Trouble Ahead for Ravens

To say that things through Week 4 are not going as planned for the Baltimore Ravens, would be the understatement of the century! The first month of the 2025 NFL season has been a monumental disaster for John Harbaugh & Co. These Ravens are in trouble!

How did things go so wrong so fast?

Can it get any worse?

We’ve heard it. We’ve discussed it. We thought we understood it. Were we all wrong to think that this season’s Ravens roster was arguably the most talented they’ve ever had? It sure looked that way on paper, right? GM Eric DeCosta was probably damn proud.

The media both locally and nationally concurred. The 2025 Baltimore Ravens were not just a threat to challenge for the Super Bowl, oddsmakers even made them THE favorite to hoist The Lombardi in Santa Clara, CA this February.

So, what’s the rub? Why are they now sitting at (1-3) while the geriatrics in Pittsburgh sit atop the AFC North at (3-1)?

Is it the coaching? Are the players underachieving? Has the team lost its identity? Could it be true that the team is simply overrated?

All of the above?

Injuries are a concern going forward, but even at full strength the Ravens have been highly underwhelming, primarily because the defense is a dumpster fire – one that is loaded with talent yet fails to play as a team. The vast majority of the defense has returned from 2024. They’ve had a full season plus under the tutelage of Zach Orr. Yet we keep hearing players like Marlon Humphrey and Kyle Hamilton tell us all that they are working on getting it together. That they’re close to playing as a cohesive unit but they aren’t quite there.

What am I missing here? What have they been doing throughout OTAs, mini-camps, training camp and practices throughout the week?

Did the Ravens decide to revamp their entire defensive approach during the offseason and not tell us? If not, then why are they struggling to get it together? If a band keeps its core together and they play the same songs from one year to the next, they don’t suddenly sound like shit. So why does the Ravens defense smell like it? It makes no sense!

The Ravens have one of the highest paid corners in the business (Humphrey). They have five first-round picks in the secondary; the second highest paid off-the-ball linebacker (Smith); the fourth highest paid interior defensive lineman (Madubuike); a first-round edge rusher (Oweh); and a promising interior D-Lineman who some believe is as good as any in the business (Jones). And here’s what all those cap dollars, all that draft capital, all that alleged potential gets them through 4 games:

• 27th in rushing yards allowed (565)
• 29th in passing TDs allowed (9)
• 31st in passing yards allowed (1,062)
• 31st in rushing TDs allowed (7)
• 31st in 1st downs allowed (94)
• 31st in total yards allowed (1,627)
• 32nd in points allowed (133)

Do the Ravens have a coaching problem?

And unfortunately, the coaching problems aren’t unique to the defensive side of the ball. Warren Sharp, a predictive NFL analytics and visualized data analyst, shared that the Kansas City Chiefs’ defense ranks 32nd in the league when facing play action. Without play action, the Chiefs defense ranks 4th against the pass.

Does the Chiefs defensive weakness play to the Ravens offensive strengths?

The Ravens have the NFL’s best passing attack when using play action. Without it, OC Todd Monken’s passing offense ranks 20th. So, you might think that it stands to reason that Monken would dial up some play action, right?

Wrong!

The Ravens used play action just four times in Kansas City. Thirty other teams used play action more in Week 4. And guess what? Those 30 teams weren’t facing the league’s worst defense when confronted by play action passing.

Crazy, right?

Check this out – when Lamar stuck the ball in Derrick Henry’s belly and kept it to throw at Arrowhead, the Ravens averaged 17.5 yards per attempt (“YPA”) with a 100% success rate and ZERO sacks. When they didn’t use play action, the Ravens averaged 4.4 YPA with a 39% success rate that paved the way to 8 QB hits, 3 sacks and perhaps Lamar’s hamstring injury.

And the offensive problems in KC weren’t just a byproduct of bad play calling. The offensive line is struggling with communication problems. They fail to make pre-snap and post-snap adjustments.

Nick Bolton had a career high 5 pressures on 10 pass rushes.

Bolton was unblocked on all 5 of his pressures, tied for the 2nd-most unblocked pressures in a game since 2018 per @NextGenStats #ChiefsKingdom pic.twitter.com/FZ1c1zQmTU

— All Chief’d Up! (@AllChiefdUp) September 30, 2025

Aren’t these guys, Harbaugh included, paid handsomely to be better than this?

Who holds this struggling staff accountable?

Who Are These Ravens?

I’ve been a guest on a variety of podcasts and one of the questions that inevitably is asked leading into a new season is, “What are your biggest concerns regarding the 2025 Ravens?”

I never mentioned coaching. But clearly, the Ravens have a severe deficiency in that department. The concerns I did share during those podcasts were:

• Where will the pass rush come from?
• Can the unproven guards help anchor the interior offensive line?
• What happens if Roquan Smith gets hurt?

I’m not going to dive into these topics here. They speak for themselves and by now it’s apparent that each of you reading this share the concerns I had during the months leading up to the start of the 2025 season. But now those concerns aren’t just pegged for this season. I’m concerned that these issues will linger into 2026, and I wonder if they are systemic problems. Please allow me to explain…

If we consider draft capital and real dollars, it’s clear that the Ravens ignore the trenches on both sides of the football. Maybe ignoring is too strong a word. But it’s fair to say that the offensive and defensive lines aren’t important enough to DeCosta, the roster’s chief architect, in comparison to the best teams in the league.

Consider the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles who own a (4-0) record through the season’s first month. They prioritize strength in the trenches and even when things aren’t always going so well, dominating the line of scrimmage eventually wins the day. It might be a key block to spring Saquon Barkley; Jalen Carter knifing through the LOS to force a fumble; or even a blocked punt or field goal.

