2 winners and 5 losers from Ravens' gut-punch Week 2 loss to Saints

The Baltimore Ravens need to flush everything that happened in Week 2. It was an ugly performance all around, as the team fell back on old habits, blew a lead, and lost to the New Orleans Saints.

It was a total failure from top to bottom. The game was in the Ravens’ lap at halftime. Coming into the second half, though, it slowly but surely got away from them. From the coaching staff to players, almost no one was safe from the criticism that followed.

Here are two winners and five losers from Sunday’s loss.

Winners and losers from Baltimore Ravens’ loss to New Orleans Saints

Loser: Offensive line

Figure it out. The offensive line was not just a negative asset again in Week 2; it may have been the lead catalyst in the loss. It was utterly atrocious.

The pass protection continues to grow into an urgent question. Lamar Jackson was sacked three times against the Saints and was hit six times. During the fourth-quarter collapse, it was at its worst, as the interior couldn’t block anything in their path.

And it was worse than last week. While at least they had their run-blocking prowess to lean on in Week 1, that wasn’t really the case in Week 2. Derrick Henry finished with a fine 4.3 yards per carry, but he had to fight for yards—the interior wasn’t clearing the way in a convincing fashion.

Plenty of questions still need to be answered, especially penalties.

Loser: Jaylinn Hawkins

When signing Jaylinn Hawkins, Baltimore brought in the perfect player to complete Jesse Minter’s wicked three-safety looks. Unfortunately, it was anything but wicked on Sunday. Well, I guess it was…it was wickedly bad.

Hawkins wasn’t up to snuff whatsoever. He had lapses in coverage, most notably on a 29-yard third-down completion to Devaughn Vele, where Hawkins should’ve broken it up or even gotten an interception. He also missed some tackles and got flagged for holding on what should’ve been a key stop on a two-point conversion try.

The plays were there for him to make. Hawkins missed the mark big time, though.

Winner: Trenton Simpson

Did Trenton Simpson just win the LB2 job? With Teddye Buchanan still recovering from his late-season ACL tear, Simpson has now gotten two starts. His second against New Orleans was golden.

Simpson was one of the few players on defense to ball out. He had 6 total tackles, 1 tackle for loss, and was floating around the ball all game long. He showcased a quick trigger to close on ball carriers quickly, and his sideline-to-sideline speed helped keep Saints from turning the corner and moving upfield.

In what became a defensive disaster, Simpson did his job. In fact, he outperformed all expectations for him. He finally matched his elite athleticism with tremendous anticipation, and it showed the potential player he could become.

Loser: Malaki Starks

Back to the safeties. This time, it’s Malaki Starks. What an absolutely horrid performance from the second-year pro.

The expectations were sky-high for Starks entering the year—and they still should be. However, Sunday was as forgettable as it gets. It felt like every time you saw his number on your TV screen, it was for a bad reason.

Like Hawkins, Starks missed tackles and had issues in coverage. His coverage lowlight was one of the worst plays of the game. While holding down his area in the end zone, he aggressively bit on a route toward the boundary and left Chris Olave wide open for a touchdown.

Something that might go under the radar is allowing Saints kick returner Barion Brown to hit the edge for a 53-yard return. Starks lost his leverage on that play and was left chasing after the rookie speedster. New Orleans had just 24 seconds left in the half, but that didn’t stop them from putting three points on the board.

Hopefully, Starks can quickly put this behind him and get back to developing into the star many thought the Ravens drafted in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft.

Winner: Ethan Pocic

One of the biggest winners from Sunday’s loss might be someone who didn’t even play: Ethan Pocic. As Pocic continues to ramp back up to game-ready shape, his competition for center snaps has floundered. Jovaughn Gwyn isn’t doing enough.

Gwyn allowed three pressures against the Saints, putting up a troubling performance in pass protection after looking horrible in the same area last week. It was his second career start, but with how poor the interior offensive line has been, changes might come fast and furious if they don’t figure it out.

Pocic will be a guy Baltimore can throw into the fire if they deem it necessary. He has 97 career starts and has looked rather stable in that action. The Gwyn/Vega Ioane pairing isn’t working out right now, so if things don’t change, it could be time to start something new. Putting an experienced starter next to the rookie Ioane might make more sense.

Loser: Keyon Martin

Keyon Martin got the snaps from the slot in dime looks last week. This week, it was rookie Chandler Rivers. And Rivers looked pretty solid.

Rivers had two tackles, including one uber-impressive tackle for loss, where he made a bang-bang play on Alvin Kamara for a four-yard loss. Despite his size, he has the physicality and competitiveness to win on a down-to-down basis.

For Martin, he didn’t play bad in Week 1—he proved worthy of the opportunity. He didn’t win the competition, though, and if he wants consistent snaps, he can’t let Rivers get too far out in front of him.

Loser: Rookie tight ends

0 receptions for 0 yards. That was the stat line for both Matthew Hibner and Josh Cuevas…not good at all. The Ravens need more from their rookie tight ends.

The duo played 14 offensive snaps (10 for Hibner, 4 for Cuevas). Mark Andrews was the lead target at tight end and did very well, but there’s a lack of explosiveness from the tight end room now.

Andrews isn’t the athlete he once was, and without Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar, there’s no backup option to be a vertical threat or reliable contested-catch target. It clearly slowed Baltimore’s offense down at times.

If Hibner or Cuevas can’t turn it up, this offense could be in desperate search of depth in the passing game.

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