The biggest change, of course, was the ouster of longtime head coach, John Harbaugh. Once Harbaugh got settled with the New York Giants, he proceeded to raid his former team by bringing in several Raven free agents; guard Daniel Faalele, fullback Patrick Ricard, tight end Isaiah Likely, safety Ar’Darius Washington and punter Jordan Stout.

Out with the old, in with the new.

To state the obvious, the task at hand for new head coach Jesse Minter is to lead the Ravens to the 3rd Super Bowl title in franchise history. However, his job will be a bit more nuanced than it appears.

As training camp ramps up, there will be plenty of discussion about position battles, what the new offense and defense will look like, how player X, Y or Z performs in this drill or that drill and how the roster will shape up come early September.

While discussion of those matters is certainly warranted, there’s a larger issue at hand for the Baltimore Ravens than the X’s and O’s and the Jimmy’s and Joe’s.

The Baltimore Ravens need to be mentally tough again.

For 4 quarters a game, for 17 games (or more), the Baltimore Ravens need to learn how to finish.

John Harbaugh had a successful tenure in Baltimore but ultimately lost his job because of his team’s tendency to come up small in the biggest moments. Blown leads, bizarre play calling and bone headed mistakes at critical times had become the norm in Baltimore. These struggles would happen in the regular season and then rear their ugly head at crucial moments in January.

Perhaps it could be said that Harbaugh’s firing wasn’t solely due to not reaching the Super Bowl again but rather in how his teams failed to do so. They didn’t simply play competitive football and fall short, they found spectacular ways to shoot themselves in the foot, time and time again, leaving the entire fanbase collectively shaking their heads.

It is in this vein, that Coach Minter must find a way forward. To get a talented group to play their best football when the lights are the brightest and to no longer come up small in the biggest moments.

It’s a touch ironic that the Ravens’ neighbors across the parking lot at Camden Yards underwent a somewhat similar turnover in their off season; bringing in a new staff, headed by Craig Albernaz, with the hopes of getting a group of young, talented ballplayers to get out of their own way and break through in the postseason.

Unfortunately for Baltimore’s Baseball Birds, their new era has not yielded great results thus far.

For the beleaguered fan base of Baltimore sports, we can only hope that Jesse Minter and his staff can break through. Unfortunately, none of our curiosity will be satisfied anytime soon. Perhaps it’s unfair to heap this much pressure on a first time head coach but the lingering doubts about the Ravens will only be quelled by postseason success.

On that ill fated January night in Pittsburgh, when Tyler Loop’s field goal attempt sailed wide, it marked the end of one era and the beginning of a new one.

Hopefully.

The post A New Era appeared first on Baltimore Sports and Life.

In the wake of the Week 18 defeat in Pittsburgh that left the Ravens out of the postseason after back to back division titles, many fans clamoring for John Harbaugh’s ouster. But then, “Black Monday” came and went with no news out of 1 Winning Drive. It appeared that Harbaugh would be returning to the Ravens for the 2026 season, maybe with a new coordinator or two.

Little did we know that Steve Bisciotti was contemplating a shakeup that would not only dramatically change things in Baltimore but would send shockwaves around the NFL.

During a phone call in the late afternoon of January 6th, the Ravens owner would relieve John Harbaugh of his head coaching duties and end their 18 year partnership. In spite of the overall success enjoyed during Harbaugh’s tenure, the lack of January breakthrough in the Lamar era, the lost 4th quarter leads and questionable in-game decision making had grown too egregious for ownership to bear.

After Harbaugh’s exit, the Ravens undertook an exhaustive 16 day process of Zoom calls and face to face interviews before hiring former defensive assistant Jesse Minter as the 4th head coach in franchise history.

Minter has a coaching pedigree. His father Rick (who’s now on the Ravens staff) was a college coach. The new Ravens head coach cut his teeth as an assistant under both John and Jim Harbaugh; spending time with the latter at both the collegiate and pro ranks.

Even though Minter sat under the Harbaugh learning tree, his demeanor displayed thus far seems much less “old school, ball coach” and much more relatable to the modern professional player, which will be a breath of fresh air in Baltimore.

The hiring of Coach Minter, along with coordinators Anthony Weaver, Declan Doyle, Anthony Levine and other assistants from the college ranks is bold but not without a degree of risk. The coaching staff has gotten much younger and much shorter on experience; particularly with regards to new OC Doyle. While he’s lauded as a brilliant offensive mind, Doyle has yet to call plays on gameday. Needless to say, there will be a learning curve for sure.

While there is there is some trepidation that comes with the new hires, Jesse Minter will bring something to Baltimore that has been sorely lacking at the top for nearly 2 decades; an expertise on one side of the ball. Rather than deferring and delegating to lieutenants on gameday, Minter revealed during his introductory press conference that he will be calling defensive plays on Sundays (and Mondays, and Thursdays, and Saturdays in December).

Calling the defense just got a little bit easier and a lot more fun for Coach Minter as news broke on March 6th that the Ravens had agreed in principle to send their 2026 and 2027 1st round picks to the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for defensive end Maxx Crosby.

