The Baltimore Ravens might have a few special teams issues. And none of them are Tyler Loop…at least right now.
Loop is passing every test thrown his way two weeks into the season. He’s 3-for-4, nailing kicks from 57, 45, and 49. His only miss came from 49 yards out in Baltimore’s Week 2 loss to the New Orleans Saints, but that was blocked after the left side of the line caved in.
And besides the field-goal protection mishap, two other problems were apparent on Sunday. Rookie punter Ryan Eckley was shaky in his second career NFL game, and the kick coverage has broken down way too consistently this year.
Those issues can’t be persistent. Special teams coordinator Anthony Levine must fix them up. Giving free yards and free points away isn’t Ravens football—they’re usually dominant on special teams.
Baltimore Ravens’ special teams unit is becoming a slight problem
Entering the regular season, most fans thought Tyler Loop would be the issue. He had an abysmal go of things in the preseason and remained highly unreliable from distance. That performance forced Baltimore’s hand to sign Jake Moody to the practice squad, but an outstanding 2026 debut changed the tone, and Moody was released.
Loop is slowly but surely earning confidence. The rest of the special teams group, on the other hand? Several questions are lingering.
Ryan Eckley is still ironing out the kinks that come with being an NFL punter. It’s all about consistency, and Eckley has yet to tame that beast. Sure, he’s got a booming leg, and he showed that in Week 1, going 3-for-3 with punts inside the 20-yard line. Week 2 was a different story, though.
Of Eckley’s three punts this past weekend, he couldn’t pin a single one inside the 20. He also averaged just 41.3 yards per punt, including 37- and 40-yard punts that handed the Saints decent starting field position (they scored the game-tying and game-winning touchdowns on those drives).
Kickoffs have been the other problem. Not returning them; Chris Moore has proven to be a fairly capable option in that regard. But the coverage team has been failing to hold its ground.
Against the Indianapolis Colts, the Ravens allowed 32.8 yards per return, including a 66-yard return from Colts rookie running back Seth McGowan.
Against New Orleans, that average dropped to 30.3 yards per return, but a 53-yard rip from Barion Brown with 24 seconds left in the second quarter allowed the Saints to put a critical three points on the board. Silly mistakes like that can’t happen.
The special teams unit simply must be better. Ironically, Tyler Loop has been the reliable one. Now, it’s time for the rest of them to catch up.
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