Why It’s Too Early to Panic for Reeling, Injured Ravens: 'We have Been Down This Street'

A day after the Ravens’ 37-20 loss to the Chiefs, which dropped his team into the dreaded 1-3 hole, coach John Harbaugh expressed optimism in Baltimore’s prospects. He spoke of his belief in defensive coordinator Zach Orr, the playcaller of a banged-up unit in crisis.

“We’re not too far away on defense,” Harbaugh said Monday. “I really feel confident that we’re going to play really good defense this year. I really am. I know the fans hear that, and I hope they have a little bit of confidence in us that we’ve been down this road before a little bit.”

Harbaugh might not be totally off-kilter. In 2019, the Ravens started 2-2 and won their next 12 games. In 2024, they started 0-2 and finished the season 12-5.

On the other hand, it seems really bad right now, especially for a win-now team that entered 2025 as one of the Super Bowl favorites. In the Super Bowl era, only about 10% of teams that started 1-3 have even made the playoffs.

In Kansas City’s 37-20 win on Sunday, the Chiefs had 382 yards of total offense against the Ravens, including 112 on the ground. (Photo by Amy Kontras/Getty Images)

Through four weeks, Baltimore ranks at or near the bottom of the NFL in several defensive categories: points allowed (32nd), yards allowed (31st), passing defense (31st), sacks (tied-30th), EPA allowed per play (29th) and rushing defense (27th). The Ravens also have just two takeaways this season, fewer than only the Commanders (1) and Jets (0). They’ve given up at least 37 points in three of their first four games.

The issues are because of, and compounded by, injuries to high-level starters. Pro Bowl defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike is out for the season with a neck injury. Other starters who already have, could or will miss games include Roquan Smith, Marlon Humphrey, Kyle Van Noy, Broderick Washington Jr. and Travis Jones.

“We could sit here and you could ask me about every single guy,” Harbaugh said on Wednesday. “It’s a fairly long list. Who’s got time for that?”

And that’s before getting to superstar quarterback Lamar Jackson, who injured his hamstring in the Kansas City game, putting his status in doubt this week against Houston.

“Obviously, you’re losing multiple All-Pro guys,” safety Kyle Hamilton said Sunday, “and that’s not going to help a defense.”

But keep in mind that the Ravens had a gauntlet to start the season — the Bills, Lions and Chiefs in three of their first four games.

That’s not an excuse for how Baltimore looked against teams that should be their equal. The Ravens blew a 15-point fourth-quarter lead to Buffalo in the season opener. In Week 3, Detroit had 224 rushing yards and sacked Jackson seven times. But no team is a finished product through September.

“The three losses are against probably three of the top teams in the league, for sure,” Harbaugh said. “That’s just the hand we’ve been dealt, but it doesn’t really matter. We have to win the next game. And then once you win the next game, then you have a chance to start stacking some wins. And that’s what we’ve got to do, big picture-wise.”

The Ravens boast a very favorable schedule moving forward. Seven of their next eight opponents are .500 or worse (Texans, Bears, Dolphins, Vikings, Browns, Jets, Bengals). They’re in a very winnable AFC North. They also have their bye in Week 7, which will allow them to get many key contributors back down the stretch. There’s a runway into playoff contention for the Ravens, even if a first-round bye is a long shot due to the losses to Buffalo and Kansas City.

Their offense needs to do its part, though. Star running back Derrick Henry has had uncharacteristic ball security issues, leading the league with three fumbles and two lost fumbles. Jackson needs to be better protected — his 13.6% sack rate tops the NFL. The Ravens’ ability to score points in a hurry — 32.8 points per game, third in the NFL — has also masked their drive-to-drive inconsistency. Baltimore is averaging only 5.0 plays per possession (tied for 30th), which adds pressure to its injury-plagued defense, which has faced a league-high 286 offensive plays.

“At times, we’re moving the ball extremely well,” tight end Mark Andrews said Wednesday. “There are things all over the field that are just limiting our success. For us, just dialing in, doing our job [and] focusing, good issues will occur.”

Lamar Jackson has the league’s highest sack price by Week 4 this season. (Tammy Ljungblad/The Kansas Metropolis Star/Tribune Information Service through Getty Photographs)

The struggles on each side of the ball illustrate the precarious spot that the Ravens are in. All their chips are in the course of the desk. They’ve Jackson’s mammoth quarterback contract on their books, together with his $43.5 million cap hit for this season, concurrently the big-money cap expenses of most of their different excessive profile gamers, together with Smith, Hamilton, Andrews, Henry, Humphrey and Odafe Oweh. Having a top-heavy roster has price the Ravens some back-end depth, as evident by all of the rookies and past-their-prime veterans and practice-squad-level expertise pressured into key roles amid mounting accidents.

On Sunday towards the Chiefs, the Ravens at one level had 5 rookie defenders on the sphere towards Patrick Mahomes.

For the Ravens to realize their final purpose, it is important that they’ve their finest gamers obtainable — and enjoying at a excessive stage.

“We’ve got points that we’re coping with, and we’ve to cope with them in an actual good manner,” Harbaugh stated. “I consider we will be soccer crew. We’re simply not a ok soccer crew but.”

There’s nonetheless time for Harbaugh’s religion to be rewarded.

Ben Arthur is an NFL reporter for FOX Sports activities. He beforehand labored for The Tennessean/USA TODAY Community, the place he was the Titans beat author for a 12 months and a half. He coated the Seattle Seahawks for SeattlePI.com for 3 seasons (2018-20) previous to shifting to Tennessee. You possibly can observe Ben on Twitter at @benyarthur.

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