In Crosby, the Ravens are getting a 5 time Pro Bowler that plays with aggression and a relentless motor. Since he entered the league in 2019, Crosby is amongst the top 5 defensive linemen in tackles for loss, solo tackles, QB pressures, QB hits, total tackles, batted passes and QB sacks.

For a team that has struggled to close out games on defense and watched 4th quarter leads evaporate, all the while failing to get to the opposing quarterback with any kind of consistency, Maxx Crosby is just what the doctor ordered.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the cost. There’s no way around it; two 1st round picks is a steep price to pay. In another out of character moment, the Crosby trade marked the first time in Ravens’ franchise history that they’ve ever dealt any 1st round pick(s) for a player.

Alas, this was the cost of doing business. News has leaked since the deal was announced on Friday evening that the Ravens, Cowboys and Jaguars were in on discussions with the Raiders. The Jaguars didn’t have the draft capital, so they dropped out of talks early but reports were that the Cowboys offered Las Vegas a 1st and 2nd round pick for Crosby.

DeCosta and the Ravens did not want to miss out on the opportunity to add an impact player at a position of desperate need so they left their comfort zone and acted boldly. Time will tell if the aggressive move to obtain Maxx Crosby’s services was fruitful or foolish. Regardless of the price paid, the 2026 Baltimore Ravens got significantly better on Friday night.

Other than the cost in draft picks, Maxx Crosby carries a 2026 salary cap hit of around $30 million. Before the trade can be executed and ahead of the new league year, the Ravens will need to clear approximately $10 million in salary cap space. This leads us to proverbial elephant in the room.

It goes without saying that former MVP Lamar Jackson and his $74 million cap number has to come down. It’s been widely discussed that there are essentially 2 options to reduce Jackson’s number in 2026.

One, is a simple restructure by converting salary to bonus to clear space under the 2026 cap. While this avoids the discomfort of negotiations, it essentially kicks the can and just makes Lamar’s 2027 cap number even more untenable than his current one.

The other and much more palatable option would be for DeCosta to work out a new extension with his otherworldly signal caller. This would free up cap space in 2026 and beyond, while also rewarding Jackson with additional money and years on his deal.

Running the risk of being too speculative, one can’t help but wonder if the Ravens and Jackson haven’t already hammered out the parameters of an extension. Then, with that knowledge, DeCosta forged ahead with the uncharacteristic and expensive move to bring Crosby to Baltimore.

The winds of change have brought a new head coach and staff to the Charm City, along with a game wrecker on the defensive line. The same winds have carried away the franchise’s top pick in each of the next 2 drafts. Will the break from tendency for the Ravens prove to be a blessing or a curse

The post Winds of Change appeared first on Baltimore Sports and Life.

In the aftermath of the Ravens’ latest lost at M and T Bank Stadium, the cries to fire John Harbaugh have never been louder. And perhaps, never more justified.

Let’s review the timeline of events that have pushed the Ravens’ fanbase to edge.

At the start of the 4th quarter, Baltimore had the ball at the Patriots 32 yard line and it was 1st and 10. The play sequence went as follows:

Derrick Henry, left guard for 4 yards

Derrick Henry, left end for 22 yards

Derrick Henry, left guard for 4 yards

Derrick Henry, left end for 2 yards, touchdown. Ravens up 24-13.

The Ravens got the ball back after a Patriots touchdown and 2 point conversion made it 24-21. With 8:52 left on the clock, Derrick Henry did not have another offensive snap. In a game where Henry averaged over 7 yards per carry and on a possession that begged for a run heavy, clock draining drive; number 22 stayed on the sideline.

Instead of having your closer, your 250 pound hammer in the backfield, you gave the ball to Keaton Mitchell twice for 4 total yards and had backup Tyler Huntley drop back to pass 4 times. (On 4th and 4 from the Ravens’ 49 yard line, it’s unclear whether the Ravens intended to run a play or not but Mark Andrews was flagged for a false start. Subsequently, the Ravens punted.)

While the defense should not be absolved from blame for watching yet another double digit 4th quarter lead melt away on their collective watch, the offense has to shoulder some of the responsibility as well. And when that offense was already without Lamar Jackson, your next best offensive player needs to be on the field when the game is on the line.

Even with the penultimate offensive series not working out, the Ravens got the ball back, trailing by 4, with 2:03 to play and a full complement of timeouts. There was no need to panic, no need to go into a fire drill type of attack. You can certainly mix in some running plays at that point; particularly when Henry was ripping off chunks of yardage most of the evening. Instead, the most dominant running back of this generation, the back that was brought in to compliment this offense and help close out games, was on the bench sipping Gatorade.

To the local media’s credit, they’ve not given John Harbaugh the usual pass. Several members of the press have asked the tough questions and tried to understand how the Ravens head coach could allow the personnel usage to unfold the way it did.

Harbaugh responded in what has become his typical fashion; defiance, deflection and a lack of accountability.

When asked about the 2nd to last drive, Harbaugh said, “I don’t like the drive at all.” Harbaugh added Keaton Mitchell was the next man up as part of the rotation but Harbaugh said Henry “should’ve been in.”

