Sunday’s chastening defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs raises plenty of questions for the Baltimore Ravens.
It was not a great September for the Baltimore Ravens.
That was capped off by a hapless defeat to the Chiefs, losing Lamar Jackson and five other starters in the process.
The Ravens knew that they had a tough start to the season but they would have wanted to at least finish the month .500. But it is more concerning than that.
They have been comprehensively beaten the last two weeks. They arguably kept the Cleveland Browns hanging around longer than they should have in Week 2.
It gets worse. Nnamdi Madubuike is on IR. Baltimore are likely to be without Chidobe Awuzie, Kyle Hamilton, Marlon Humphrey, Travis Jones, Odafe Oweh, Brent Urban, Kyle Van Noy and Roquan Smith against the Houston Texans.
Plus of course, Lamar Jackson is doubtful to play.
Can Baltimore dig themselves out of a 1-3 hole?
There is hope. No one is running away with the AFC North.
The Steelers are competitive but beatable, the Bengals are missing Joe Burrow for the next three months. And the Browns are moving to a rookie quarterback – their 41st QB since 1999.
Currently, they are only one game out of the AFC playoffs, with 13 games to play.
The Ravens have a winning mentality. Once they can right the ship, they will be tough to beat.
There may be some re-evaluating of prospects for the season – until January at least.
This writer certainly has to eat humble pie. I expected the Ravens to sail to the playoffs, it was only a question of seed.
That may still be the case, but if so, it is going to be a rougher ride than expected.
After a tough strength of schedule, it really is a part of the schedule where the Ravens grit their teeth and win however possible, however ugly.
They have to avoid temptation to rush Jackson – and the other 14 players on the injury report – back to play and risk further injury.
