Report Card: Bottom Falls Out in KC

Key injuries, questionable play-calling, missed tackles, phantom blocks and back-breaking fumbles derailed a talented Ravens team just enough to get them off to a disappointing 1-2 start.

On Sunday, in Kansas City, all of those things reared their ugly heads and the Ravens sank to lows that the Flock can only hope represent rock bottom of a once-promising 2025 season.

Let’s look at some grades.

Offense Overall: D

The Ravens had less than 300 yards if you don’t count Justice Hill’s garbage-time 71-yard touchdown run, and were 3-for-10 on third downs and 1-for-4 on fourths. They did find some success running when they went that route, but didn’t do it enough to really impact the game. They also showed some decent things on quick passes, starting with two easy ones to Mark Andrews to start off their opening scoring drive. But they couldn’t hold up long enough on deeper drops to get the downfield game going and they had two costly turnovers.

Quarterbacks: D

It wasn’t great after that opening drive. Lamar Jackson was 5-for-5 on that possession, with a touchdown throw to Hill. But the interception wasn’t good — he was obviously under duress, but it was first down and there was no need to throw that contested ball at that point in the game. He had a beautiful sideline throw to DeAndre Hopkins in the first quarter that was wiped out by penalty, and a gorgeous toss to Zay Flowers the next snap. There were also some great runs, such as the 3rd-and-11 conversion and the 18-yarder late in the second quarter to help the Ravens kick a field goal before half. But there were two delay penalties and an intentional grounding on one ugly possession and a fumble later. Here’s to hoping his injury is not serious. Cooper Rush had a weird throwaway on fourth down and threw the ball quickly.

Running Backs: A

They didn’t get a lot of volume, but Hill had those two touchdowns and 117 total yards, along with using a strong leg drive to convert a third-and-short. He was my offensive player of the game. Derrick Henry was very sure-handed, and rushed for 42 yards on eight carries, while also catching two passes for 16 yards.

Receivers: C

Zay Flowers was active, with seven catches for 74 yards, and Mark Andrews was a frequent target, chipping in seven catches for 30 yards. Rashod Bateman did a nice job in the scramble drill, breaking open for a 24-yard catch. But that’s pretty much it. They didn’t move the needle a whole lot in this one.

Offensive Line: D

They did some nice things in the run game, as mentioned above, but they can’t hold up long enough in pass protection right now to help the downfield routes develop. Tyler Linderbaum and Daniel Faalele had nice blocks on Hill’s long touchdown, and Roger Rosengarten had a good seal block on Henry’s first run of the game. Andrew Vorhees escorted Chris Jones into Rush’s unsuspecting body for a big hit, so there was that. Ronnie Stanley left early, and that showed, too.

Defense Overall: D

What’s crazy is that if they didn’t play strong in the red zone at the start of the game, this could have been even worse. They did hold the Chiefs to 5-for-15 on third downs, but they also allowed them to go 4-for-4 on fourth downs. This is a banged-up unit that is looking to just hang on until reinforcements arrive. I’m just not sure they can — or that the reinforcements will fix what hasn’t worked all season to this point. Losing the line, not creating turnovers, and missing tackles is not winning football.

Defensive Line: Wet Paper Towel

If football is won in the trenches, we have a clear picture of why the Ravens currently sit at 1-3. Look, injuries have not done this unit any favors. We all understand that. But this is a bludgeoning they are taking every week up front, and it’s affecting the second level as linebackers are being swallowed whole. There’s no pass rush. There’s no knifing defenders slicing through for losses as we’ve seen from this team in years past. They are being consistently driven backwards. Mike Green used a nice spin move to disrupt a Patrick Mahomes third-and-goal pass in the second quarter. Tavius Robinson had a nice pursuit sack and forced several runs inside, along with batting down a third-down pass at the line. But there wasn’t much more, outside of a run stuff by John Jenkins in the red zone. This is a problem.

Linebackers: D

There is little impact from this group in most games this season, and they are often getting wiped out in the wash. Teddye Buchanan has, in my opinion, a really good chance of becoming a good ball player. He runs hard to the ball and is physical. But he whiffed hard on an open-field tackle in the first half, and seems to run past ballcarriers a lot. Roquan Smith was chasing Travis Kelce around a lot before getting hurt. Trenton Simpson had a nice sideline tackle, but got caught up by blocks on a few runs, as well.

Defensive Backs: D

Mahomes diced them up pretty consistently all game. The pass-rush is doing them no favors right now, but they are getting beaten too frequently, as well. Marlon Humphrey was having a tough game before his injury, drawing g a face masking flag on the Chiefs’ first offensive play of the game, and getting beaten by Xavier Worthy for 37 in the first quarter. Nate Wiggins was having a nice game before his injury on a big hit. Kyle Hamilton was pretty solid, but he needs to be one of the guys to “make a play” if this defense is going to wake up this season.

Special Teams: D+

Tyler Loop was good in a hostile environment, which is a good sign. He made both field goals he tried, and both extra points. Jordan Stout had one punt for 50 yards, but it out kicked the coverage and the Ravens allowed a 15-yard return. The kickoff coverage units were poor, allowing four returns for 132 yards — a clip of 33 yards a return. Rasheen Ali bumbled a late kick return and managed 10 yards on the return.

Coaching: F

The Ravens came out with a terrific first drive. A few blitz-beaters to Andrews to slow the rush and get an easy first down. Nice run by Henry, followed by the big play-action pass to Flowers, and ending in a touchdown catch by Hill.

But they reverted to the deep drops, couldn’t maintain a consistent run game, panicked when they fell behind, and completely fell out of rhythm. The defense is short-handed, but they are also offering little-to-no resistance to offenses — on the ground, in the air or, apparently, on the chalkboard.

As John Harbaugh said, this is not a good football team. The problem is that it should be.

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Source: https://russellstreetreport.com/2025/09/28/report-card/report-card-bottom-falls-out-in-kc/