The little things add up and despite not owning flashy offensive or defensive stats through the season’s quarter pole, the Eagles find ways to win and the launching pad for that success is winning the line of scrimmage.

Eagles ranks this season

Total offense 30th
Total defense 22nd
Win pct t-1st pic.twitter.com/Zv8CulwcFF

— NFL on CBS (@NFLonCBS) September 30, 2025

The Ravens aren’t even close to doing that on either side of the ball and consequently, a team once known for its physicality – a team that could once exert their will on opponents during the fourth quarter, can’t close out games and they intimidate no one. They’ve lost their identity. We no longer know who the Ravens are and judging from the confusion exhibited by the players, they don’t know who they are either.

“The Ravens have lost their identity, and they’ve lost their way as an organization, and as a football team.”@danorlovsky7 doesn’t understand why Derrick Henry has so few carries on first and second down pic.twitter.com/R8OzGt4LP7

— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) October 1, 2025

The Window is Closing

You’ve probably heard it said that the Ravens need to win now – that there needs to be a sense of urgency to get that next ring this season because the proverbial window to success is closing.

I’ve dismissed the concept of closing windows as just words – just something for talking heads to discuss and columnists to pontificate on. After all, they have Lamar Jackson and he keeps the window open, or so I thought.

But now when I look at the 2025 season through four games, consider the Ravens’ glaring weaknesses and ways to remedy them moving forward, I’m concerned. I’m concerned because the mounting roster deficiencies can’t be cured overnight. They are going to take time and I’m not so sure that DeCosta has the resources to get it done even in 2026. Here’s why…

Brace yourselves!

In no particular order, here are some of the major concerns that DeCosta will need to address:

* Roquan Smith: His play has fallen off markedly and his body as of late seems to be showing severe signs of wear and tear which has diminished his physicality. What will not diminish is his cap number which swells to $32.7M next season. To part ways with Smith, the Ravens would have to swallow $25.4M in dead cap dollars.

* Marlon Humphrey: He will turn 30 before the start of the 2026 season. Players don’t get faster as they age and if 2025 is any indication, Marlon has lost a half-step. Not ideal for a player who has a 2026 cap number of $26.3M and dead money of $18.9M.

* Nnamdi Madubuike: There’s talk that Madubuike’s neck injury could end his career. Those are big shoes to fill. In 102 snaps this season without Nnamdi on the field, the Ravens have one sack. ONE! If Madubuike is forced into retirement, the Ravens can get $22M in cap relief. But if he refuses to retire in hopes of earning all or some of that $22M in 2026, he can file a grievance and by doing so, the Ravens will be forced to park 40% of the $22M on their books in 2026. $8.8M isn’t chump change without a player and given the team’s rather bleak cap outlook.

* Decisions on pending unrestricted free agents will heavily factor in. Tyler Linderbaum will need to get paid, otherwise a crumbling offensive line will get even worse. Burgeoning star Travis Jones will need to get his bag. If not, a weak defensive line gets weaker. Zay Flowers is going to need to be paid. That will be extremely costly. Odafe Oweh and Kyle Van Noy will seek new deals and should the Ravens pass, they’ll need to replace these edge defenders. And let’s be honest, Harbaugh’s squad is already pass rush deficient. Mark Andrews will need to be replaced, and Isaiah Likely needs to be signed.

And all these pending negotiations and more require new deals just to get the Ravens back to status quo. Will there be any money to get better, to find a veteran guard or pass rusher who isn’t some aging reclamation project?

Can you see the window closing?

And at the center of it all, as he almost always is with all things related to the Baltimore Ravens, is Lamar Jackson. In 2026 and 2027, Lamar has an astounding cap number of $74.5M. The contract’s structure has been designed to force an extension next year and make no mistake about it, when completed, it will set a new standard for NFL contracts. Simply put, Lamar has the Ravens by the short hairs.

Without a Lamar extension to free up cap space, the Ravens are screwed. He holds all the cards. We’ve seen this movie before, and Lamar and his handlers are quite patient when it comes to getting the right deal done. They outmaneuvered the Ravens at the bargaining table during the last round of negotiations. These inflated cap figures in 2025 and 2026 were intended to bring all parties back to the bargaining table.

Given the Ravens dire outlook in 2026, advantage Lamar. Let’s also not forget that there’s a clause in Lamar’s current deal that prohibits the Ravens from using the franchise tag on the two-time MVP when his contract expires following the 2027 season. Relatively speaking, DeCosta sits at the poker table with a pair of 2’s while Lamar holds a royal flush.

Week 5

The pressure is mounting at One Winning Drive. The temperature is reaching a boil on the field, in the coaches’ meeting rooms and in the front office. The Ravens face a must win on Sunday and they’ll need to do it with a skeleton crew. They might even need to elevate a few from the practice squad just to dress 48 on Sunday. For those like me who have been clamoring for Keaton Mitchell to be activated, if he doesn’t dress against the Texans who by the way are now a 1 ½ point favorite given Lamar’s iffy status, he’ll never dress.

I’m sorry to paint such a grim picture for the Ravens, just 4 weeks removed from such a promising outlook. But this is their undeniable reality. This is why things have gone so wrong so fast. There’s plenty of blame to go around and unfortunately, things can get worse, particularly if Lamar is merciless at the bargaining table.

No one saw all of this coming.

Yet here we are.

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Source: https://russellstreetreport.com/2025/10/02/lombardis-way/trouble-ahead-for-ravens/