The NFL is roughly one-third of the way through the 2025 season, and interesting patterns are emerging. Teams considered years away from contention are at or near the top of the standings, and some of the preseason Super Bowl contenders are floundering.
The Baltimore Ravens fit squarely into that second category, off to a dismal 1-5 start to begin the new year. The Ravens have been plagued by injury with several key players missing multiple games, including two-time MVP Lamar Jackson.
The Ravens fell to 1-5 after a 17-3 loss to the Los Angeles Rams two weeks ago. During Baltimore’s bye week, the team has reportedly made an unconventional change within its locker room.
Ravens Remove Locker Room ‘Distractions’
According to the Baltimore Sun, Ravens coaches have taken several recreational items out of the team locker room in an effort to make it more business-like. These include video game consoles, cornhole boards, ping-pong tables and a basketball hoop.
The changes were made after the Ravens’ loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, the game in which Jackson suffered the injury. Two days before the game, one of Jackson’s teammates posted a photo of the quarterback at one of the game consoles with the caption “Hard at work.”
Baltimore has employed this strategy in the past, but players aren’t exactly happy to see it return. The Sun noted that “recreational activities helped break up long days and allowed the locker room to breathe and relax, even for a moment, from an atmosphere that demands intense daily focus.”
Other coaches have taken similar measures to motivate their players in the NFL. Longtime Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin removed ping pong, shuffleboard and billiards from the locker room in 2013, and former coach Tom Coughlin removed ping pong tables with the New York Giants and Jacksonville Jaguars.
What’s Next for the Ravens?
The Ravens will return from their bye week with a chance to turn the season around down the stretch. They’ll face the 4-2 Chicago Bears on Sunday before a quick turnaround to meet the 1-6 Miami Dolphins on Thursday night.
Baltimore faces an uphill climb to make the playoffs this season, but it isn’t impossible. Since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970, four teams have managed to claw their way into the postseason after a 1-5 start. The 1970 Bengals, 2015 Chiefs, 2018 Colts and 2020 Commanders were all able to flip the script to make it into the playoffs.
The Ravens may not have their weekly Nintendo “Super Smash Bros.” tournaments anymore in the locker room, but they could have good news on the injury front. Lamar Jackson returned to practice on Wednesday, a positive sign before the season’s most critical run.