Harbaugh was further pressed on the situation and his response was as follows:

“Looking back at it right now, I would have grabbed it, and I would have said, ‘No, put Derrick in the game.’ But that’s not really the way it works in real time.”

Well then, Coach, enlighten us…..how does it work?

Seriously, John Harbaugh has been the Head Coach of the Baltimore Ravens for 18 seasons and he can’t find a way to administer the game in real time. And let’s call a spade a spade, this is not the first time that fans and media have been frustrated by Harbaugh’s seeming lack of control and command on the sidelines during his tenure.

Harbaugh is known to delegate responsibility to his coordinators and assistants. Even with the situation this past Sunday, Harbaugh pointed to running backs coach Willie Taggart having a conversation with Henry about how the that next to last drive would go.

Bottom line, delegation of responsibility doesn’t absolve you from responsibility. In the micro, Harbaugh failed miserably on Sunday night by not observing the game the was going on in front of him and making sure his most dominant offensive player was on the field during the moments that matter most. In the macro, last Sunday’s game was everything that’s been wrong with the late Harbaugh era; self inflicted mistakes/poorly time turnovers, another blown 4th quarter lead and baffling coaching decisions.

While the Ravens remain mathematically alive for the AFC North, for all intents and purposes, the 2025 season is over for Baltimore.

Ravens Owner Steve Bisciotti needs to look at the Week 16 loss to New England as Harbaugh’s Waterloo. After Waterloo, Napoleon was forced to abdicate his thrown and go into exile.

I wouldn’t suggest that Harbaugh go to Saint Helena in the South Atlantic but I hear Ann Arbor, Michigan is lovely. And has a job opening.

The post Harbaugh’s Waterloo appeared first on Baltimore Sports and Life.

In the long and storied history of the Ravens-Steelers rivalry, there have been countless memorable moments.

This past Sunday was not amongst the pantheon of those moments.

Yes, the AFC North lead was at stake in early December but outside of that, not much from this contest was worthy of Ravens-Steelers lore.

While the Ravens have enjoyed a great deal of regular season success over the last 7-8 years, the Steelers have been mired in mediocrity for most of that time. Even when the Ravens have dropped games to the arch rivals over the last few years, it was clear that Baltimore was the better team. Unfortunately, this is no longer the case.

What transpired in Week 14 was a stalemate between two middling football teams, riddled with shortcomings up and down their respective rosters. Along with two longtime head coaches with murky futures.

Both teams have expensive but underperforming defenses, questionable offensive lines and limited weapons on the outside. The one advantage Baltimore does hold over Pittsburgh is that they have their franchise quarterback, while the Steelers are once again trying to squeeze the last drops of competitive play out of a grizzled veteran.

Despite what should be a leg up at the most important position on the football field, it was the Steelers long in the tooth old pro, Aaron Rodgers that made the right reads, put the perfect touch on his throws and audibled at the right time to keep the Ravens defense off balance at important moments of the contest. A Pittsburgh offense that hadn’t completed a pass of 20 air yards in the last 5 weeks combined (they were 0 for 13 with 3 INTs in attempts of 20+ air yards during that span), connected on 4 of those passes this past Sunday alone.

On the other hand, Lamar Jackson continually looked hesitant and indecisive behind a shaky at best offensive line. The offense also faltered in the red zone yet again, scoring just 2 touchdowns in 6 red zone chances. Then, with the game on the line and a chance to drive for a game winning touchdown, Jackson and the offense looked positively befuddled. The attempt at a 2 minute offense looked more like a sloppy drill at training camp in early July. The ill fated final drive ended in the afore mentioned sack of Lamar Jackson at the Steeler’s 38 yard line.

While you cannot ignore the highly questionable officiating that had a major impact on the outcome of the game, the Ravens are not in the position to gripe about calls not going their way. The same self inflicted mistakes, turnovers and penalties, surfaced at the worst possible times to sink any hopes of a victory on Sunday.

In spite of back to back lackluster performances in division games at home, even with an uncharacteristic 6-7 record in December, this Ravens team can still pick themselves up off the mat and find a way to an AFC North title.

This entire organization, from GM Eric DeCosta, to Head Coach John Harbaugh, to their superstar Lamar Jackson, on down to the special team players and back ups, need to take a long look in the mirror. For all of the talk of injuries and unclear explanations from NFL officials, the ultimate responsibility for Baltimore’s current predicament is falls on their own collective shoulders.

While there are longer term, big picture issues that cannot be solved over the coming weeks and months, the Ravens can certainly man up and still salvage something out of this 2025 season. But are they capable?

The post A Look In The Mirror appeared first on Baltimore Sports and Life.

Back in early September, if someone told you that the Ravens would have a 4-5 record heading into their Week 11 matchup at Cleveland, you would probably be in full blown panic mode.

Therein lies the beauty of relativity. When the team endured a rash of injuries and a run of inexplicably maddening poor play that anchored them at the bottom of the AFC North with a 1-5 mark, the ensuing 3 game winning streak to put them at 4-5 (along with the Steelers coming back to the pack at 5-4) paints a pretty good picture, all things considered.

