The Ravens have won four straight games and five of their past six, but the second half of the season will be tougher.

Their streak includes big wins against top NFC teams — Detroit (38-6) and Seattle (37-3) — but the Ravens (7-2) now must face division foes Cleveland and Cincinnati in back-to-back weeks, take on the Chargers and Rams, then close out the regular season at Jacksonville and San Francisco before hosting Miami and Pittsburgh.

These will be different Browns (5-3) and Bengals (5-3) teams than the ones the Ravens beat earlier this season. Cleveland played without starting quarterback Deshaun Watson, who has missed much of the season with a shoulder injury but returned last week, and Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow lacked mobility because of an injured calf. He’s been back to his usual self amid a four-game winning streak.

But that’s looking into the future. Before the second half of 2023 begins, The Baltimore Sun gives out its position-by-position grades for the Ravens through the first nine games.

Quarterback

Lamar Jackson has completed 181 of 253 passes for 1,954 yards and nine touchdowns. He has a passer rating of 100.8 and a league-best completion rate of 71.5%. He seems to have picked up the new offense, and his decision-making and passes inside the red zone have improved significantly this season compared with the past five. He still throws behind receivers too often, but the win over Seattle was the first time he didn’t have to put on a Superman cape for the Ravens to win. He was a clock manager, and that showed the progress of this offense. Grade: A-

Running backs

The Ravens have the No. 1 rushing attack in the NFL, averaging 160.3 yards per game, and have been steadily pounding Gus Edwards (478 yards on 110 carries) inside to pair with the burst of Justice Hill (251 yards on 58 carries). Of course, Jackson (440 yards on 84 carries) makes the rushing game go, but it will be interesting to see how the Ravens can work rookie Keaton Mitchell into the rotation after he rushed for 138 yards on nine carries against the Seahawks on Sunday. It will be hard to do, but it’s a good problem to have. Mitchell gives the offense another speedy option besides Jackson. Grade: B

Receivers

Jackson has done a decent job gradually getting all his receivers some touches. The Ravens still need more consistency from Odell Beckham Jr. (19 catches for 218 yards) and Rashod Bateman (17 catches for 180 yards) but have gotten strong efforts all season from rookie Zay Flowers (45 catches for 472 yards) and veteran tight end Mark Andrews (41 catches for 477 yards). Nelson Agholor (28 catches for 224 yards) hasn’t been featured much but still plays a complementary role. Keep an eye on No. 2 tight end Isaiah Likely, who had his best game of the season Sunday. He could become an integral part of this offense late in the season, especially when the weather changes and the Ravens want to go with more of a two-tight-end look. Grade: C+

Offensive line

The main reason the Ravens have the league’s top rushing offense is that they can move defensive lines off the ball. That wasn’t the case in recent weeks, especially inside the red zone, but that’s no longer a problem. The middle of this group has been dominant with center Tyler Linderbaum, right guard Kevin Zeitler and left guard John Simpson. Linderbaum has performed at a Pro Bowl level with his quickness and ability to make blocks into the second level. Right tackle Morgan Moses excels at run blocking but has problems with speed rushers. Left tackle Ronnie Stanley has struggled with both speed and power rushers, and it appears his surgically repaired ankle no longer allows him to plant and push off. Overall, the run blocking has been good, but the pass protection needs to improve. Grade: B

Defensive line

The Ravens are ranked No. 8 in rushing defense, allowing 91.9 yards per game, and it’s hard for opponents to run inside against end Justin Madubuike and nose tackle Michael Pierce. Because of his speed and quickness off the ball, Madubuike (30 tackles) has been able to disrupt the running game, and he leads the team in sacks with 7 1/2. Pierce (20 tackles) has been a force inside occupying two blockers, but he has also been able to work off those blocks and make tackles. Pierce has also knocked down two passes. End Broderick Washington (11 tackles, three quarterback hits) doesn’t get a lot of recognition but played well at the end of last season and has continued to get better every game. The Ravens have shown depth being able to put end Brent Urban and tackle Travis Jones into the game without any significant drop-off. Grade: A

Linebackers

Middle linebacker Roquan Smith and weak side linebacker Patrick Queen are one of the best inside tandems in the NFL. Queen has shown an ability to make tackles in the open field this season and continues to be productive as a pass rusher (75 tackles, 3 1/2 sacks). Smith has been sensational as a leader on and off the field and leads the team in tackles with 87. The Ravens thought young outside linebackers Odafe Oweh and David Ojabo were going to be their top pass rushers in 2023, but it’s been Kyle Van Noy (10 tackles, five sacks, six quarterback pressures) and Jadeveon Clowney (19 tackles, 3 1/2 sacks, 11 quarterback hits) leading the group. Both have played crucial roles in the development of some of the younger players. The Ravens have a great mix here. Grade: A

