The Baltimore Ravens, before the season, were widely regarded as one of the best teams in the NFL, which makes their 1-2 start all the more disappointing. Defensive struggles have been the primary reason for the Ravens’ two losses this season.
In their two losses to the Buffalo Bills and the Detroit Lions, the Ravens’ defense has given up 41 and 38 points, respectively. The Ravens have not played complementary football this season, so despite the offense never scoring under 30 points, they have two losses.
Most concerning, though, has been the team’s faltering performance in the fourth quarter. Against the Bills, the Ravens gave up 22 points in the fourth quarter. In their loss to the Lions, the defense gave up 17 points. The Ravens, as a unit, recognize this as unacceptable and are taking steps to correct it.
Kyle Hamilton Says the Sky Isn’t Falling
Having the 31st-ranked defense three weeks into the season is cause for concern for some, but for All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton, he isn’t overly concerned that the defensive struggles will become a long-term trend.
Clifton Brown of Ravens.com wrote in his September 25 article about how Hamilton feels the defense will get back on track after a disastrous start to the season.
“I feel like we’ve given ourselves the hardest path these past couple years, but we ended up in a good spot last year,” Hamilton said. “I feel like if we get it corrected even sooner this year, we’ll be in a better spot.”
Hamilton also feels that Ravens’ fans shouldn’t panic, and that the team has what it takes to correct its mistakes moving forward.
“The sky’s not falling,” Hamilton said. “We’re not where we want to be, but it’s a long year. There’s 14 more games. Hopefully, we’re looking back on our 1-2 start and we’re like, ‘I can’t believe everybody was making such a big deal about it.‘”
“It comes down to the simplest stuff you learn in Little League football – tackling, getting off blocks,” Hamilton continued. “It’s not a certain defense you can put somebody in to make a tackle. It’s a matter of us doing it.”
The Ravens have put added stress on their offense to keep up the scoring, but quarterback Lamar Jackson is handling the pressure.
Lamar Jackson Doesn’t Feel Added Pressure
When a quarterback has nine touchdowns, zero interceptions, and a 72% completion through three games, they won’t expect to be 1-2; however, that’s where Lamar Jackson and the Ravens find themselves heading into Week Four.
Jackson, though, isn’t letting any possible frustration with the Ravens’ disappointing start on defense show outwardly. When asked following the Lions game on Monday Night if he feels any added pressure from the defense’s poor play, Jackson denied feeling any extra pressure. Ravens.com provided a transcript of Jackson’s response.
“Like you said, every time we’re on the field, I feel like we should score, so I feel like that’s just pressure, regardless,” Jackson said. “That’s our job, to put points on the board. I’m not looking at the other team. [I will] probably look at the time of possession like, ‘OK, we have to put points on the board here.‘ But no, I don’t feel like we should be in panic mode or anything like that. [We just have to] do the same thing.”
“When we get our opportunity, [we need to] drive the ball down [the field] like we always do, [and] put points on the board,” Jackson continued. “But at the same time, we were scoring pretty fast sometimes, and those guys were milking the clock. So, in a way, we had to hurry up.”
The Ravens defense will have the opportunity this week to get back on track against a depleted Kansas City Chiefs offense that has averaged just 20 points per game through three weeks.
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