Now, this is not to say that the everything is fine in Baltimore or the Ravens have returned to the level of AFC favorites but it certainly a vast improvement on where things stood not that long ago.

In the leadup to last week’s win over the Minnesota Vikings, Baltimore had enjoyed their healthiest roster in recent memory. Unfortunately, that very small run of great health hit a snag. Wide receiver Rashod Bateman suffered an ankle sprain that has him in a walking boot and he could force him to miss some time. Cornerback Marlon Humphrey had a minor finger surgery that will keep him sidelined for at least week. Justice Hill, Isaiah Likely, Malakai Starks and Jay Higgins also appeared on Wednesday’s injury report.

Then, there was Lamar Jackson’s absence from practice on Wednesday.

Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh provided an update on Jackson, saying that, “…he should be okay.” Even though it’s grown very difficult to take Harbaugh at his word, especially when it comes to the health of his players, Jackson did make his way back to the practice field on Thursday.

And Baltimore exhaled.

Provided that Lamar will be ready to go on Sunday, the Ravens will be heavy favorites in Cleveland. With that said, the Ravens have not swept the Browns since 2020. That sweep required some major heroics from Lamar and the offense. Jackson emerged from the locker room, just in the nick of time, to turn a 4th and 5 into a 44 yard go ahead TD and then put together a 28 yard drive to set up a game winning field goal with 2 seconds remaining.

Since that season sweep in 2020, the Ravens have suffered losses to Baker Mayfield, Deshaun Watson and Jameis Winston.

It’s imperative that Baltimore does not let rookie Dillon Gabriel join that list.

For the Ravens to continue their winning ways and achieve their climb back to .500, there are 3 keys:

1. Continue the recent run of takeaways….

This author has discussed the impact of Alohi Gilman’s arrival in Baltimore and how that translated to a nearly instant return to credibility for the defense. The Ravens have taken the ball away at least once in each of their last 4 games; good for 8 total turnovers. They’ve won the turnover battle in each game of their modest, 3 game winning streak. The defense must make the Browns’ rookie signal caller uncomfortable and force him into some bad decisions.

2. Find consistency in the running game.…

The struggles of the offensive line, particularly along the interior may make rushing yards difficult to come by. Especially in the early part of games. Last week vs Minnesota, Derrick Henry had a rather pedestrian 75 yards on 20 carries; 12 of those carries were for 3 yards or less. Henry did find a little bit of success when he bounced his run to the outside, so perhaps Monken should add in some off tackle or toss sweep plays to get the King away from penetrating defenders. Keaton Mitchell saw some action, tallying 31 yards on 4 carries. (Although Monken did go to Mitchell on 3 straight plays and the 3rd carry resulted in a 2 yard loss, which short-circuited a promising drive) It would be beneficial to get Mitchell some carries earlier in the game (his first touch came at the 4:25 mark of the 2nd quarter). Maybe there’s a personnel package that could feature Henry and Mitchell in the backfield together to really keep Cleveland guessing on defense? Either way, finding efficacy and consistency in the running game will lead to more favorable down and distances for Lamar and the offense.

3. Better success in the red zone….

Taking a simplistic view, the Ravens red zone TD rate in 2025 (50%) is down significantly from last year’s league leading 73.97%. If you remove the time where Lamar was out, the red zone TD success rate does improve somewhat (60%) but it’s still nowhere near where this offense should be. Especially considering the array of skill position talent and the best dual threat quarterback in NFL history, the productivity in the red zone should be much better than it’s been thus far. Something that is hard to believe, DeAndre Hopkins has seen just 2 attempts come his way inside the 20 this year. Given Hopkins size and incredible hands, perhaps Monken could scheme something up to get the him some looks in the red zone. Also, in goal to go situations, it would be worthwhile to consider more play action on 1st down; especially when Henry is in the backfield. We know that opposing defenses are still loading the box to try to stop Henry (the King is seeing 8+ defenders in the box nearly 41% of the time), therefore, the Ravens could easily exploit that aggression and go over the top of the defense after a hard play fake. Bottom line, going just 2 for 5 in the red zone in a game (as they did last week) with any regularity will not cut it as the season wears on.

The scheduling gods have certainly done the Ravens a favor after a fairly brutal opening month. Not that any game in the NFL is an easy win, particularly, a third straight road game against a division foe that always seems to be a thorn in the Ravens’ collective side. However, Baltimore has always thrived against rookie signal callers and their rapidly improving defense should certainly make life difficult for Dillon Gabriel.

The Ravens are now just win shy of getting back to a place that was almost unthinkable a month ago; level par.

The post Level Par appeared first on Baltimore Sports and Life.

It was very fair to question how the Ravens would respond coming out of their Week 7 bye.

The response? Two emphatic wins, two games closer to .500.

While we await a Week 10 road trip to Minnesota, here are some observations to mull over.