Secondary

Despite several injuries, the secondary has been strong most of the season as the Ravens rank No. 2 in pass defense, allowing 170.7 yards per game. Geno Stone has been the biggest surprise at safety and has been able to cover a lot of ground on the back end. He leads the league in interceptions with six despite starting the season on the bench behind Marcus Williams. Second-year safety Kyle Hamilton has played at a Pro Bowl level and is fourth on the team in tackles with 45. His versatility has allowed him to line up against receivers outside and in the slot, and he’s been a strong pass rusher on the outside. Brandon Stephens has smoothly made the transition from safety to cornerback and has been solid in run support with 46 tackles, but he needs to be more careful playing so physical and holding receivers. Marlon Humphrey missed several games early and has been slowed by injury, but he’ll get better with more time on the field. This unit has been the biggest surprise of the season. Grade: A-

Special teams

Justin Tucker has converted 16 of 19 field goal attempts with the three misses coming from beyond 50 yards. He remains the best kicker in the NFL. Jordan Stout has been excellent, averaging 48.5 yards on 37 punts, including a long of 67. Devin Duvernay has been effective as a kickoff returner, averaging 20.5 yards, but is still indecisive on punt returns. However, he seems to have gotten over the problem in recent games. The Ravens are going to need some big plays from him in the final month of the season, and they need to get stronger on the interior to try and block kicks. Grade: B-

Coaching

Coach John Harbaugh seems to have gotten over being aggressive all the time and is more comfortable letting the game dictate his decisions. Mike Macdonald’s defense has been nothing short of spectacular and the Ravens do a good job of disguising their fronts. As expected, offensive coordinator Todd Monken struggled to prepare the offense early in the season, and while it has improved since, the unit still needs to be more consistent. That consistency, along with Jackson’s play, will be needed in the postseason. Harbaugh made a good decision to bring in Chuck Smith as a pass-rushing specialist and assistant, but that move should have been made years ago. The pass rush has been a problem for a long time. Grade: B+

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For the final eight minutes of the Chicago Bulls’ Wednesday loss to the Phoenix Suns, Alex Caruso drove Kevin Durant into a state of frustration.

The guard acted as a shadow for Durant throughout the night, poking and prodding to keep the forward from settling into a comfortable scoring rhythm down the stretch. Caruso hung all over Durant on his final attempt at a game-winner with time expired, forcing him to take a slightly off-balance shot that clanked off the rim to send the game into overtime.

Durant finished with 25 points, nearly five points below his season average. But Durant scored only four in the final two frames of the game, a testament to Caruso’s nullifying presence.

“It’s his mentality,” Durant said. “He’s a hard worker who’s going to do everything he can. He’s a phenomenal player. I don’t even want to call him a role player, but just a guy that you can plug with any lineup and he’s going to make the right reads, the right plays on the defensive and offensive side. The Bulls are lucky to have him.”

Caruso is typically the defensive savior for the Bulls, swooping in to poke away turnovers and smother top scorers like Durant. But his offense balanced out an all-around performance Wednesday.

In the first quarter, Caruso drained a trio of consecutive 3-pointers to spark a 14-3 run that pulled the Bulls back from an 18-point deficit. And his sharpshooting from deep continued into overtime as he finished 4-for-5 from behind the arc. Caruso even flexed his playmaking abilities in the fourth quarter, faking an inside pass before finger-rolling the ball into the basket.

Caruso’s final scoreline reflected his eclectic impact on the game: 19 points, four rebounds, three steals, two blocked shots.

But Caruso couldn’t will the Bulls to a win. Jusuf Nurkić hit the go-ahead basket with seven seconds left in overtime and the Suns squeaked out of Chicago with a victory.

Here are six other takeaways from the loss:

1. Bulls erased a double-digit deficit in the first half.

It didn’t take long for the Bulls to dig themselves into a hole on Wednesday. The Suns opened the game on a 22-4 run. Within the first six minutes of play, the Bulls fell behind by 18 points after Grayson Allen hit his second 3-pointer of the night.

Despite a flat-footed start, the Bulls woke up toward the end of the first quarter when Caruso took the court. Caruso knocked down three consecutive 3-pointers to spark a 14-3 run, helping the Bulls cut the lead to 36-28 by the end of the first quarter.

The Bulls starters took the game back in the second quarter. Coby White scored nine points including a 3-pointer. DeMar DeRozan drew three shooting fouls to score six points. And Nikola Vučević carved out space in the paint to add eight points.

