Baltimore Ravens, 2012 Super Bowl XLVII Champions

With Jonathan Ogden retiring after the 2007 season and Matt Stover going into free agency, Baltimore's only remaining player from its first season was Ray Lewis. The Ravens held the 26th pick in the 2009 NFL draft but went up to the 23rd pick by trading its 26th pick and a 5th round pick to the New England Patriots. The Ravens selected Michael Oher (who later had a movie named The Blind Side made after his life during his early years) in the first round of the NFL Draft.
In the season opener, the offense continued its improvements from the year before as it scored 38 points and accounted for over 500 yards in a 38–24 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. In week 2, the Ravens defeated the San Diego Chargers 31–26. Although the Ravens secondary struggled, Ray Lewis made a crucial tackle on fourth down of the Chargers' final drive to seal the Baltimore win. In week 3, the Ravens defeated the Cleveland Browns in a 34–3 blowout while celebrating Derrick Mason's 800th pass reception in his career.
In week 4, the Ravens lost in heartbreak fashion to the New England Patriots, 27–21, with their final drive ending with a dropped pass by Mark Clayton on 4th down within the 10-yard line with 28 seconds left on the clock. The following week, the Ravens hosted the Cincinnati Bengals, but lost with the Bengals' final drive resulting in a touchdown. The Ravens then played an away game against the Minnesota Vikings and suffered another heartbreaking loss, 33–31, putting them behind both the Bengals and the Steelers in the AFC North. The Ravens had rallied from 17 points down to the Vikings and managed to drive the ball down the field, but Steve Hauschka missed a 44-yard field goal as time expired on the clock. Joe Flacco made 28 out of 43 passing attempts and threw for a career high 385 yards, and Ray Rice ran for 117 yards. The very next week they hosted the Denver Broncos, who were undefeated (6–0). After Hauschka kicked a pair of field goals in the 1st and 2nd quarters, the Broncos kicked off at the start of the 3rd quarter and the Ravens immediately returned it for a touchdown, giving the Ravens a 13–0 lead. They finished the game victorious, crushing the Broncos 30–7, handing Denver its first loss of the season.
The following week, they looked to avenge the week 5 loss to the Bengals. However, they were out-played on both sides of the ball, suffered a crucial miss by Hauschka, and lost 17–7.