GOOD, BAD & UGLY: Ravens Take a Beating

Yesterday was yet another painful Sunday – another blown opportunity for the Ravens to get better and another weekend left smoldering in the embers of a fire called the Baltimore Ravens 2025 season.

Injuries are mounting. Lamar Jackson (hamstring), Ronnie Stanley (ankle), Roquan Smith (hamstring), CB Marlon Humphrey (calf) and CB Nate Wiggins (elbow). Add it up and the Ravens walking wounded totals 10 starters, seven on the defensive side of the ball – a side of the ball that can least afford it.

And while the injuries swell like J-Lo’s partners and certainly affect the Ravens ability to win football games, they are merely red herrings that lure our collective attention away from the root of the problem. They serve as distractions and in some ways, a convenient excuse for their miserable season to date.

When the team lost to the Bills back on January 19 atop the icy turf in Orchard Park, the loss was devastating. The best team didn’t win but they did beat themselves and that left the team in a numbing state of despair – one that we thought would inspire them to work harder, play with more focus and eliminate mistakes.

During the preseason, the players, to a man, seemed to accept that loss as a welcome chip on their individual shoulders that would propel their resolve to achieve a different outcome the next time. Only the next time came on September 7, albeit on a smaller stage, and the result was the same. More despair. More beating themselves. More failure to finish games. Another addition to the “L” column.

This won’t be an easy piece to finish. After losses like this one to the Chiefs, it never is. Just like it is for many of you, these kinds of games ruin my weekend. I remain a fan and having to relive the torture of the Ravens inadequacies with pieces like this one, gnaws at my gut. It allows the stench of such losses to linger like a Cranberries’ song.

My emotions notwithstanding, here goes a most ugly, Good, Bad, Ugly & The Paige Spiranac and another week off for Paige who was busy with her commentary on another disappointment, the Ryder Cup.

THE GOOD

Justice Hill finished with a career-high 117 scrimmage yards, including 3 rushes for 76 yards (25.3 avg.) and 1 rushing TD from 71 yards out. Justice also had 5 catches for 41 yards and 1 receiving TD (8.2 avg.). If only the rest of the team played with the same determination and joy of this team-first player, the Ravens would not be in the sink hole they now occupy…Zay Flowers recorded a team-high 74 yards on 7 receptions (10.6 avg.). He made some tough catches across the middle with full extension. He’s fearless and played inspired football…Tavius Robinson finished with 3 tackles (1 solo), including 1 sack and 1 PD.

THE BAD

The way the Ravens are built these days, if in the unlikely event that Lamar Jackson has a bad game, the Ravens are doomed. Well, Sunday was one of those games. Lamar missed receivers that broke open, was once again hesitant to take off and run (which leads me to believe that this hamstring injury isn’t new), he turned it over twice, once just after the Ravens had first-and-10 from the KC 32, leading 7-3. That pick was a huge momentum swing from which the Ravens never recovered. On the Ravens next possession, Lamar was guilty of 3 infractions – two delay-of-game penalties and one for grounding, resulting in a punt. The Chiefs then put together a 5-play, 56-yard drive to go up 13-7, a lead they would never relinquish.

Lamar Jackson is BESIDE HIMSELF as he fumbles the ball away pic.twitter.com/03FgqSNYDP

— Kevin Oestreicher (@koestreicher34) September 28, 2025

Lamar was noticeably upset. This isn’t the first time. But pouting and throwing a helmet isn’t the answer. Be pissed off. Be pissed off for greatness. Not a thing wrong with that. But channel that emotion into a leadership role. Use it as fuel to correct mistakes and get that ship back on plane. Be a leader. That’s part of Lamar’s job that he needs to reengage. Be involved even if not in the game. Don’t allow others to interpret the pouting as proof that you’ve tapped out.

Special teams remain lackluster. The Ravens had 7 kick returns averaging 23.4 yards. Rasheen Ali had two of those returns averaging a pathetic 15.5 yards, but hey, let’s not forget how much better Ali is on teams than Keaton Mitchell who was a healthy scratch for the 4th straight game. Did anyone notice how the speed of Xavier Worthy opens things up for the Chiefs? Meanwhile, the Chiefs averaged 33 yards on 4 kick returns, and they returned the only returnable punt of the game for 15 yards.

THE UGLY

Offense

Practically everything about this game, save for the above, was unsavory, beginning with the offensive line. The guard play remains horrific and when those weak links are exposed, particularly by an enormous talent like Chris Jones, it’s going to be a long day. Daniel Faalele in pass pro, looks like he’s doing the tango in the dark and can’t find his dance partner…That said, the offensive front wasn’t helped at all by a horrific game plan from Todd Monken. More on that later.