After trailing for the majority of the half, the Bulls entered halftime with a level score after Vučević hit a hook shot with a second left to tie the game.

2. Turnovers defined results — good and bad.

The Bulls pulled themselves back into the game by capitalizing on mistakes. They forced Phoenix to cough up the ball 21 times and scored 30 points off turnovers for the second game in a row. The entire roster combined for 12 steals, with White and Caruso recording three apiece.

But turnovers were also the final straw for the Bulls in the last stretch of a contentious game. The Bulls turned the ball over twice in the final minute of regulation and two more times in overtime. Those mistakes were too costly against the Suns, leaving enough margin for a one-point loss.

3. Zach LaVine struggled on both ends of the court.

Despite scoring 22 points, LaVine struggled for the Bulls throughout Wednesday’s game. He picked up a defensive 3-second violation in the first quarter and allowed guards to slip by him consistently on backdoor cuts.

LaVine shot 3-for-6 from behind the arc, but he couldn’t clinch shots when it counted. In the final minute of regulation, LaVine missed one chance at a tying shot, then fumbled the ball off his leg with 45 seconds left for a turnover. He did not score in overtime and finished with three total turnovers.

4. 3-point shooting levels out.

After an ice-cold start to the season, the Bulls’ 3-point shooting is beginning to level out.

The team shot 14-for-33 (42.4%) from behind the arc two nights after shooting 52.9% against the Utah Jazz. Torrey Craig went 0-for-2 and White went 1-for-5 from 3-point range, but the rest of the players who took at least one attempt finished above 40% from deep. Caruso led the Bulls with four 3-pointers and LaVine added three.

The Bulls took six 3-point shots in overtime, so their tally of attempts in regulation (27) still fell closer to their average attempts from last season.

5. Bradley Beal returned to the court.

Bradley Beal made his debut for the Suns in Chicago on Wednesday after missing the first seven games of the season with a back injury. He played on a minutes restriction, finishing with 13 points in 23 minutes. Beal played most of his minutes with the secondary unit, which allowed the Bulls to throw traps at the guard to keep the ball out of his hands. He did not play at all in overtime.

Devin Booker did not play for the Suns on Wednesday due to a right calf strain.

6. Grayson Allen lit up the arc.

After run-ins with Caruso and DeRozan over the past two seasons, Allen isn’t well-loved at the United Center. But he also has a pattern of matching boos with made 3-pointers — which he continued on Wednesday.

Allen went 8-for-13 from behind the arc, a career-high in single-game 3-pointers. His team-high 26 points were critical for Phoenix to fend off a Bulls comeback.

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Justice Samuel Alito challenged voters to decide the future of abortion when he wrote the U.S. Supreme Court opinion overturning Roe v. Wade last year.

“We do not pretend to know how our political system or society will respond,” he noted as he threw out half a century of precedent.

Now, 17 months later, the court has an answer: Americans want to preserve or restore Roe-like protections. In contest after contest, including a major victory in Ohio this week, voters decisively chose abortion rights over limitations — even in deep-red pockets of the country.

When the right to abortion is on the ballot, it wins. It wins in red states that voted for President Donald Trump. It wins in counties President Joe Biden lost by more than 20 points. It wins when popular Republican officials campaign for it and when they ignore it. And it wins even when the outcome has no immediate effect on abortion access.

Support for abortion cuts across party lines, performing significantly better at the ballot box than Biden and other Democrats. In fact, abortion outruns Biden most in the most Republican areas, according to a POLITICO analysis of election results from the five states that have had direct votes on abortion rights. In those five states — California, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio — every county that voted for Biden also voted for abortion rights.

In the counties where Biden received less than 20 percent of the vote in 2020, the abortion-rights side has averaged 31 percent in referendums — an 11-point gap.

The pattern of cross-partisan support for abortion is so strong, the analysis found, that it suggests only a small handful of states, such as Wyoming or Alabama, might be uniformly conservative enough to vote against abortion if given the opportunity.

The data reflects Americans’ life experience: Nearly 1 in 4 women will have an abortion, and nearly 60 percent of abortions are among women who already have children.

“Abortions being ‘always’ or ‘mostly’ legal won in Texas. It won in every state in which we polled the question,” said Don Levy, director of the Siena College Research Institute. “That’s where America is.”

This week, in addition to Ohio approving a ballot measure enshrining abortion protections in the state Constitution and effectively repealing a six-week ban, Virginia rejected Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s calls for a 15-week ban and handed Democrats control of the Legislature. Kentucky also reelected pro-abortion rights Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, and Pennsylvania sent an abortion-rights supporter to the state Supreme Court.

