Ravens Playoff Defense Has Historically Low Takeaway Rate in Recent Years

Shawn Hubbard/Baltimore RavensIt almost feels like an alternate reality that a defense in Baltimore is no longer a turnover machine in the playoffs. Whether it was the 2000 defense, all-time best in many eyes, or the Joe Flacco-led teams that were carried by aging versions of Ray Lewis and Ed Reed, they all shared the same appetite for destruction: taking the ball away.

The 2008 team for instance wasn’t one of the all-time best Ravens teams, but made it to the AFC Championship on the backs of game-changing takeaways. If memory serves, quarterbacks Chad Pennington and Kerry Collins had been protecting the ball all season. Until they ran into the Ravens. That win against Tennessee in the…