Defense

The Ravens can’t generate a pass rush; they can’t cover, can’t stop the run and they can’t tackle. Other than that, the defense looks great. Injuries certainly crippled the interior defensive line, missing Messrs. Madubuike, Jones and Washington…on the edge the moves are the same and predictable. There is little in the way of stunting to plant the seed of doubt in the minds of opposing O-linemen. Blitzes are tipped pre-snap while tight ends and running backs are easy targets on quick throws completely undermining any blitz activity.

Teddye Buchanan was used and abused in coverage…Trenton Simpson is quickly becoming another 3rd-round bust and was replaced later in the game by Jake Hummel. Roquan Smith is but a shell of his former self. He lured us into believing that the old Roquan was back against the Browns but after the Lions game and now the Chiefs game, he looks washed. And the scary thing is, his cap figure in 2026 swells to $32.7M. He could be playing his final season in Baltimore. Maybe the Ravens paid the wrong off-the-ball LB. Meanwhile in Pittsburgh, Patrick Queen is balling…Malaki Starks is playing slow, perhaps thinking too much…Marlon Humphrey will soon be a better podcaster than he is a corner and he really sucks behind the microphone…Chidobe Awuzie has been pretty decent in coverage, but he was schooled by second-year WR Xavier Worthy. Awuzie looked like he was doing a backwards double axel that ended in a faceplant as Worthy corralled the ball, while adding YAC.

Xavier Worthy shakes the D off the screen.

He has the JUICE the Chiefs have lacked.

pic.twitter.com/InmtPatyKC

— Polymarket Sports (@PolymarketSport) September 29, 2025

COACHING

John Harbaugh

This isn’t the only season during which John Harbaugh teams have struggled to win. Yet at no time in the past did I ever feel like the team didn’t play hard for John. As I write, I can’t think of a single game when the Ravens didn’t hustle to the ball. And then Sunday happened. The Ravens look tired and flat. They were devoid of energy and lacked a sense of urgency despite a (1-2) start. Harbaugh’s teams are constantly outcoached by Andy Reid teams. It’s old hat. The Chiefs don’t do anything noticeably different, yet the Ravens have no answers, and they continue to do the same things the same way expecting better results that never come. Lamar is on record saying that the Chiefs are the Ravens kryptonite. Apparently, that extends to the sidelines and coach’s booth as well.

Speaking about the game, Captain Obvious, aka John Harbaugh shared the following:

“I thought [the Chiefs] played really well. Executed (on) both sides of the ball, played good, physical football and won a football game handily — all three phases. I feel like they coached better, they played better, everything was better. So that’s it. That’s a game in the National Football League.”

Todd Monken

The Ravens first possession was a thing of beautiful efficiency and balance. The screen to Hill for the score was a great call straight from the Andy Reid red zone playbook. But after that first drive, things fell apart. When you field a struggling defense, the best defense is a ball controlling offense that leans on the opposing defense, tires them out and keeps the ball away from the All-World Mahomes. But just as he did in the 2023 AFC Championship Game, Monken got away from the run. He lacked patience and sensibility. How else do you explain taking Derrick Henry off the field on 3rd-and-1 in Chiefs territory.

And even when Monken unnecessarily opted to go to the air, the Chiefs just blitzed the hell out of Lamar and seldom did the Ravens have a hot receiver running a slant or sit down in a zone. Lamar excels in those situations, yet Monken had the Ravens receivers counter six-man rushes with slow developing intermediate-to-deep routes that left Lamar running around aimlessly and nowhere to go with the football.

“That was it, that’s my answer. That’s the answer. That’s the way the game went. Sometimes the game goes that way, and you don’t have the opportunity [that] you want to. We were certainly planning on running the ball. That was a big part of the plan, but we didn’t really have the chances to get to it like we needed to. We need to get that third and fourth drive going. We weren’t able to do it.” ~ John Harbaugh

Monken can talk all he wants about Faalele – defend him until his heart is content. But he has to know the guy is a substandard football player. But Monken can help. He can commit to the run and ride a workhorse called The King. Getting the run game cranked up helps an offensive line with pass pro deficiencies. It makes play action more effective, allowing time to throw and improving the success rate of intermediate to deep passes. It also helps to calm down blitzing or even better, burn an overt dependency on blitzing. Instead, Monken just played right into Steve Spagnuolo’s hands – AGAIN!

I wish the #Ravens ran the ball with the same conviction that the #Orioles do. pic.twitter.com/QoA1vHyktk

— Lombardi Party of One (@RSRLombardi) September 29, 2025

Zach Orr

When I see Odafe Oweh and Mike Green line up as off-the-ball linebackers, my head practically explodes. That’s just a cute little tactic designed to fool a quarterback or derail the protections called at the LOS. I’ve yet to see it work. Quite the contrary. I’ve yet to see Oweh or Green make a play in coverage. Advantage Allen, Goff, Mahomes, pick one…

How many times do we need to see Xavier Worthy on a reverse before it’s stopped? How many times will the Ravens be in dime against an opponent’s 12-personnel grouping? How many times will I be asking these same questions?