1. The Ravens drafted Malaki Starks with the intention of utilizing 3 safety looks and deploying Kyle Hamilton in the Swiss Army Knife role, particularly at and around the line of scrimmage. The late spring injury to Ar’Darius Washington dramatically altered the Ravens plans. The lack of safety depth was a big factor in the poor defensive play to start the season. The arrival of Alohi Gilman (and his very quick assimilation into the defense) has allowed the Ravens to run what amounts to their base, 3 safety set and use Kyle Hamilton in that hybrid role. Since the bye week, Hamilton has spent a great deal of time in the opponents’ backfield, blowing up running plays and disrupting the quarterback.

2. Through the first 6 games of the season, the defense managed just 3 total turnovers; 2 of which came against the lowly Cleveland Browns. Since the bye, the Ravens have generated 4 turnovers in just 2 games. (What’s more, in the 3 games since Alohi Gilman’s arrival, the Ravens have turned their opponents over 5 times.) A constant drumbeat from this author is the importance of winning the turnover battle. It’s pretty amazing how many NFL games boil down to a singular stat like the turnover column. Not coincidentally, the Ravens are 3-0 this season when they’ve won the turnover battle.

3. While there have been some positive developments on the defensive side of the ball, it’s not all sunshine and roses. The defensive front is still getting bullied at the line of scrimmage and giving up too much in the running game; currently 21st in the league, allowing 4.5 yds/carry. The defense is struggling in a few other areas; allowing opposing offenses to convert 3rd downs at a 41.28% rate and opponents’ red zone TD conversion rate is at 61.11% on the season. Also, Zach Orr’s unit is still giving up way too many yards and chunk plays between the 20s. In fairness, over the last 3 games, the defense has begun standing up in the red zone. Opponent TD conversion rate has been just 27.27% in those contests. In that same timeframe, the defense has allowed just 13 points per game; down from a whopping 35.4 through their first 5 contests.

4. Health wasn’t the sole reason for Baltimore’s struggles but their return to health since the bye cannot be understated. In the lead up to their Week 9 game, for the first time this season, the Ravens entire 53 man roster was able to participate in practice. It also appears that they came through their Thursday night road contest in Miami completely unscathed. While Lamar Jackson’s hamstring forced him to lag behind for an additional week, it was worth the wait. Albeit, there was some rust to shake off in the early going, Jackson finished the night by completing 78.3% of his throws, tossing 4 TDs and compiling a 143.2 QB rating. Not too shabby for not taking a competitive snap in a month.

5. Baltimore has posted some good overall numbers in the running game; 1084 yards (6th in the league) and 5.2 yds/carry (1st in the league). However, there’s more to those numbers than meets the eye. The Ravens have struggled to move the ball on the ground in game neutral situations. Case in point, Derrick Henry had 119 yards rushing on 19 attempts but 87 of those yards came after it was a 3 score game and the Dolphins had half checked out in the 2nd half. There are a couple of things in play here that are creating problems and a lack of consistency in the running game.

5a. First and foremost, is the overall poor play of the offensive line. They’re not consistently opening running lanes and regularly getting beat at the line of scrimmage. The guard play has been bad most of the year, which has impacted Tyler Linderbaum’s play at center. And Ronnie Stanley has been in and out of the lineup while dealing with his problematic ankle. GM Eric DeCosta is hopefully looking for some offensive line help at the deadline.

5b. According to Next Gen Stats, Derrick Henry has faced 8 man boxes on 42% of his carries which has resulted in yardage being tough to come by on early downs, especially between the tackles. The Ravens should consider some outside running plays, maybe off tackle plays and some toss sweeps, which worked well last year. Also, Todd Monken could utilize some 3 or 4 WR sets and spread the field on early downs to help unclog the box for Henry. Lastly, as Lamar gets confident with the healed hamstring, the offense should employ some RPO sets to get opposing defenses off balance and concerned about defending Jackson as a runner.

In spite of the hole that Baltimore dug for themselves, their uncharacteristic poor play and a spate of injuries, a weak division and a favorable schedule had dealt them a good turn of fate. The Ravens are somehow the odds-on favorite to capture their 3rd straight AFC North title. However, that unlikely scenario only becomes a reality if Baltimore can continue stacking wins, one at a time.

The post Some Mini-Bye Observations appeared first on Baltimore Sports and Life.

How did the odds on, pre-season Super Bowl favorites end up all alone in last place in the AFC North as we enter Week 8 of the 2025 season?

Unfortunately, for the organization and the fans, there is no simple answer to that question, there is no quick fix.

The only thing that is certain, is a once promising season is now on life support and can only be resuscitated by a turnaround of historic proportions.

The next logical question to ask; is this group capable of engineering an epic comeback to save the 2025 season?

Does Coach Harbaugh still command the hearts and minds of his locker room? Can embattled defensive coordinator Zach Orr put together a mediocre to league average defensive effort over the last 2 ½ months of the season? Can the injured stars return (Lamar Jackson in particular) and the rest of the roster remain relatively healthy to help facilitate a run?

