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Some teams don’t like to see the bye week so early in the season, but for Baltimore Ravens star safety Kyle Hamilton, it comes at just the right time.
Perhaps the biggest surprise through six weeks of the 2025 NFL season is that the Ravens are 1-5, mired in a four-game losing streak entering the bye week. This was a strong Super Bowl contender entering the year, but a combination of injuries and inconsistent play has them facing an uphill battle just to make the playoffs in January 2026.
But while sports talk shows and fans rant about what’s going wrong with the Ravens, Hamilton knows his team has a chance to put together a “great story” with the remaining schedule.
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Kyle Hamilton of the Baltimore Ravens reacts after a play against the Detroit Lions during the first half of an NFL football game at M&T Bank Stadium on September 22, 2025, in Baltimore, Maryland. (Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
“There are still 11 games left that we are guaranteed,” he told Pak Gazette Digital before participating in a Ravens NFL FLAG clinic with military children and their families at the team’s practice facility on Monday. “So it’s up to us to right the ship and steer it in the right direction because the season isn’t over. We know that, and that’s why I’m going back to the bye week. It’s good for us to reset, refocus and hit the ground running when we get back.”
Hamilton’s first three seasons in the NFL were filled with regular season success, as the Ravens made the playoffs each season. But any NFL player knows that adversity will come to a team, no matter what the record says.
So this bye week is crucial at a time when the Ravens can take a step back and evaluate, individually and collectively, what went wrong.
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“Every year I’ve been in the league, it seems like the bye week comes at the perfect time,” Hamilton added. “I think it shows that you can use a bye week whenever it’s necessary, which is now. It’s even more necessary now than in the past. I think it would be good for the team to keep it simpler than necessary. Sit back and you don’t have to think too much for a week. Obviously, we’re preparing for the Bears when we come back and stuff like that, but I think it would be good as a complete reset for us as a team and just self-evaluate.”
Bye weeks can also help teams get healthier, and two key players have been out for the Ravens: quarterback Lamar Jackson and middle linebacker Roquan Smith.
Jackson, the two-time MVP, has been unable to participate in the last two games and the Ravens’ offense has suffered as a result of his absence. But head coach John Harbaugh expects him to return in Week 8, when the Ravens face the Chicago Bears, a much-needed return.
Kyle Hamilton of the Baltimore Ravens reacts during an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams at M&T Bank Stadium on October 12, 2025 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Michael Owens/Getty Images)
“Those two guys are the heart of our team, especially Lamar. No offense to Ro, he’s obviously a big heart of our team. But Lamar is our quarterback, and he’s the guy who puts cigarette butts in the stadium seats, sells tickets and wins games for us,” Hamilton said. “Obviously, we contribute to that as well defensively and supporting the guys on offense. But, at the end of the day, [No.] 8 is what makes this work.”
Coach Harbaugh also noted after losing to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday that he believes his team has what it takes to start the winning streak needed to make the playoffs later this season. After all, many players on this roster were there in 2023, when Baltimore won 10 of 11 games before resting its starters late in the regular season to ensure playoff health.
Only four NFL teams have been able to overcome a 1-5 start to the season and make the playoffs. But, as Hamilton said, this group has what it takes to create that great story.
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“Obviously, we are not in the position we wanted to be in as a team. But if there is any [team] “We’re the ones who can do it,” Hamilton said. “I think that’s the mentality that everyone in this building has right now.” Obviously, the players, coaches, fans and anyone who supports us is disappointed with the results we have had to this point in the season.
“We have to come out at the end of halftime and do what we say. It’s all talk until we actually go out and win games.”
The Ravens have had a tough schedule to start the season, but their final 12 weeks are expected to be easier based on how their opponents perform to start the season.
Kyle Hamilton of the Baltimore Ravens warms up before an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions at M&T Bank Stadium on September 22, 2025, in Baltimore, Maryland. (Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
These are different circumstances to 2023, of course, but Hamilton will have the usual “one game at a time” mentality. Starts in week 8.
“I think it’s good to focus on one day at a time, one week at a time and I think the wins start to add up when you do that. But we can’t get too ahead of ourselves and say, ‘We have to win eight games in a row to get in,’ or whatever. We just have to win one game,” he said.
IMPACTING MILITARY CHILDREN
A change of pace during the bye week can be good for a struggling team, and that’s what Hamilton saw Monday when it partnered with Toyota to help create a positive impact for Baltimore’s military community by hosting a Ravens NFL FLAG clinic for children of service members through “Our Military Kids.”
After all, flag football was invented just down the street from Raven’s practice facility at Fort Meade in the 1940s during World War II.
Baltimore Ravens star Kyle Hamilton participates in a flag football event through Toyota with children from “Our Military Kids.” (Toyota/Our military children)
“It’s super fun and I’m honestly grateful that Toyota allowed me to be a part of it,” Hamilton said of the event. “I know Toyota has been a big supporter of NFL FLAG and has helped 300,000 people. I know there’s a slogan they like, ‘Everyone in, all season,’ and I think that’s very true with what they’ve done with this program and the NFL in general.”
Toyota’s belief that football grows communities has fueled its support of more than 300,000 young NFL FLAG players nationwide through sponsorships to date.
