The Baltimore Ravens lost a game they truly should’ve won in Week 6. It never looked pretty, but it looked like they had it in the bag in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, they stumbled down the stretch in a way only the Ravens know how — a missed field goal, a fumble in their own territory, a critical penalty, and a coverage breakdown led to this past week’s L.
Time to flush it. You can’t dwell on it. Go back to the drawing board, figure out what went wrong, and go into Week 7 with the memory of a goldfish.
If the Ravens let that snowball in the upcoming stretch, they’ll be in big trouble because the next three games won’t be kind.
- vs. Cincinnati Bengals (3-2)
- at Buffalo Bills (5-1)
- vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-2)
This will be the toughest run Baltimore’s faced all season by far.
Baltimore Ravens need to discover a rhythm after frustrating loss
Baltimore is still 4-2 and tied for first place in the AFC North. Let’s not act like the sky is falling. However, it quickly could be if they don’t adjust.
The first order of business will be to stop beating themselves. Penalties, turnovers, costly miscues - you name it, the Ravens have endured it all through the first six weeks. If they’re behind in a game or fighting tooth and nail for a win, it’s likely because they can’t get out of their own way.
And while Jesse Minter respects the opponents sitting in front of them, he knows nothing will matter if they can’t escape that funk.
“This team, it’s us versus us,” Minter said in his press conference on Monday. “When we learn to be out of our own way in moments, we learn to separate in games, we learn to make these critical plays in the third quarter that lead to a different fourth quarter…it’s more about us. It’s more about us chasing our best standard.”
This team has looked good enough, but not stellar. They’ve struggled to put together dominant four-quarter performances, and after losing in discouraging fashion, things could go off the rails as the schedule ramps up.
Ravens risk falling into a troubling trend as schedule gets tougher
The Ravens don’t just need to find that groove again. They need to start setting the tone. Their two losses were games that they had every chance to win, and three of their wins were way too close for comfort against inferior opponents.
They haven’t even had a two-plus-score win since Week 1 against the Indianapolis Colts. In that stretch, they squared off with the New Orleans Saints, Dallas Cowboys, Tennessee Titans, Atlanta Falcons, and Cleveland Browns. Not exactly a murderers' row of opponents.
Having tight battles in each of those games is concerning. For context, their first five opponents have a combined record of 13-23. Looking at that, it’s clear Baltimore’s play has been underwhelming.
That won’t cut it against the teams they’ll face over their next three contests. The Bengals’ offense always gives the Ravens fits; the Bills are the Bills; the Jaguars have been one of the better teams in football this year.
Those won’t be games where you can stumble into a win. If this group keeps making self-inflicted errors, they’ll be exposed. Heck, it could get really ugly.
For comparison’s sake, those three teams have a combined record of 12-5. It’ll be a complete 180, so yeah, things must change.
Their real test is just beginning. If Baltimore doesn’t bounce back and look alive in all facets for four quarters, things could get tricky moving forward.
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