With the Ravens falling 44-10 to Houston for a third straight loss on Sunday afternoon, I’ve offered a dozen thoughts, each in 50 words or less:
1. While I would have flipped my score prediction to the Texans after Kyle Hamilton and Ronnie Stanley joined a crowded game-day inactive list Sunday morning, I’m still at a loss to see such lack of fight from Baltimore and felt no differently rewatching the game either. That was embarrassing.
2. I mostly dislike equating effort with results in the sports realm, but the Ravens looked slow and lacked physicality against Houston. Whether that’s effort, a lack of talent and confidence in what you’re doing, or bad coaching, it was a terrible look and an indictment of their roster depth too.
3. John Harbaugh maintains the defensive problems are “more fixable” than last year’s, which I’m not remotely buying beyond acknowledging most of these injuries being short-term ones. The 2024 defense never had issues stopping the run. What exactly does this defense do well? It was trending poorly even before the injuries.
4. Baltimore hasn’t been able to generate any meaningful semblance of a pass rush without Nnamdi Madubuike. While the blitz rate has gone up these last few games, it hasn’t helped. That the defensive front — which was healthier against Houston — couldn’t be disruptive against a porous Texans offensive line was alarming.
5. Since their 238-yard rushing night in Buffalo, the Ravens rank 27th in rushing EPA and 30th in rushing success rate, per rbsdm.com numbers. Only Justice Hill’s garbage-time touchdown in Kansas City saved them from four consecutive games under 100 rushing yards. The ground game is a non-factor right now.
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6. Stanley’s absence certainly isn’t helping, but the offensive line has regressed from last season with both guards continuing to be the biggest weakness. At some point, you have to consider taking a look at Ben Cleveland and Corey Bullock, don’t you?
7. Whether committing pre-snap penalties to thwart drives or running out of bounds on a punt to cost your team 25 yards of field position, Baltimore continues to exhibit a lack of focus and attention to detail that reflects poorly on the coaching staff. That’s especially costly when dealing with injuries.
8. From the moment news broke about Ar’Darius Washington’s Achilles injury in mid-May, many clamored for Eric DeCosta to add a veteran safety. Reuben Lowery is a good story and may develop into a solid player, but the undrafted rookie being the top reserve isn’t good enough for an alleged contender.
9. Cooper Rush had a bad three-interception showing in his first Ravens start, but the poor variables around him make it tough to harp on the backup quarterback’s performance. Mark Andrews and Rashod Bateman didn’t exactly have good showings on two of those picks either.
10. Jaire Alexander trying to steal the first career touchdown ball from Texans rookie Jaylin Noel was lame, but the veteran corner saw his first action since Week 1. Harbaugh said, “I thought he did OK. … I thought he went out there, really fought, and really tried to do well.”
11. When you’ve allowed 37 or more points in four of five games and already surrendered more points than the 2000 Ravens did over a full season, you’re the “get-right” game for opponents until proven otherwise. It’s staggering how dramatically this season has changed in a month.
12. Sixteen teams have rebounded from 1-4 starts to make the playoffs with the Rams doing it last year. But just four teams have begun 1-5 and still made the postseason. Softer post-bye schedule or not, the outlook is bleak, but the eyeball test looks even worse these last couple weeks.
