The 2021 season was the Baltimore Ravens' 26th season in the National Football League (NFL) and their 14th under head coach John Harbaugh.
Several NFL records were broken or achieved by the Ravens this season. On August 23, the Baltimore Ravens and John Harbaugh claimed the record of consecutive preseason wins with 20, overtaking Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers record with a win over the Washington Football Team. On September 26, placekicker Justin Tucker broke the NFL record for the longest field goal in history, kicking a 66-yard field goal as time expired to beat the Detroit Lions 19–17. The next week, on October 3, the Ravens tied the record for most consecutive games rushing over 100 yards as a team with 43 (tied with their division rival Steelers) in a 23–7 win over the Denver Broncos.
However, despite starting the season 8–3 as well as leading the AFC North, the Ravens suffered a late-season collapse, ending the season with a brutal six game losing streak in which five of the losses were by a combined 8 points, including two of the five losses as a result of a failed two-point conversion late in the fourth quarter, and failed to improve on their 11–5 record from last season after a Week 15 loss to the Green Bay Packers. The Ravens also suffered their first losing season since 2015, finished last place in the AFC North for the first time since 2007, and failed to qualify for the postseason for the first time since 2017 after a loss to the Steelers in Week 18. It was the first time in the Lamar Jackson era that the Ravens failed to qualify for the postseason. This season also marks the most recent season the Ravens finished in last place in the AFC North.
The Ravens suffered many injuries to key players throughout the season, including losing J. K. Dobbins, Gus Edwards, Justice Hill, L. J. Fort, and Marcus Peters to season-ending injuries before the regular season started, and losing Ronnie Stanley, Marlon Humphrey, Derek Wolfe, DeShon Elliott and more during the season, while quarterback Lamar Jackson missed the final four games of the season due to an ankle injury. The Ravens ended the season with a league high 19 players on injured reserve. The year was also only the second in Ravens history to not have a Pro Bowler on defense, with the other being 2005.
Offseason Players added Position Player Tag 2020 Team Date G Kevin Zeitler UFA (Cut) New York Giants March 15 TE Josh Oliver Traded Jacksonville Jaguars March 17 FS Geno Stone UFA Houston Texans March 23 WR Sammy Watkins UFA Kansas City Chiefs March 26 OT Alejandro Villanueva UFA Pittsburgh Steelers May 4 OT Ja'Wuan James UFA (Cut) Denver Broncos June 7 DE Chris Smith UFA Las Vegas Raiders July 27 DE Justin Houston UFA Indianapolis Colts July 31 RB Le'Veon Bell UFA Kansas City Chiefs September 7 RB Devonta Freeman UFA New York Giants September 9 RB Latavius Murray UFA (Cut) New Orleans Saints September 10
Players lost Position Player Tag 2021 Team Date QB Robert Griffin III Waived January 18 WR De'Anthony Thomas Waived January 18 CB Tramon Williams Waived Retired January 18 RB Mark Ingram II Waived Houston Texans January 19 OLB Matthew Judon UFA New England Patriots March 15 EDGE Yannick Ngakoue UFA Las Vegas Raiders March 15 WR Chris Moore UFA Houston Texans March 15 DE Jihad Ward UFA Jacksonville Jaguars March 16 LS Morgan Cox UFA Tennessee Titans March 17 C Matt Skura UFA New York Giants March 18 S Jayron Kearse UFA Dallas Cowboys March 24 WR Willie Snead UFA Las Vegas Raiders March 26 OT Orlando Brown Jr. Traded Kansas City Chiefs April 23 OLB Chauncey Rivers WaivedGreen Bay Packers August 4 TE Jake Breeland Waived/Injured August 9 CB Davontae Harris Waived San Francisco 49ers August 15 TE Eli Wolf Waived August 15 CB Shaun Wade Traded New England Patriots August 26 C Greg Mancz Traded Miami Dolphins August 28 OG Ben Bredeson Traded New York Giants August 31 SS Nigel Warrior Waived Seattle Seahawks August 31
2021 NFL draft
2021 Baltimore Ravens draft Round Selection Player Position College 1 27 Rashod Bateman WR Minnesota31 Odafe OwehOLB Penn State 3 94 Ben Cleveland OG Georgia104 Brandon Stephens CB SMU 4 131 Tylan Wallace WR Oklahoma State 5 160 Shaun Wade CB Ohio State 171 Daelin Hayes OLB Notre Dame 184 Ben Mason FB Michigan Notes Baltimore traded offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr., their 2021 second-round selection (No. 58) and a 2022 sixth-round selection to Kansas City for their 2021 first-round selection (No. 31), 2021 third-round selection (No. 94), 2021 fourth-round selection (No. 136), and a 2022 fifth-round selection. Baltimore traded its third-round selection (No. 91) and a conditional 2022 fifth-round pick that would have converted to as high as a third-round pick to Minnesota in exchange for linebacker Yannick Ngakoue. Baltimore received compensatory third-round selections in 2021 (No. 104) and 2022 when its assistant head coach and passing game coordinator David Culley was hired by Houston as head coach. Baltimore traded the fourth-round selection it had earlier acquired from the Kansas City Chiefs (No. 136) and its own sixth-round selection (No. 210) to Arizona for their 5th round selection (No. 160) and a 2022 fourth-round pick. Baltimore received a compensatory fifth-round selection (No. 184) in 2021 due to the loss of DT Michael Pierce in free agency the previous offseason.
