By Edward G. Robinson III
AFRO Sports Editor
Can the Baltimore Ravens fix this mess?
Yes.
Maybe?
No, of course, they can. But will they? And how? And how soon?
Yikes.
Making the NFL playoffs, winning Super Bowl LX, non-negotiable goals set at the start of the season, are still visible, even achievable, goals. Yet, can this team, now playing sloppy mistake-filled football, remain poised, make corrections, heal new injuries, mend old injuries, and find a winning formula?
“There’s a lot of football to be played,” said Baltimore coach John Harbaugh during a postgame press conference following his team’s 37-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sept. 28 at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. “There’s a division to be won. We have to find out how to become good enough to win it.”
The Ravens dropped to 1-3 overall for the first time since 2015. Next up, the Houston Texans (1-3) on Oct. 5.
“We just have to go back to the drawing board,” said running back Derek Henry, who the Chiefs held to 42 yards on eight carries. He held on to the ball after two fumbles in earlier games.
Still, there’s more to fix than turnovers and now, after a disappointing showing against the Chiefs, a rash of injuries threaten the timetable. Threaten a downtown parade.
Lumped on top of a miserable loss was an injury to starting quarterback Lamar Jackson, who left the game in the third quarter with a reported quadriceps injury. He appeared to injure himself on a QB keeper, tackled from behind by a Chiefs defender. There’s no immediate date scheduled for his return.
The M*A*S*H unit Ravens are down several more players after entering Week 4 with a long list of players on the injury list: Travis Jones (knee), Nnamdi Madubuike (neck), Patrick Ricard (calf), Ronnie Stanley (ankle), Kyle Van Noy (hamstring) and Broderick Washington (ankle).
Now add Jackson, linebacker Roquan Smith, cornerback Marlon Humphrey and cornerback Nate Wiggins, who all left the matchup against the Chiefs with various bumps and bruises.
All of these injuries create probing questions for the Ravens, whose depleted defense must have retired Ravens defenders – say Ray Lewis, or Ed Reed – driving toward the team’s practice facility in Owings Mills in their shoulder pads and helmets.
Baltimore needs a better defensive plan. Harbaugh says one is on the way. Believe it or not, this is the landscape they are faced with as AFC North opponents prepare for winter.
Opponents have scored 133 points and amassed 1,649 offensive yards against the Ravens’ defense this season.
The Chiefs limped into this game but found sure footing as quarterback Patrick Mahomes zipped passes to his offensive targets. The Chiefs produced 382 yards of offense.
Mahomes connected with his favorite target Travis Kelce and wide receiver Xavier Worthy, a second-year speedster who pulled in five catches for 83 yards.
In the first quarter, on second-and-8 from the 18, Mahomes dropped a beautiful deep ball into the outstretched hands of Worthy, who started the rout with an inside fake and sprinted by Humphry late in the first quarter.
Then Worthy cut loose on an end-around and burned the Ravens’ defense for 35 yards, leading off a second quarter touchdown drive.
“We have to get it fixed,” Baltimore safety Kyle Hamilton said. “We have to put a product on the field that fans can say they are proud to root for.”
It’s hard to root for Jackson, the face of the franchise, when he’s pancaked on the ground, defensive linemen wrestling him down through highway gaps.
Protect the money. Jackson is the money.
Harbaugh is not one for excuses. He’s seen just about everything in his 18 seasons. If this is a new challenge, it sure doesn’t seem to scare him.
He hasn’t pushed the panic button. He appears sanguine in his self-analysis and continues to accept blame, specifically where the Ravens were ill-prepared against the Chiefs. He’s acknowledged that he and his staff bungled a few calls and mismanaged some game-clock scenarios drawing delay of game penalties.
His concerns about the team must start with candid reassessment away from outside noise. It’s time to ask “Alexa” to turn on some rain sounds and sit with this problem into the wee hours.
The Ravens have become a bit offensively predictable and the coaches now have to stay up late and fashion strategy that matches the available personnel and find what Harbaugh called a “rhythm.”
“I’m concerned but I’m not overwhelmed by it,” he said. “The three losses are against three of the top teams in the league. That’s for sure. … It doesn’t really matter. We have to win the next game. And then once you win the next game, you have a chance to stack some wins.”
If Harbaugh is looking for a place to start, here’s a thought: Give the ball to Henry. Then give it to him again. Then again.
Keep it simple.
“We’ll have to go back to work and try to figure out how we win our next football game,” Harbaugh said. “We’ve got issues that we’re dealing with and we have to figure out how to deal with them in a real smart way.”
…And fix this mess.