Ravens, Bears are two regression candidates in 2019

The Baltimore Ravens and Chicago Bears surprisingly won their divisions in 2018. It will be tough to repeat in both instances.

Baltimore might have had the toughest offseason of any team in the NFL. The Ravens watched as wide receivers Michael Crabtree and John Brown, safety Eric Weddle, edge rushers Za’Darius Smith and Terrell Suggs, and inside linebacker C.J. Mosley all left for other clubs. While the additions of running back Mark Ingram and safety Earl Thomas are nice, they don’t come close to making up for the departing talent.

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The Ravens will also be playing a first-place schedule that includes a trip to Arrowhead Stadium come Week 3 to visit the Kansas City Chiefs, and a home date with the New England Patriots in Week 9. In fact, Baltimore will play five playoff teams from a year ago, and then have four games with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns, who should push hard for postseason berths in 2019.

Additionally, what to make of Lamar Jackson? As a rookie, Jackson only threw six touchdowns against three interceptions and just once topped 200 yards passing in a game. Jackson also has a new offensive coordinator in Greg Roman this year and a new playbook to learn. Not a great assignment for someone who looked in over his head as a rookie.

As for the Bears, they are in a better spot than the Ravens, but it’s still rough. Chicago relied heavily on its defense to carry the day in 2018, and there have been some important departures. For starters, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio left for the head coaching job in Denver. There were also losses on the field including slot corner Bryce Callahan and safety Adrian Amos. Amos was replaced with the signing of Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, but that’s a step down.

Finally, teams that put the onus on their defense typically struggle to maintain the same level of playin consecutive seasons. The Jacksonville Jaguars and Denver Broncos are recent examples, and although Mitchell Trubisky is better than either of Blake Bortles and Trevor Siemian, he’s not elite by any means.

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Last year, Trubisky threw for 3,223 yards with 24 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 14 starts. Those numbers aren’t going to b the driving force behind a Super Bowl contender. Chicago didn’t add much of note to the offensive arsenal, so improvement to Trubisky’s numbers will need to be through his own growth.

Baltimore and Chicago could both find their way back to the playoffs, but each faces its own daunting obstacles.