The Baltimore Ravens had an overall stellar performance against the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday.
The Ravens defeated the Eagles 24-7 in dominant performance. After the performance, fans and analysts around the league were excited about how the Baltimore Ravens defense looked. A true step in the right direction for this franchise.
“For a Baltimore Ravens football team that has a superstar quarterback in Lamar with a defense that for their standards failed a season ago … you want to come in if you’re Jesse Minter, who’s now the head coach but also the play-caller on the defensive side of the ball, it’s about setting a foundation and setting a tone and an identity for this defense that no matter who’s on the field, the starters or the fourth-string guys, there’s a standard that has to be upheld,” McCourty said on ESPN’s “First Take.” “So, I think for them preseason-wise, Minter comes from the Chargers, where they were top 10 in damn near every stat. That’s the expectation for a Baltimore Ravens defense.
“And I think you set that tone when you go out there for the first time for anybody to see a Jesse Minter-led defense in the purple for it to look like that, and they dominated in that game.”
Jesse Minter Looking to Turn Ravens Defense Around
The Baltimore Ravens have been accustomed to dominant defenses in years past. We think of Ed Reed, Ray Lewis, Terrell Suggs, or Haloti Ngata. Jesse Minter is looking to get the Ravens back to their historic standard defensively.
In 2025, the Chargers had the 5th ranked defense in the NFL under Minter, who was the defensive coordinator. They held opponents to 20 points or fewer in 10 of their last 11 games, and they tied for third in interceptions with 19.
For the past two years, the Ravens have struggled on the defensive side of the ball. Jesse Minter and the Ravens are off to a great start to the preseason.
Jesse Minter will now have an opportunity to work a versatile player such as All-Pro Safety Kyle Hamilton. Minter spoke on how much of an impact Hamilton has on this Ravens squad.
“Kyle is a weapon,” Minter said in January. “He’s a positionless defensive player. I could not be more thrilled to be able to work with Kyle. I know he’s excited and I’m excited to work with all the great players in this organization.”
The Baltimore Ravens Struggled Defensively in 2025
Under defensive coordinator Zach Orr, the Ravens ranked 24th in total defense during the 2025 season. The Ravens have struggled overall in the past two years.
Baltimore was the 10th ranked defense against the run. They were the 30th ranked defense against the pass. Though the team was talented on both sides of the ball, they failed to live up to the high expectations of the 2025 season.
Defensively, the Ravens had trouble generating pressure with a 30% pass rush win rate in 2025. According to ESPN, the win rate ranked 28th in the league.
With a two-time MVP on the other side of the ball, the Ravens should once again have big expectations again in 2026.
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