Given the body of work from the core group in the “Lamar era”, it’s certainly fair to question what they have under the hood, so to speak. While there has been plenty of regular season success and many memorable blowouts, those highs have been juxtaposed by painful lows that all exhibit similar characteristics.

In the biggest moments, against the toughest opponents, there’s sloppy play that’s marred by mind boggling turnovers, questionable coaching decisions and generally speaking, a poor response to adversity.

A recent article in the Baltimore Sun article 1 confirmed that this mental hurdle is certainly prevalent amongst the team. Albeit the quote was anonymous, one veteran player said, “It was that Bills game that put a beating on us mentally where it felt like everything was ending, even though it was the first game. When we have so much time to recover, such a long season, and we let that carry over.”

That Week 1 collapse in Buffalo, while uniquely historic in nature, was not an uncommon occurrence for the Baltimore Ravens over the last 6 years or so. Large leads have melted away in the 4th quarter by way of critical turnovers, defensive breakdowns and coaching shortfalls.

With all of this said, the schedule gods have presented the Ravens with a fleeting opportunity to author a reversal of fortune for the 2025 season.

The bye week came at a near perfect moment to allow injured players an additional week off. The team held a “bonus” practice on Monday and that practice included Roquan Smith, Ronnie Stanley, Chidobe Awuzie, Patrick Ricard and Devontez Walker.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that Lamar Jackson was not present for Monday’s practice but the organization is still hopeful for his return versus the Chicago Bears in Week 8.

Along with the well timed bye week, the next six games for Baltimore are vs Chicago, at Miami (on TNF), at Minnesota, at Cleveland, vs the Jets and vs Cincinnati on Thanksgiving night.

Certainly, a favorable turn in the schedule for the Ravens. (Although the Ravens’ respective opponents may be saying the same as they see Baltimore upcoming)

The bottom line is this, while recent history and the eyeball test may not suggest the Ravens are capable of saving their 2025 season, the raw materials are in place to do just that. Improving health, a favorable schedule, a soft division and roster that still carries an awful lot of talent.

For the remainder of the 2025 NFL season, all we can ask is will the real Ravens please stand up?

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The post Will The Real Ravens Please Stand Up? appeared first on Baltimore Sports and Life.

While perusing synonyms of putrid, I came across one that really struck me. It was “decaying”.

We all saw the inactive list on Sunday. We all saw roughly 160 million dollars’ worth of cap space in street clothes on the sidelines. Several of those players sidelined have gone through varying degrees injury, inefficacy or both over the last few seasons. We all saw the “effort” (and I use that term loosely) from the Baltimore Ravens vs the Houston Texans.

Are we witnessing the decay of a once fruitful and talented core that had the Ravens firmly entrenched amongst the contenders of the AFC over the last 7 seasons?

Head Coach John Harbaugh followed up his team’s performance with an equally morose press conference and tacitly stood up for embattled Defensive Coordinator, whose unit is on pace to allow an unprecedented 600 points for the season.

Where do the preseason, odds on, Super Bowl favorite Baltimore Ravens go from here?

In the wake of what we’ve all seen on the field the last 2 weeks; listless, gutless, rudderless and soft. It’s fair to question the leadership. Both amongst the players themselves and from the coaching staff.

If you want to get granular, why does Zach Orr continue to have his corners giving up 5 plus yards of cushion to opposing receivers? How is it that the defense continues to drop 7 into coverage and still give up easy pitch and catch type throws on drop back after drop back? How many times do we see the defense looking confused and throwing their hands up? Where is the adjustment in defensive strategy?

I would be remiss if I didn’t reiterate the amount of talent on the sidelines in Week 5 and how that absolutely had an impact on the Week 5 game. However, I would be further remiss if I didn’t point out that there was nothing from Zach Orr’s unit prior to the spate of injuries that was remotely worthy of the proud tradition of Baltimore Ravens defense.

The only thing this year’s defense has been able to hang their collective hat on was stifling 40 year old Joe Flacco and the pedestrian Cleveland Browns offense.

While the utter and abject failure of the Ravens defense through 5 weeks is rightfully grabbing most of the attention, the offense has not been without its own struggles.

The overall statistics, particularly prior to Lamar Jackson’s injury, looked ok enough but there’s certainly been things to be concerned about:

· Scattershot offensive line play, both in pass protection and run blocking.

· Indecisiveness from Lamar Jackson, which has compounded the questionable protection and lead to Number 8 being sacked 15 times in just 3 ½ games.

· Questionable play calling from Todd Monken, particularly in the red zone and goal to go situations. The Ravens are currently 23rd in the NFL in red zone TD conversion rate at 53.33%. Down from their 2024 rate of 73.97%, which was good for number 1 in the league.

· Third down conversion rate is 40.38% thus far (13th overall), which is down from last year’s 50.46% rate, 2nd in the league. (Not coincidentally, the inability to sustain drives, combined with the defense’s inability to get off the field {in 2025 opposing offenses 3rd down conversion rate is at a 44.59% and 4th down conversions are at a staggering 83.33%} has led to the offense being out snapped 352 to 250)

In spite of points scored and rushing yards/attempt looking good in totality, there’s been a Jekyll and Hyde nature to the offense this year, which has seen the unit break down in key situations. Specifically, the 4th quarter performances in Buffalo (3 and out, Derrick Henry fumble, 3 and out) and vs Detroit (Derrick Henry fumble, followed by a 3 and out). Had the offense risen to the challenge in these key spots, the current conversation about the Ravens’ various inadequacies would be coming from a far different perspective and be far less unsettling.

