Jamison Hensley, ESPN Team of workers Essayist
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — It sounds as if, the primary rule relating to the Baltimore Ravens’ preseason win streak is you don’t communicate concerning the Baltimore Ravens’ preseason win streak.
The Ravens have received 23 instantly preseason video games, which is the longest mark in NFL historical past. The utmost generation Baltimore misplaced within the preseason was once 2015, when rookie first-round select Zay Flowers was once a freshman in highschool.
Because the Ravens observable the preseason Saturday in opposition to the Philadelphia Eagles, tutor John Harbaugh received’t be bringing up his crew’s 8 instantly years of best possible summers to the avid gamers. (All preseason video games had been canceled in 2020.)
“It’s like a no-hitter [in baseball]. It’s like a hitting streak,” Harbaugh said. “It’s unstated till possibly next the sport.”
The Ravens poised the preseason mark in 2021, surpassing the 19-game streak of Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers from 1959 to 1962. The second one-longest stream preseason win streak is held by means of the Las Vegas Raiders and the Chicago Bears, who’ve received 4 in a row.
There are simplest two Ravens avid gamers who’ve been round for all of the unbeaten preseason run: kicker Justin Tucker and offensive take on Ronnie Stanley. Tucker stated deny avid gamers have talked concerning the streak. Actually, the primary generation it was once discussed this moment was once when a reporter requested him whether or not he knew the precise selection of wins in a row for Baltimore.
Tucker accurately replied 23.
“I’ve said this last year, and the year before and probably the year before that, but it of course means something to us,” Tucker stated. “It’s a reflection of our organization, our coaching staff and our young players working their tails off this time of year to put a good product on the field, and a product that we can all be proud of. More than anything, it speaks to the way our coaches develop us and the way they ensure our young guys buy into what we do around here.”
The Ravens aren’t seeking to win so badly that they play games their supremacy avid gamers greater than alternative groups. Actually, Baltimore’s two franchise quarterbacks all the way through the streak — Joe Flacco and Lamar Jackson — have mixed for seven begins all the way through this preseason run. Lamar Jackson and the alternative “established starters” is not going to play games Saturday, in keeping with Harbaugh. Josh Johnson and Tyler Huntley will play games quarterback for a majority of the sport.
It in reality has been a crew aim by means of the Ravens, who’ve had 42 avid gamers rating a landing all the way through their August dynasty. Nonetheless, the Ravens have heard others rib them for pondering the streak is particular when the video games don’t technically depend.
“People have their opinions, and I get it,” Harbaugh stated. “Different things are important to different people, and I know that the guys who played in those games, the guys that made the plays to win those games in the fourth quarter — because most of those games were won in the fourth quarter with guys making plays — they’ll remember it. It’s important to them for the rest of their life, and therefore it’s important to me.”
Harbaugh added: “Now we have a bundle of targets [and] a bundle of items that we’re seeking to accomplish. It’s no longer about that in any respect, no longer even about that in step with se. It’s about turning into higher as a soccer crew, comparing our avid gamers and every particular person man making improvements to. So, that’s what we’re in search of.”
