On Monday night, the Baltimore Ravens suffered a disappointing 38-30 loss to the Detroit Lions. After the loss, the Ravens moved to 1-2 on the season, marking the team's second consecutive 1-2 start. In a game where the Ravens gave up 224 rushing yards and 426 total yards, it's clear that Baltimore's run defense let them down.
During his post-game press conference, Head Coach John Harbaugh didn't mince his words about the loss.
"The biggest problem is we didn't play good run defense," Harbaugh said bluntly. "That's not going to be good enough. That's bad run defense. That's not who we are. It cannot be who we are."
Harbaugh's transparency with this quote is commendable. Nevertheless, the Ravens' defense must improve, or it could derail their season. Notably, the Ravens previously gave up 497 yards to the Buffalo Bills in their 41-40 Week 1 loss.
The Ravens' run defense is a massive problem
Despite having the league's highest scoring offense, the Ravens are 1-2. So far this season, the Ravens defense has given up the most total yards (1,245) and the third most rushing yards (447). During Monday's game, the Ravens gave up four drives of 60-plus yards and two of 90-plus yards. Furthermore, the Ravens missed an absurd 20 tackles and failed to generate a sack for the first time in 57 games.
This is the second straight year that the Ravens' defense has caused them to get off to a slow start. However, last year, the bigger problem was the secondary. Now, despite an improved secondary, the Ravens' poor run defense is hurting them.
The Lions did not turn the ball over, allowed zero sacks, made the optimal decision on every fourth down, and missed only four tackles on defense.
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) September 23, 2025
The Ravens finished with one turnover (another on downs), allowed seven sacks and missed 20 tackles.
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It's uncharacteristic for the Ravens to have this poor of a run defense. Notably, since 2016, the Ravens have only ranked outside of the top 10 in rush defense twice. Even last season, they were the No. 1-ranked rush defense.
The Ravens have also failed to generate any pressure so far, which was evident on Monday night. This allowed Jared Goff to remain comfortable in the pocket, en route to completing 20 of 28 passes. The Ravens' combination of not generating pressure and inability to stop the run is a recipe for disaster.
Additionally, Zach Orr has had some questionable play-calling, which was also a problem in Week 1 and at times last year. It's not far-fetched to believe that the second-year defensive coordinator could be on the hot seat.
Sure, going up against two elite offenses in the Bills and Lions doesn't help. Neither does being without Nnamdi Madubuike and Kyle Van Noy against the Lions. Odafe Oweh, Tavius Robinson, Broderick Washington, and Mike Green didn't step up in the wake of these absences. Regardless, this Ravens defense has enough talent to at least be competent, and something has to change, or Baltimore could be in real trouble.