In light of the lackluster play thus far, support for John Harbaugh has fallen to an all time low amongst Ravens fans. Even national media outlets are taking the temperature of Harbaugh’s seat and opining as to whether or not he’s lost the team in his 18th season at the helm.

We know that Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti abhors change but it’s fair to ask if a season that has gone off the rails this quickly and dramatically is enough to get the owner to consider moving on from the only head coach he’s ever hired.

In Week 6, the embattled Ravens are a 7.5 point home underdog against the Los Angeles Rams. With seemingly the entire organization’s back against the wall, how will they respond? Will we see another subpar effort reminiscent of the last 2 weeks? Or, will we this beleaguered group respond with the kind of pride and fight that has come to identify this franchise for the better part of 30 years?

Many questions plague the 1-4 Ravens; are they capable of finding some answers?

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The Ravens suffered a rather humbling 38-30 loss at the hands of the Detroit Lions. In the same vein as the loss to Buffalo, there’s no shame in dropping a game to Detroit. The Lions are amongst the NFC’s best and certainly have aspirations of representing the NFC in the Super Bowl.

Once again though, the manner in which the Ravens fell to the Lions is what has many pressing the panic button.

Here’s this week’s “looking back” bullet points:

• Derrick Henry had another fumble, his 3rd on the year and his 2nd fumble lost. Both lost fumbles came in critical situations in the 4th quarter. What exactly does this mean, if anything? Do we simply give kudos to Ed Oliver and Aidan Hutchinson for spectacular individual efforts? Or could this be a harbinger of the dreaded post 30, running back decline? Through 3 games, Henry has 41 carries for 242 yards (5.9 yds/carry) and 3 TDs. This time last year, he had 56 carries for 281 yards (5.0 yds/carry) and 4 TDs. By comparison, the production looks fairly similar. Perhaps it’s the lack of Patrick Ricard or that Baltimore has gotten away from the run earlier than usual in the last 2 games but something about Henry just feels different this year.
• With the understanding that these metrics are a bit subjective; Next Gen Stats credited the Ravens defense with 20 missed tackles. Pro Football Focus had that number at 9. Let’s split the difference and say they were at 14. Needless to say, that’s a big number. Is this a technique issue? Or perhaps fatigue set in after allowing TD drives of 11 and 18 plays? Being without Madubuike is certainly a factor but to Kyle Hamilton’s point, “Shame on us if we need a Pro Bowl guy to play good defense.”
• While the defense is the primary concern, the Ravens are not without concerns on offense. Pro Football Focus recorded 30 pressures on Lamar Jackson on Monday night. I would imagine a large chunk of that falls on the offensive line. With that said, Jackson looked indecisive at times, particularly in the 2nd half (6 of the Lions 7 sacks came in the 2nd half). Also, credit to the Lions’ for their disciplined and relentless play on defense, which was a big factor in quelling any late game heroics from Jackson.
• There was a time when John Harbaugh was considered very aggressive in his decision making. Those days are seemingly long gone. The decision to punt on 4th and 9 with 4:31 to go and trailing by 7 was a bit surprising to me. While it was not a slam dunk, no doubt, go for it situation (like the 4th and 3 in Week 1, where Harbaugh also elected to punt); I would rather have my best player on the field, as opposed to a sieve-like defense. Even if the offense fails on that 4th and 9, the Lions probably score more quickly and leave the Ravens additional time to attempt a comeback.

While it would be easy to continue to pile on, let’s take a glass half full look at where things are heading into the Week 4 showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs.

This is not your father’s Kansas City Chiefs.

Much like the Ravens, the Chiefs are at 1-2 after their first 3 games. Kansas City registered their first win of the season on Sunday, in a bit of a slog vs the New York Giants, 22-9.

Everyone knows the history; since 2018, including the postseason, Baltimore is a mere 1-5 against Kansas City.

Week 4 presents an opportunity for the Ravens to write a new chapter in this story as the Chiefs have never been as vulnerable as they are now.

Through 3 games, Patrick Mahomes is completing just 59% of his passes for 6.4 yards/attempt, both of which are career lows. Granted, it’s still early but Mahomes’ yards/attempt fell to 6.8 last year, which was a low for him at that time, so this could be the sign of a trend.

Poor offensive line play, the loss of playmakers and the decline of Travis Kelce have all conspired against Mahomes and the Chiefs offense. A struggling offense is just what a profoundly wounded Ravens defense needs.

While Baltimore’s offense has sputtered at critical moments, they’re still leading the league in points scored. And even though Lamar Jackson hasn’t been at the apex of game to start the season, he is atop the NFL in TD passes, yds/att, air yds/att and QB rating. There is also room for the offense to grow as the Ravens await the returns of Isaiah Likely and, hopefully at some point, Patrick Ricard.

