ExtremeRavens Posted September 29 Posted September 29 The Ravens’ season isn’t over. But four weeks in, it’s tough to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Here are five stats that grapple with the gravity of an early season loss, 37-20 to the Chiefs, which could prove to be an inflection point of an all-important season: 88,095,531 One injury after another. The Ravens entered the weekend already down three starters. They’d lose five more by sunset — those five are making a combined $88,095,531 this season. Four of them rank top-6 on the team’s payroll. Most crucially, was the hamstring injury that sidelined star quarterback Lamar Jackson in the third quarter. Left tackle Ronnie Stanley (ankle), linebacker Roquan Smith and cornerbacks Marlon Humphrey (calf) and Nate Wiggins (elbow) all exited early, too. This was a team that survived the last two seasons with unusually good health in a sport where injuries are a given. Seems that good fortune is catching up to them, derailing the beginning of what was once such a promising year. “I’m concerned,” coach John Harbaugh said, his team now 1-3, “but I’m not overwhelmed by it.” 42 It has been 42 games over a span of 32 months, dating back to mid-January 2023, since the Ravens lost a football game by more than eight points. They’ve played their fair share of tight contests, and curb stomped plenty of overmatched foes, but, according to NFL writer Scott Kacsmar, this team held the sixth longest streak in NFL history of keeping losses to one-score affairs. “[There] haven’t been a lot of teams in Ravens history, since 1996, to underachieve to the point where fans felt disappointed in the season as a whole,” All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton said. “And I feel like as of right now, in Week 4, obviously a long way to go in this season, we’re disappointed, and I’m sure the fans are disappointed, too. We have to get it fixed. We have to put a product and a team on the field that fans are proud to say they root for, proud to say they spend money on tickets to come to the games and support us.” 8-42-5.3 Derrick Henry was given only eight carries, which he turned into 42 yards, an average of 5.3 yards per attempt. That’s the fewest times the future Hall of Famer has been handed the ball in a single game as a Raven, and his second lowest single-game rushing yards. “He’s a beast and we were able to take care of him there,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. There were a few eyebrow-raising instances where the Ravens were in short-yardage situations with their bellcow back over on the sideline. The one fans might remember best was on fourth-and-1 in the second quarter. Backup running back Justice Hill motioned out of the backfield, telegraphing a pass, and the Chiefs sent a heavy blitz that gave Jackson no time before he chucked the ball out of bounds. “Maybe we have to do a better job of game-planning in those plays,” Harbaugh said. “That’s what I would say. I think that we need to put our guys in better positions and give them opportunities to make plays in those situations, because in a game like this, you have to be aggressive, you have to go for stuff. We didn’t get it done.” Ravens running back Justice Hill celebrates after scoring in the team's 17-point loss to the Chiefs. Despite Hill's late rushing touchdown, the Ravens barely gave their talented running backs the ball in Sunday's defeat. Derrick Henry had just eight carries. (Charlie Riedel/AP) 2.33% After Sunday night’s loss, the Ravens rank second to last in the NFL in sack percentage (2.33%), the amount of sacks divided by the amount of dropbacks faced. Only the Carolina Panthers are worse through four weeks. Baltimore’s depleted defensive front struggled mightily to disrupt Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Tavius Robinson accounted for the only Ravens sack, forcing Mahomes down after about four seconds. Beyond that, Mahomes was only hit thrice (compared to the eight QB hits on Jackson). According to Pro Football Focus, he had an average of 2.70 seconds to get rid of the ball, nearly four-tenths of a second longer than his average this year. Even then, Mahomes had no issue in the quick game, completing 17 of 22 for 142 yards and 3 TDs under 2.5 seconds, his most quick TDs since Week 1, 2022, per Next Gen Stats. 11 How about one positive figure? Seems like a while ago, and a drive that will be long forgotten in the lore of this Ravens loss, but Baltimore’s opening drive cruised 70 yards on nine plays, capped by an 11-yard passing touchdown to Hill. That was the last semblance of the high-octane Ravens offense we remember, moving the ball forward on 8 of 9 plays. Here’s how the next five drives unfolded before halftime: interception, three penalties that forced a third-and-a-mile, a failed fourth-and-one passing attempt, a Jackson fumble and a 43-yard field goal. “I mean that’s play calling,” Harbaugh said. “I am not going to sit here and say I’m happy about it, at all. I am sure that [offensive coordinator] Todd [Monken] is not happy about it either. None of us are.” Have a news tip? Contact Sam Cohn at scohn@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/samdcohn. READER POLL: What’s most to blame for the Ravens’ 1-3 start? View the full article Quote
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