimore believed its window was wide open. Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry returned as the league’s most feared backfield. Zay Flowers was entering his prime, and Kyle Hamilton anchored the secondary. Offensive coordinator Todd Monken returned to run a unit that had led the league in total yardage the year before. Zach Orr entered his second season as defensive coordinator. Continuity was the selling point, and the staff expected it to translate into a deep January run. The front office added veteran receiver DeAndre Hopkins and cornerback Jaire Alexander. It spent its first-round pick on Georgia safety Malaki Starks. The most delicate decision came at kicker. The team released Justin Tucker, the most accurate kicker in league history, and handed the job to sixth-round rookie Tyler Loop. That choice would carry enormous weight by January.

The Collapse in Buffalo

The opener at Buffalo should have announced Baltimore as the class of the AFC. Instead, it revealed a flaw that never fully healed. The Ravens scored on seven of their first eight possessions. Henry ripped off a 46-yard touchdown run to build a 40-25 lead with 11:42 left. He finished with 169 yards and two scores. Then the defense unraveled. Josh Allen led two touchdown drives, and Henry lost a fumble in between. Matt Prater kicked a 32-yard field goal as time expired. Baltimore lost 41-40 and became the first NFL team to lose after scoring 40 points and leading by 15 in the fourth quarter.

From Free Fall to Resurrection

Losing Lamar and the 1-5 Hole

A 41-17 rout of Cleveland briefly steadied the ship. It did not last. Detroit won 38-30 in Baltimore, and Kansas City followed with a 37-20 win at Arrowhead. Worse, Jackson injured his hamstring in that loss to the Chiefs. Cooper Rush started the next two games. Houston crushed the Ravens 44-10. The Rams then held them to a single field goal in a 17-3 defeat, and Rush was benched for Tyler Huntley. Baltimore limped into its bye at 1-5. The defense had surrendered at least 37 points four times. Outside the building, the season looked finished.

Five Straight Wins

Baltimore refused to fold. Huntley started against Chicago after the bye, and Baltimore seized a 30-16 win. Jackson returned on a Thursday night in Miami and led a 28-6 victory. The Ravens then won at Minnesota, 27-19, and at Cleveland, 23-16. A 23-10 win over the Jets pushed the streak to five. Baltimore stood 6-5 and back in the thick of the division race. That stretch defined the team’s character. It also gave fans reason to believe the Ravens’ 2025 season could still end somewhere meaningful.

General manager Eric DeCosta reshaped the defense during the run. He sent edge rusher Odafe Oweh to the Chargers for safety Alohi Gilman. He then acquired Dre’Mont Jones from Tennessee to bolster the pass rush. Alexander, who had played sparingly, was shipped to Philadelphia. The moves paid off quickly. Zach Orr’s unit, which had been shredded in September, tightened considerably. Over the five-game streak, no opponent topped 19 points. Defensive tackle Travis Jones became a steady force in the middle and finished as the team leader with five sacks. The turnaround on that side of the ball mattered as much as Jackson’s return.

A December Fight for the Division

Stumbles Against Rivals and Contenders

The momentum vanished on Thanksgiving night. Cincinnati, with Joe Burrow back under center, rolled to a 32-14 win in Baltimore. Pittsburgh followed with a 27-22 victory at M&T Bank Stadium. The Ravens answered with a 24-0 shutout in Cincinnati, their most complete defensive performance of the year. Then came another collapse. Against New England, Baltimore held a 24-13 lead after Henry’s second touchdown. Jackson had already left with a back injury. Drake Maye threw for 380 yards and led the Patriots back for a 28-24 win. The Ravens sat at 7-8 and needed help.

Henry Carries the Load in Green Bay

With Jackson sidelined, Baltimore handed the season to its 31-year-old running back. Henry answered with one of the finest games of his career. He carried a career-high 36 times for 216 yards and four touchdowns at Lambeau Field. It was his seventh career 200-yard game, the most in NFL history. Huntley played mistake-free football, and Marlon Humphrey sealed the 41-24 win with a late interception. Cleveland then upset Pittsburgh the next day. The AFC North would be decided in Week 18.

The Kick That Ended an Era

Heartbreak at Acrisure Stadium

Everything came down to one night in Pittsburgh. Jackson returned, and Baltimore jumped to a 10-0 lead. The offense then went silent into the fourth quarter. Early in the third, Hamilton and Gilman collided and left for concussion evaluations. Gilman returned. Hamilton did not. Jackson still found a way. He hit Flowers for a 50-yard touchdown, then faked a toss and found Flowers again from 50 yards out. Baltimore led 24-20 with 3:49 left. Pittsburgh answered with a touchdown, but Chris Boswell missed the extra point. The Ravens trailed 26-24 and had one last chance.

Keaton Mitchell’s kick return set Baltimore up at its own 47 with 55 seconds left. Penalties stalled the drive. On fourth-and-7, Jackson found Isaiah Likely to reach field goal range. The Ravens took a deliberate loss to center the ball, pushing the attempt back to 44 yards. Loop lined it up for the division title. The kick sailed wide right. Pittsburgh won 26-24, and the Ravens’ 2025 season was over. The rookie later spoke openly about moving on from the miss.

Harbaugh’s Exit and a Mixed Legacy

The loss carried consequences far beyond one game. On January 6, 2026, owner Steve Bisciotti fired Harbaugh after 18 seasons. Harbaugh left with a 180-113 regular-season record and the franchise’s Super Bowl XLVII title. Weeks later, Baltimore hired former Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter as his successor. Harbaugh soon landed with the New York Giants.

Individual brilliance survived the disappointment. Henry rushed for 1,595 yards and 16 touchdowns. Flowers caught 86 passes for 1,211 yards and earned a Pro Bowl nod. Jackson posted a 103.8 passer rating with 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions in 13 games. Hamilton and punter Jordan Stout were named first-team All-Pros, and Roquan Smith made the Pro Bowl. Baltimore’s complete 2025 statistics show a roster loaded with talent and shadowed by injuries.

The Ravens’ 2025 season will be remembered for its margins. A 15-point lead slipped away in Buffalo. An 11-point lead vanished against New England. A 44-yard kick drifted wide in Pittsburgh. Any one of those moments could have changed the story. Instead, the year closed one of the most successful coaching tenures in NFL history. It opened a new chapter, which the Baltimore Ravens now write with Minter and a franchise quarterback still chasing his first Super Bowl.

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