Those victories Tuesday night, which built on abortion-rights triumphs in several states last year, are expected to fuel ballot initiatives in several more states in 2024 and ensure abortion is a leading argument in Democratic campaigns for the White House and Congress.

For conservative officials and opponents of abortion rights, Tuesday was another brutal night that ended with finger-pointing and disagreements on how to move forward. Some demanded Republicans campaign harder on restricting abortion while others urged them to avoid the topic.

“I don’t think it’s a big secret that in many states, abortion is not a winning issue for Republicans,” Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) told reporters Wednesday, adding that the GOP should try to steer the conversation to other areas, including the economy. “Let’s focus on making people’s lives better by bringing the cost of living in line with their incomes.”

Multiple abortion opponents also called Wednesday for more efforts to ban or restrict the ability to vote directly on abortion-rights ballot initiatives after Tuesday’s sweeping losses.

American United for Life was the most explicit, calling Wednesday for the remaining red states that have a citizen-led ballot initiative process — Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota — to get rid of them and only allow ballot initiatives approved by their state legislatures.

“The results in Ohio are a reminder of the moral danger of majoritarianism, of allowing the strong to victimize the weak,” the group said.

While Democrats who ran on protecting abortion rights capitalized on voter outrage across the country, the power of the issue was most evident in Ohio.

The Republicans who control the Buckeye State used all their levers of power to defeat the ballot measure. It still passed with about 57 percent approval — a nearly identical margin of victory as last year’s vote in its bluer neighbor, Michigan, where the amendment had the backing of the state’s Democratic governor and attorney general.

“Ohioans sent a message to the nation last night: Americans support abortion rights and will turn out to vote to protect these rights,” Veronica Ingham, the campaign manager of Ohioans For Reproductive Freedom, told reporters Wednesday morning. “Voters last night made it clear that this is not a partisan issue.”

Abortion-rights groups in Ohio won over Republicans, independents and Democrats by sticking with the playbook that carried them to victory in six state contests in 2022, including decrying government interference in personal health care decisions. Anti-abortion groups also recycled many of their talking points from other state fights about abortions later in pregnancy, gender-affirming care and parental consent for minors terminating a pregnancy. And their attempts to go after pieces of Democrats’ coalition — including Black voters and students — were not successful.

Exit polling showed strong support for the referendum across all age groups, except older adults, and across all races, as well as high approval among suburban voters, people who identify as moderate and parents — results that suggest Democrats who run on the issue will continue to reap rewards in 2024.

The crushing defeat for the anti-abortion movement calls into question its post-2022 argument that Republicans can win by going on offense on abortion and past losses were caused by GOP candidates avoiding the issue and ceding ground to Democrats.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do. It’s pretty obvious. I think we need to go back to the drawing board and back to the basics,” said John Stemberger, president of the Florida Family Policy Council. “We need to respect the electorate’s voice, but we also need to lead them and guide them and help them understand.”

Anti-abortion groups analyzing the results Wednesday blamed their donors for allowing them to be dramatically outspent across several states, which they said “allowed Democrats to dominate the abortion narrative.” In Ohio, for example, the pro-abortion rights side brought in triple the donations as their anti-abortion counterparts.

“The GOP consultant class needs to wake up,” Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of SBA Pro-Life America, which helped lead the Ohio campaign, said in a statement. “Candidates must put money and messaging toward countering the Democrats’ attacks or they will lose every time.”

In October, Youngkin’s PAC launched a $1.4 million statewide ad buy pitching the proposed restrictions as “reasonable” and “commonsense,” using the word “limit” instead of “ban.” It served as a test case for anti-abortion groups’ theory that the remedy to their string of electoral losses in 2022 was to talk more about abortion, not less.

But Olivia Gans Turner, president of the Virginia Society for Human Life, an anti-abortion group, said Youngkin focused too much on the number of weeks after which the procedure would be restricted.

“Talking about 15 weeks was incorrect,” she said. “It became about the weeks, not about the ability of the unborn child to feel pain.”

Abortion-rights groups counter that it’s the message that’s the issue, not the messaging.

“It’s about the fact that Republicans are not shifting their policy,” said Mini Timmaraju, president and CEO of Reproductive Freedom for All. “The American people know the Republicans are responsible for overturning Roe. They’ve wrapped themselves around it, they’ve championed it, they ran on it for decades, they can’t disentangle themselves from it now, and it’s not going to be fixed by a simple messaging change on their part.”