Undrafted free agent signings
2021 Baltimore Ravens Undrafted Free Agent Signings Player Position College Ar'Darius Washington S TCU Adrian Ealy OT Oklahoma Tony Poljan TE Virginia Sam Cooper OG Merrimack Foster Sarell OT Stanford Xavier Kelly DT Arkansas Blake Gallagher LB Northwestern Nate McCrary RB Saginaw Valley State Donte Sylencieux WR Graceland Barrington Wade LB Iowa Kenji Bahar QB Monmouth Jake Verity K East Carolina Jovan Swann DL Indiana
Staff
Final roster
Preseason The Ravens' preseason opponents and schedule were announced in the spring. Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 New Orleans Saints W 17–14 1–0 M&T Bank Stadium Recap 2 at Carolina Panthers W 20–3 2–0 Bank of America Stadium Recap 3 at Washington Football Team W 37–3 3–0 FedExField Recap
Note The Ravens' three preseason victories extended their preseason winning streak to 20 games (an NFL record).
Regular season Schedule The Ravens' 2021 schedule was announced on May 12. Apart from their AFC North division games, the Ravens played games against the AFC West and NFC North in accordance with the NFL's schedule rotation. They also played against the Indianapolis Colts, the Miami Dolphins, and the Los Angeles Rams, who finished 2020 in the same position as the Ravens in the two other AFC divisions and the NFC West, which the Ravens would play fully in 2019 and 2023.
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 at Las Vegas Raiders L 27–33 0–1 Allegiant Stadium Recap 2 September 19 Kansas City Chiefs W 36–35 1–1 M&T Bank Stadium Recap 3 September 26 at Detroit Lions W 19–17 2–1 Ford Field Recap 4 October 3 at Denver Broncos W 23–7 3–1 Empower Field at Mile High Recap 5 Indianapolis Colts W 31–25 4–1 M&T Bank Stadium Recap 6 October 17 Los Angeles Chargers W 34–6 5–1 M&T Bank Stadium Recap 7 October 24 Cincinnati Bengals L 17–41 5–2 M&T Bank Stadium Recap 8 Bye 9 November 7 Minnesota Vikings W 34–31 6–2 M&T Bank Stadium Recap 10 at Miami Dolphins L 10–22 6–3 Hard Rock Stadium Recap 11 November 21 at Chicago Bears W 16–13 7–3 Soldier Field Recap 12 November 28 Cleveland Browns W 16–10 8–3 M&T Bank Stadium Recap 13 December 5 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 19–20 8–4 Heinz Field Recap 14 December 12 at Cleveland Browns L 22–24 8–5 FirstEnergy Stadium Recap 15 December 19 Green Bay Packers L 30–31 8–6 M&T Bank Stadium Recap 16 December 26 at Cincinnati Bengals L 21–41 8–7 Paul Brown Stadium Recap 17 January 2 Los Angeles Rams L 19–20 8–8 M&T Bank Stadium Recap 18 January 9 Pittsburgh Steelers L 13–16 8–9 M&T Bank Stadium Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries Week 1: Las Vegas Raiders 33, Baltimore Ravens 27 (OT)
The Ravens blew multiple fourth quarter leads and lost in overtime 27–33 to the Raiders on Monday Night Football.
The Raiders received the opening kickoff and moved into Baltimore territory before a shotgun snap that was not expected by Las Vegas quarterback Derek Carr led to a 15-yard loss. As a result of the play, the Raiders were forced to punt. The Ravens were unable to do much with the ball and punted as well. A three-and-out series by the Raiders gave the ball to the Ravens at their own 35. The Ravens moved into Raider territory, but were faced with a fourth and one at the Raider 35-yard line. Ty'Son Williams broke through the line on the fourth down play for a 35-yard touchdown run to give Baltimore a 7–0 lead. The teams exchanged punts on their next possessions before the Ravens moved into Raider territory again. Lamar Jackson hit Marquise Brown on a 10-yard touchdown pass with nine minutes remaining in the second quarter and it appeared the Raiders might get blown out. However, on the ensuing possession, Carr was finally able to connect with tight end Darren Waller and move the ball to the Ravens two-yard line before Josh Jacobs scored to cut the lead in half, 14–7. The Ravens again moved into Raider territory with less than two minutes left in the half, but were stopped short on fourth down and turned the ball over to Las Vegas. Carr quickly moved the Raiders to the Baltimore 14-yard line, but had to settle for a Daniel Carlson 34-yard field goal as the half ended leaving the score 14–10 at halftime.
In the second half, the team exchanged punts again before the Ravens connected on a 40-yard field goal by Justin Tucker to move the lead back to seven at 17–10. The Raiders looked to answer by moving in to Raven territory, but were stuffed on a fourth-and-one at the Raven 13. The teams again exchanged punts as the game moved to the fourth quarter. The Ravens took over with 13:23 remaining in the quarter, but Jackson scrambled and had the ball knocked out of his hands and fumbled with the Raiders' Denzel Perryman recovering the ball at the Baltimore 41. Four plays later, Jacobs scored on a 25-yard run to tie the game at 17. The Ravens quickly answered as Latavius Murray scored on an eight-yard touchdown run to give the Ravens a 24–17 lead with about six minutes remaining. Carr moved the Raiders down field and, with just under four minutes left, hit Waller for a 10-yard touchdown pass to again tie the game. Baltimore responded by moving into Raider territory, but were unable to get a first down on a third-down play at the Vegas 31 and were forced to settle for a field goal with 37 seconds remaining. Carr, with no timeouts, hit Bryan Edwards for a 20-yard gain on the first play of the ensuing possession. After a spike to stop the clock, Carr hit Edwards again for 18 yards to move the ball to the Raven 37. Carlson then hit a 55-yard field to tie the game at 27. With two second remaining in the quarter, the Ravens took a knee to settle for overtime.