Coming off back-to-back seasons in the top seven in total DVOA, the Ravens were poised to test the true value of running backs when they lost J.K. Dobbins, Gus Edwards, and Justice Hill—the three members of their expected backfield committee—to preseason ACL and Achilles injuries. But instead, those losses proved to be the tip of an injury iceberg that sank the Ravens’ 2021 season.
September signees Devonta Freeman and Latavius Murray staved off the decline most backs see as they enter their thirties with above-average rushing DVOA rates. But by November, running backs were the least of the Ravens’ injury worries.