Conservative candidates who adopted the opposite strategy — treating abortion as a non-issue — lost as well. Republicans in New Jersey, where abortion is legal throughout pregnancy, essentially threw up their hands on the possibility of new restrictions as they sought to take control of at least one legislative chamber for the first time in two decades. John DiMaio, the Republican minority leader in the state Assembly, admitted in an op-ed last month that a “healthy mix of pro-choice and pro-life legislators” among New Jersey Republicans makes banning abortion “impossible.”

Still, Republicans suffered defeats in that state’s legislative races. Democrats, who used abortion as a wedge in competitive legislative districts, not only kept control of both houses of the legislature but expanded their majorities.

Democrats are working to ensure abortion remains top of mind in both federal and state races going into 2024 — well aware that support for access doesn’t always translate into wins for candidates. For example, while abortion played a key role in helping Gov. Beshear notch a reelection victory in Kentucky, the state’s Democratic candidate for attorney general, state Rep. Pamela Stevenson, lost despite campaigning on the issue. Democratic challenger Greta Kemp Martin also failed Tuesday to unseat Mississippi’s GOP Attorney General Lynn Fitch, who led the case that overturned Roe v. Wade.

Still, Democrats insist that voters will remember which candidates campaigned for abortion rights and which campaigned against them when they decide in 2024 which party should control Congress and statehouses around the country.

“Dobbs has really crystallized the stakes and the role state legislatures play in determining policies that affect our lives in very real ways,” said Jessica Post, the outgoing president of Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee. “And so I think that those really clear stakes and the fact that Republicans continue to ignore voters and on the issue of abortion means that they are setting themselves up for failure.”

Jennifer Haberkorn contributed to this report.

Providence’s Leo Slepski said he tries to his model his game after Justin Herbert.

The sophomore quarterback has followed Herbert’s career from when he was a star at Oregon to being a standout behind center in the NFL with the Los Angeles Chargers.

Slepski likes what he sees, on and off the field.

“I’ve been watching him ever since college,” Slepski said of Herbert. “In college, he always had the grades, and he was always a great quarterback. He just had it all, which is nice.

“He’s a good leader and is a great role model to me. He can throw the ball. He’s good with his feet. He’s smart. Everything a good quarterback needs.”

The Celtics also like what they’re seeing from Slepski, who took over the reins in Week 4 of the regular season and has been trying to turn into a complete package like Herbert.

So far, Slepski is progressing quite well. He completed 7 of 8 passes for 208 yards and three touchdowns in Saturday’s 42-12 win over Hillcrest in a Class 5A second-round game.

Providence (7-4) finally hosts its first playoff game at 3 p.m. Saturday against Highland (10-1) in the quarterfinals.

It’s true that two of Slepski’s three TDs Saturday were short passes, with receivers Xavier Coleman and Seth Cheney doing the heavy lifting on gains of 62 and 71 yards, respectively.

But it’s also true Slepski can thread the needle, connecting for a perfect 20-yard TD to Mitch Voltz on a fade right after the same play from the 15 was called back by a penalty.

“He’s getting there,” Providence coach Tyler Plantz said of Slepski. “He had a few weeks of growing pains up to this point, but he’s done a good job of taking on all the pressure of playing in the state playoffs.

“He’s done a good job in the pocket. He’s communicating the plays. I’m real proud of the way he is playing.”

Voltz appreciated Slepski’s ability to put the ball at an ideal spot — over his shoulder — two plays in a row.

“He makes great decisions and puts the ball where it needs to be,” Voltz said of Slepski. “And he makes great reads on the running side.”

Slepski confirmed there’s pressure and nerves being a young starting quarterback for a team with Providence’s winning tradition.

“It’s a lot of pressure, but it’s good pressure,” Slepski said “It’s nothing that I can’t handle. I could be nervous all day at school or when I get on the bus, but once I’m on the field, I’m just locked in and ready to go.”

He also credited his offensive line of Chris Piazza, Koda Miller, James Barry, Bryce Tencza and Matt Hough for giving him time to throw the ball.

For the second straight year, Providence took a 5-4 record into the playoffs. Last season, the Celtics were in Class 4A and made the state championship game before losing 44-20 to Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin.

This time, they are in 5A, but that storyline is set up to repeat itself. Scoring a season-high 42 points against Hillcrest — all in the first half — has given Providence plenty of confidence.

Slepski, who played on the freshman and sophomore teams last year, also was on the scout team for the varsity, so he did get a flavor for how the 2022 season played out.

“It’s pretty familiar,” Slepski said. “But this year, we want more. We want to finish it.

“We’re ready to go. We have everything clicking, and now we have to keep going.”

Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.

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