While a short week followed by a road game is not generally considered favorable, perhaps it’s the perfect cure for a disappointing, soul searching type of loss. There really is no time to lament or wallow.

If the Baltimore Ravens are going to get the 2025 season back on track, they’ll have to exorcise the biggest demon of the Lamar Jackson era in their Week 4 matchup.

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Outside of an absolutely flawless 60 minutes of football, there wasn’t much that the Ravens could do this past Sunday to quiet any whispers about their mental makeup and how the ghosts of Januarys past seemingly visited them at Highmark Stadium in Buffalo on Opening Night.

Although the final score was a comfortable 41-17, there were stretches throughout the Week 2 matchup that felt anything but comfortable.

All of that said, the bottom line was getting to 1-1, so mission accomplished. With that in mind, here’s this week’s “looking back” bullet points:

• Was there anyone amongst us that did not mutter the phrase, “Here we go again” when Joe Flacco’s 4th down pass deflected off of Marlon Humphrey and into the arms of Cedric Tillman for a touchdown? Then, on the ensuing drive, things got even more tense when the Ravens faced a 3rd and 13 from the 50. Luckily for the Ravens, Lamar Jackson put on his cape, eluded defenders and fired a ball to a diving Zay Flowers for drive extending 1st down. Five plays later, Jackson found Devontez Walker for his 2nd receiving touchdown of the game. And exhale.
• There has already been a ton of ink (or in the modern era, keystrokes) dedicated to Roquan Smith’s performance on Sunday. 15 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 2 QB hits and the 63 yard scoop and score. What’s most intriguing to me about Roquan’s performance is who he had playing next to him. Rookie Teddye Buchanan played 60 defensive snaps on Sunday; second to Chidobe Awuzie’s 64 snaps. So, for the 2nd time in less than a calendar year, ILB Trenton Simpson has seen a huge reduction in his role. Not coincidentally, for the 2nd season in a row, Simpson’s de facto demotion led to an uptick in Roquan Smith’s play. Perhaps it’s an oversimplification but Buchanan’s expanded role and its impact on Agent Zero looks an awful lot like when Malik Harrison and Chris Board took over weakside LB duties last year.
• For as much criticism that was levied against the defense and special teams in Week 1 (well deserved, mind you), those maligned units deserve praise for excelling in Week 2. Granted, the Browns brought a rather pedestrian offense to The Bank but credit the defense for harassing Joe Flacco for much of the day, taking the ball away twice and scoring a touchdown of their own. The special teams deserve a big nod for the blocked punt that set up the offense at Cleveland’s 24 yard line. These units helped prop up a Ravens offense that had an overall scattershot performance on Sunday.
• NFL officiating is always an adventure. At least the league has implemented booth assistance this year in an attempt to correct egregious errors outside of challenges and take a closer look at “major” penalties like facemask, horse collar tackles and hits on defenseless players. This will be something that will definitely impact games throughout the league this season.

Looking Ahead

Up next on the slate for Baltimore is a Monday matchup with the 1-1 Detroit Lions. While they didn’t collapse in historic fashion like the Ravens did in Week 1, the Lions did suffer their own embarrassment as they were pushed around by the Green Bay Packers in a 27-13 loss.

In the aftermath of their Week 1 defeat, the off season concerns about the Lions losing OC Ben Johnson and DC Aaron Glenn to head coaching gigs grew louder.

Lions’ fans and media opined whether their replacements were up to the task.

As is generally the case, Overreaction Monday was just that and the Lions bounced back with a convincing 52-21 victory over the Chicago Bears and their old friend Ben Johnson. Jared Goff racked up a near perfect passer rating, Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery powered the running game and there were even “running up the score” accusations tossed around after a 4th down TD throw to Amon-Ra St. Brown midway through the 4th quarter with the game well in hand.

As the Baltimore Ravens learned the hard way, the game isn’t over until the clock hits zeroes, so there’s no such thing as running up the score in the NFL.

Baltimore and Detroit locked up in Week 7 of 2023, with Ravens dominating the Lions to secure a 38-7 victory.

Fast forward to 2025 and we have 2 teams on similar paths. Both organizations have aspirations to represent their respective conferences in the Super Bowl, both suffered challenging losses to rivals in Week 1, both rebounded with Week 2 wins over division opponents.

Specifically for Baltimore, injuries will be a factor both positively and negatively. Rumors abound that Kyle Van Noy could miss multiple weeks with a hamstring injury and we’ll await the initial injury report to see what Marlon Humphrey’s status may be. On the positive side, signs are pointing to TE Isaiah Likely making his season debut this coming Monday.

The Ravens sitting at 1-1 after the first 2 games of 2025 was not unexpected, understanding that they could easily be 2-0 but alas, it wasn’t in the cards. Moving on from the Week 1 disappointment was the best that the Ravens could do and they took care of business.

In Week 3, they take a step up in proverbial weight class and Baltimore’s 4 week gauntlet begins.

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