Ebony Bird
FanSided

Ravens TNF Loss: 3 big things to think about moving forward

By Chris Schisler

CINCINNATI, OH - SEPTEMBER 13: Nick Vigil #59 of the Cincinnati Bengals tackles Alex Collins #34 of the Baltimore Ravens during the first half at Paul Brown Stadium on September 13, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OH - SEPTEMBER 13: Nick Vigil #59 of the Cincinnati Bengals tackles Alex Collins #34 of the Baltimore Ravens during the first half at Paul Brown Stadium on September 13, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 3
Next
CINCINNATI, OH – SEPTEMBER 13: Joe Mixon #28 of the Cincinnati Bengals runs the football against Eric Weddle #32 of the Baltimore Ravens at Paul Brown Stadium on September 13, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Bengals defeated the Ravens 34-23. (Photo by John Grieshop/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OH – SEPTEMBER 13: Joe Mixon #28 of the Cincinnati Bengals runs the football against Eric Weddle #32 of the Baltimore Ravens at Paul Brown Stadium on September 13, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Bengals defeated the Ravens 34-23. (Photo by John Grieshop/Getty Images) /

1. Old Patterns are still in motion:

The Baltimore Ravens have a tendency to lose to the Bengals. They also have a tendency to get the fanbase excited and then let them down. It seems like one of the few constants with a John Harbaugh coached team, is that you never know which Ravens team is going to show up. One week Baltimore is beating the Buffalo Bills 47-3 the next week they lose to the Bengals after spotting them 21 points.

The Ravens are .500 since winning the Super Bowl. Their success has equaled their failure and it has been devastating to the franchise. They haven’t been good enough to be contenders, or even make the playoffs for the last three years. They haven’t been bad enough to get top 10 draft picks that can spark the team back to life (other than an injury plagued 2015 season). Every time the Ravens look like they mean business, or they have figured some things out, they prove that they can’t get out of their own way.

The Ravens had a chance on Thursday night to accomplish a lot. By going 2-0 against a team that has always had their number, the Ravens would have established that this year wasn’t going to be the same old thing on repeat. They could have rolled into week 3 with momentum, looking like one of the best teams in the National Football League. It’s early enough in the season that the Ravens can move forward from this low point and have a great year. John Harbaugh and company need to do so soul searching though, because it feels like we’ve seen this movie before.

Home/Ravens News