That Chiefs offense suddenly looks a little bit more dangerous with Worthy back pic.twitter.com/vkz7jp5Qkx

— Andrew Steele (@andrewsteeled) September 28, 2025

Opposing teams are converting 75% of their red zone trips into touchdowns against Orr & Co. Only 48% of those possessions were converted into touchdowns between 2023 and 2024, a league best. Oh, and if that wasn’t enough, the only team that has allowed more plays of 20 or more yards to opposing offenses this season than the Ravens, is the Dallas Cowboys.

Hindsight is of course 20/20, but promoting Orr to DC was incredibly short-sighted. I get that promoting from within is welcomed by the rank and file. But if the hire is a bad one, the rank and file might soon be looking for employment. Don’t be shocked if some of the defensive assistants are already putting out subtle feelers because the Orr experiment could end by the bye if the Ravens head into it with a sub .500 record.

By contract, John has final say when hiring assistants. And he has shown a tendency to hire assistants who don’t fit the profile of a soon-to-be head coach in the league. (Mike Macdonald was a surprising outlier.) Such a strategy improves job security. Harbaugh’s choice not to hire a veteran coordinator like Vic Fangio or Spagnuolo has proven to be a monumental waste of talent, cap space and draft capital. You have to wonder where the Ravens defense might be, and the season for that matter, if the Ravens had a better DC. This isn’t Zach’s fault. This is on Harbaugh. But no worries. The team will work hard this week, and they’ll be ready to play against the Texans. Right John?

Parting Shots

* I watched a movie this weekend that featured the Radiohead song, Fake Plastic Trees. It’s a song that takes a shot at things that lack substance, materialism and phony people. I thought of that song after the Ravens game. You can probably guess why.

** Yesterday I watched the game at the waterfront home of some dear friends. The sun set upon Bodkin Creek and as I stared at its beauty, I couldn’t help but wonder if it metaphorically described the Ravens 2025 season. Not that I’m rooting for that, but if it does go that way, maybe some needed organizational changes will be made. But then, maybe not. The Ravens just cherish that continuity, you know?

*** My frustrations with Keaton Mitchell’s inactivity is well-documented. Now my frustrations over Jaire Alexander dressing in street clothes is equally disturbing – maybe even more upsetting. Alexander has “played” in just one of four games yet has not been on the Ravens injury report for the past two weeks. The Ravens spent $4M for Alexander (it can be $6M with earned incentives) to stand on the sidelines. Compare that to the Cowboys who signed Jadeveon Clowney to a one-year deal worth up to $3.5 million, with incentives. Clowney flashed during his first game with Dallas.

Kenny Clark shows off impressive range for a 320-pounder to make the stop but Jadeveon Clowney blows this play up by spinning out of the double and blowing up the lead blocker pic.twitter.com/fOFqBVc6CF

— John Owning (@JohnOwning) September 29, 2025

Alexander isn’t good enough to dress according to Harbaugh. Meanwhile, GM Eric DeCosta must be burning. That cap slot could have gone to Clowney. But maybe they all thought that David Ojabo would develop; maybe they thought they could wait for the great Adisa Isaac’s return. I don’t get this team sometimes, particularly the way they undermine the value of winning the line of scrimmage. It’s personnel decisions like this that could create friction between Harbaugh and DeCosta. Throw in high draft choices on defense who aren’t performing in Orr’s defense under Harbaugh’s direction and the lack of impact made by such draft picks is a poor reflection on DeCosta. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that this conflict is beginning to boil beneath the surface.

**** A few young players had decent showings v. KC. CJ Okoye, Keyon Martin and T.J. Tampa. Keep an eye out on each. They’ll get plenty of opportunity to play given the injuries on the Ravens defense.

****** So, this week against the Texans, there will be no Roquan, no Humphrey, and the team may be missing all interior linemen and CB Nate Wiggins. And who knows what will happen with Lamar. Good luck to the Ravens trying to sell their remaining inventory of tickets for that game.

Selling all my tickets to the remaining home games. Will not sit in that stadium until Orr and Harbaugh are flipping burgers

See yall in 2026 pic.twitter.com/tT4oEuFLB2

— RavensFlock20 (@Bateman_Szn7) September 28, 2025

Final Thought

Like my opening thought 10 minutes ago, it has been three weeks since the Ravens were a favorite to win Super Bowl LX. On a national stage they were whipping another Super Bowl favorite, 40-25 with less than 5 minutes to go in the game.

Now look at them.

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