The following is an excerpt from Warren Sharp's 2026 Football Preview. In addition to Warren's deep, detailed write-up on all 32 NFL teams, each chapter features page after page of full-color charts, stats, and heatmaps, as well as penalty analysis from Joe Gibbs. Click here for a full FREE chapter from the 2026 Football Preview.
Penalties are an under-discussed aspect of NFL success and failure. Average teams can become playoff contenders with good discipline, and good teams can become great simply by winning the penalty battle.
Let's look at how the Baltimore Ravens performed from a penalty perspective in 2025 and where they can improve in 2026.
Baltimore Ravens 2026 Penalty Outlook: Discipline, Flags & Hidden Edges
The Good
- The Ravens were the biggest season-over-season improvers in the offensive holding category. This was particularly true in road contests, with Baltimore cutting its road offensive holding penalties by more than half year over year. That will be essential again this season with the Ravens scheduled for nine road games in 2026.
- The Ravens recorded the biggest year-over-year decline in net penalty yardage per game versus opponents. Baltimore ended 2024 with the largest net yards per game disadvantage in the NFL. A major improvement in 2025 saw them finish with a +25-yard swing in per-game average.
- A major driver of the above point: The defense was a top-five unit in surrendering automatic first downs in 2024, but was a big improver in the category last season. The primary factors for the decline were via reductions in unnecessary roughness and roughing the passer infractions year over year.
- The Ravens ranked as the No. 1 penalized fourth-quarter team in 2024, but improved dramatically last season in this category.
- The defense ranked as the No. 1 unit at generating penalties on opposing offenses in the fourth quarter of contests in 2025.
The Bad
- Baltimore had a net negative first-quarter penalty disadvantage versus opponents, but did offset that with either a positive or tied penalty per quarter numbers the remainder of the game in 2025.
Grade: B+
The offseason ushered in major changes for the Ravens, with long-time coach John Harbaugh fired and replaced by highly regarded defensive mind Jesse Minter.
There was a feeling Harbaugh’s message was getting stale in Baltimore, and a new voice may be exactly what this team needs.
It is imperative that Baltimore hit the ground running, with three of their first four games at M&T Bank Stadium.
With Lamar Jackson still playing at an MVP level and the roster remaining one of the league’s best, Baltimore is again built to contend.
Regular season wins are essential to get into the playoffs, but Baltimore’s accomplishments in the postseason will define them in 2026.
This analysis continues in the 2026 Football Preview
Order Warren Sharp's 2026 Football Preview to Get Penalty Analysis for All 32 NFL Teams
Warren Sharp’s 600+ page full-color PDF, the 2026 Football Preview, is unlike anything you have read. Stunning visualizations, including new heat maps and stat pages, are built with the reader in mind. Innovative, next-level thought processes abound in every team chapter and article.
Get Warren's Book
Warren Sharp's book shares insights into the players, coaches, teams, and philosophies with one goal: to prepare you for the 2026 NFL season with the smartest information delivered in the fastest, most direct way possible for optimal reviewing and retention.
- Team Chapters previews are in-depth, data-driven & full of actionable info
- Fantasy Football player profiles, predictions, and ranks
- Vegas Odds forecast team wins, division rankings, lines for all 2026 games
- Coaching strategic advice for teams, play-calling analysis & team tendencies
- Front Office Analysis positional spending, roster construction & cap analysis
- Reasons to bet over/under win totals & analysis of futures betting market
- Rookie draft class deep dive into impact for every team
- Rankings for every positional unit on every team with analysis
- Penalty analysis for all 32 NFL teams
