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Baltimore Ravens: Injuries and a 44-7 loss cast doubt on team

By Chris Schisler

BALTIMORE, MD - NOVEMBER 6: Running back Le'Veon Bell #26 of the Pittsburgh Steelers carries the ball against defensive end Brent Urban #96 of the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth quarter at M&T Bank Stadium on November 6, 2016 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - NOVEMBER 6: Running back Le'Veon Bell #26 of the Pittsburgh Steelers carries the ball against defensive end Brent Urban #96 of the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth quarter at M&T Bank Stadium on November 6, 2016 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
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It’s hard to have a lot of optimism as a member of the Ravens Flock at the moment. The Ravens have lost Brent Urban for the foreseeable future and the massive shadow of a 44-7 loss hangs over the team:

The Baltimore Ravens are dealing with injuries at a rate that is hard to believe. They lost Tavon Young, Dennis Pitta, Crockett Gillmore, Alex Lewis, Nico Siragusa, Tim White, and Kenneth Dixon for the season due to injury. That was before a snap of regular season football.

In the first game Danny Woodhead went down with an injury and it is unknown if he’ll be able to come back and make an impact this season. Za’Darius Smith returned from his week 1 injury in the game in London, so there’s that.

The injuries kept on coming in the second week of the season. The Ravens lost Marshall Yanda for the remainder of the year. Yanda is widely considered the best right guard in football and may end up  with a bust enshrined in Canton, Ohio some day. The Ravens also lost special teams ace, Bam Bradley against the Browns. Following the game in London (if we can call that a game) the Ravens added another injury to the list.

The injury report gets another name:

Brent Urban got hurt against the Jaguars. According to reports, it is a Lisfranc injury, so we won’t see Urban on the field for a while. This is a bad injury for the Ravens at a very bad time. The Ravens defense just got beaten to a pulp by the Jacksonville Jaguars. This time a week ago everyone was talking about the defense potentially being an all-time great unit.

Now there is concern that the Ravens may not be as good as we once thought. It would be nice to look back at the Jaguars game and say it was a fluke, just a bad loss in a good season. The next two games against the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Oakland Raiders will be telling. If the Ravens defense gets back to the turnovers and sacks that made the first pair of games so impressive, it will relieve a lot of tension for the team.

Brandon Williams didn’t play in London. While he is expected to be back for the Steelers game, it will be a cause of concern until we see him on the field. If Jacksonville can have their way with the Ravens front seven without Williams, just imagine trying to stop Le’Veon Bell without Williams and Urban.

The Bottom Line:

Nothing went right in London but the arrow doesn’t have to point down. The Ravens have a lot of reasons for confidence against Pittsburgh in Baltimore. The Ravens have won the last four showdowns in M&T Bank Stadium against the Steelers. Baltimore forced 10 turnovers in the first two weeks of the season and they have a proven track record of giving Ben Roethlisberger some tough games. All of this sounds well and good, but the bad news machine is hurting the Ravens right now. The Ravens pride is hurting from a bad loss.

Next: Ravens lose in London 44-7: 3 big things to think about

Injuries are stacking up. Doubts are creeping in. The Ravens are 2-1 and if they beat the Steelers they will be in the driver seat in the AFC North. Optimism can be a Tuesday thing. but right now there are more questions than answers.

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