OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — The Baltimore Ravens can expect a playoff-type atmosphere this weekend when they host the New England Patriots under the lights on national television.
In the past, this type of environment seemed to bring out the best in the Ravens, but that hasn't been the case this year.
“I think we kind of have mentioned how we have to play better at home," safety Alohi Gilman said. “It’s not a big jump, it’s just little things here and there. That’s not a question of our character, culture or identity. It’s just a matter of executing on a high level, on a more consistent basis.”
If the season ended today, the Ravens wouldn't make the playoffs, and their 3-5 home record is a big reason. A loss Sunday night against New England would make this the worst home season in franchise history. That distinction is currently held by Baltimore's 2015 squad, which went 3-5 — back before a team could have nine home games during a regular season.
In John Harbaugh's 18 seasons as coach, the Ravens have been particularly dominant at night, going 44-21 in prime time games and 22-5 at home. But they began this season with a Sunday night loss at Buffalo and then fell at home to Detroit on a Monday night in Week 3.
Perhaps the most disturbing defeat so far was at home against Cincinnati on Thanksgiving night. Baltimore's lone prime-time win this season was at Miami on a Thursday night in October.
“Obviously, someone is coming into our house. We have to win games," center Tyler Linderbaum said. "We have to put on a show for our crowd and end up getting wins like how we’re supposed to.”
For the next three weeks, Baltimore’s path to the playoffs might not include much sunlight. The Ravens are at home under the lights Sunday night. Then they have a Saturday night game at Green Bay. Their Week 18 showdown at Pittsburgh — which might decide the AFC North title — could be put in prime time as well.
One factor in Baltimore's poor home record is that when Lamar Jackson missed three games with a hamstring injury, they were all at home — a 44-10 loss to Houston, a 17-3 loss to the Rams and a 30-16 win over Chicago.
“The Houston game was probably our worst home game ever that I can ever remember, (but) our guys were fighting their butts off, the guys that were out there playing, who were playing in the game," Harbaugh said. “That game is what it was. The Rams game is what it was. Guys are fighting their butts off in that game, too. So, those games are history.”
But more recently, a healthier Ravens team lost divisional games at home to the Bengalsand Steelers, leaving themselves in the predicament — they're one game behind Pittsburgh atop the division — they're trying to pull themselves out of.
If there's one issue that might explain why Baltimore's home-field advantage hasn't helped much, it's that the Ravens have tended to start slowly. They've scored only two first-quarter touchdowns in their eight home games, and they've been outscored 86-59 in the first half on home turf.
That's not how you maintain an intimidating atmosphere.
“It’s so important starting fast, and again, just kind of having energy,” linebacker Tavius Robinson said. "When your brother makes a play, go celebrate. Gets that energy flowing in the crowd, the team and all that, so it’s very important for sure.”
Jackson missed practice Wednesday because of an illness. So did linebackers Roquan Smith (knee), Kyle Van Noy (quadriceps) and Teddye Buchanan (knee), tackle Ronnie Stanley (knee/ankle) and cornerback Chidobe Awuzie (foot).
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Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Alex Highsmith (56) and defensive tackle Cameron Heyward (97) tackle Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
MIAMI (AP) — Some oil vessels are diverting away from Venezuela after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened a “blockade” of sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving the South American country, a dramatic escalation in the White House’s pressure campaign on leader Nicolás Maduro.
Trump said Tuesday on social media, in all caps, that he is ordering a "total and complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers” into and out of Venezuela, a move that threatens to choke off revenue from the world's largest oil reserves that are key to Maduro's grip on power.
It’s not clear exactly what Trump meant by his threats. U.S. sanctions adopted during his first administration make it illegal for Americans to purchase Venezuela’s crude oil without a license from the Treasury Department.
Additionally, hundreds of ships themselves have been sanctioned — part of a massive shadow fleet of often aging vessels that has proliferated in recent years to transport oil on behalf of Iran, Russia, Venezuela and other U.S. adversaries under sanctions.
At least 30 vessels under sanctions are navigating near Venezuela, according to Windward, a maritime intelligence firm that helps U.S. officials target the shadow fleet. A few have started to change their course, perhaps fearing they could face the same fate as the Skipper, a sanctioned vessel seized by U.S. forces last week near Venezuela.
“It’s quite clear that this has disrupted energy flows to and from Venezuela,” said Michelle Wiese Bockmann, a senior analyst at Windward. "Every hour when we’re tracking these vessels, we are seeing tankers that are deviating, loitering or changing their behavior.”
Among those is the Hyperion, which had been sailing toward the Jose port in Venezuela before doing a 90-degree turn early Wednesday and starting to head north away from the South American mainland.
The vessel, previously part of Russia’s state-owned shipping fleet, was one of 173 sanctioned in the final days of the Biden administration for allegedly facilitating Russian oil sales in violation of sanctions over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Following the penalties, the vessel changed its flag from the Comoros to Gambia. But the West African nation deleted Hyperion — along with dozens of other vessels — from its privately run ship registry in November for allegedly using false certificates claiming to have been issued by its maritime authority.
The vessel’s ownership also is obfuscated under multiple layers of offshore companies, some of them listed in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
“It’s just screaming that it’s in a position to be seized,” Wiese Bockmann said.
Since the first Trump administration imposed punishing oil sanctions on Venezuela in 2017, Maduro’s government has boosted its reliance on a network of rogue tankers to smuggle a growing share of the roughly 900,000 barrels of oil per day that the OPEC nation produces.
Sanctioned tankers carried about 18% of Venezuela’s international shipments during the second half of this year, up from 6% in the first half of the year, according to Jim Burkhard, global head of oil markets and mobility at S&P Global Energy.
Burkhard said that while supplies to China, the main destination for most Venezuelan oil, could be affected, he doesn't expect any major disruption to oil markets.
“Volatility or uncertainty around Venezuela is not new, it’s not a shock,” he said. Markets also react more when supplies of oil are scarce, and “the market today is not tight. There’s plenty of oil.”
Unaffected for now is the roughly 143,000 barrels per day of Venezuelan heavy crude sent to U.S. refineries along the Gulf coast, much of it transported by Chevron, which has a waiver to operate in Venezuela.
“Chevron’s operations in Venezuela continue without disruption and in full compliance with laws and regulations applicable to its business, as well as the sanctions frameworks provided for by the U.S. government," spokesman Bill Turenne said.
Still, for the industry's rogue actors, Trump's threat of a blockade represents a paradigm shift.
“There are already ships that have decided not to leave Venezuela for fear of being seized, and there are also ships headed to Venezuela to load crude oil that decided to turn back," said Francisco Monaldi, a Venezuelan oil expert at Rice University in Houston.
That's good news for the oceans, where hundreds of vessels, many without insurance and poorly maintained, were a constant menace.
"Many of these are no more than floating rust buckets," said Wiese Bockmann, the Windward analyst. "So irrespective of the sanctions and the geopolitical reasons for their being targeted, it is a good thing to have a strategy to deal with them and to remove them from trading.”
Associated Press writer Michael Biesecker and Michelle L. Price in Washington, Regina Garcia Cano in Caracas, Venezuela, and David McHugh in Frankfurt, Germany, contributed to this report.
President Nicolas Maduro addresses supporters during a rally marking the anniversary of the Battle of Santa Ines, which took place during Venezuela's 19th-century Federal War, in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
