'We're just not a good enough football team yet': Can Ravens' issues on both sides of the ball be fixed?

Kyle Van Noy could hardly watch, and he certainly couldn't do anything to help. Cameras caught the Baltimore Ravens' edge defender, inactive for the second straight game with a hamstring injury, covering his face and staring, dejected and disbelieving, at the scoreboard late in the Ravens' 37-20 loss Sunday to the Kansas City Chiefs.

If a picture is worth 1,000 words, I don't need to do any more writing. Could this really be the team that was the Super Bowl favorite entering the season? The same one that led the Bills by 15 points with under five minutes left in the first quarter in Week 1, very much looking worthy of top billing at the sportsbooks.

To be fair, this is no longer that team. If the camera had zoomed out on Van Noy, it might have caught his fellow 2024 Pro Bowlers Lamar Jackson, Marlon Humphrey, Roquan Smith, Ronnie Stanley, Nnamdi Madubuike and Patrick Ricard also on the sideline, all out injured. Defensive linemen Broderick Washington and Travis Jones missed the game. Cornerback Nate Wiggins was carted off late.

But forget just this season for a moment. These aren't the Ravens we've come to know -- the ones that went 25-9 with an NFL-best +360 point differential from 2023-24. They're 1-3 for the first time since 2015, another injury-ravaged season that Baltimore finished 5-11. This was Jackson's largest loss as a starter since 2021.

"The product that we're putting on the field is not up to par with what the Ravens have been in the past and what the Ravens have been in the recent past," safety Kyle Hamilton said postgame. "I think we know that. We're trying out best to correct it. But obviously something's wrong, so it's up to all of us to try to fix that."

Forget, for a moment, about Super Bowl front-runners. Let's realize how far the Ravens have to go just to be competent.

• The Ravens have the NFL's second-worst rushing defense according to success rate. They were second-best last year.
• The Ravens are tied for the second-fewest sacks in the NFL. They had the second-most last year.
• The Ravens are allowing the most points in the NFL. They allowed the ninth-fewest last year.

Later in his press conference, Hamilton credited all the players who were playing hard despite being in adverse conditions. Ironically, that's just the problem, though. The Ravens are having to play so many guys they hadn't planned on playing much.

John Jenkins, a 36-year-old run-stuffing journeyman, played the most snaps among all Ravens interior defensive linemen. Behind him was Brent Urban, a 34-year-old recently signed to the active roster from the practice squad, and Josh Tupou, who signed with the practice squad earlier in the week. CJ Okoye made his NFL debut. Fourth-round rookie Teddye Buchanan played the most snaps of any linebacker. Undrafted rookie Keyon Martin played over half of the defensive snaps.

But that is what it is. As Hamilton said after a Week 3 loss to the Lions in which Baltimore allowed 224 rushing yards, "Shame on us if we need a Pro Bowl guy to play good defense."

But they do need some Pro Bowl guys. Right now, they might not have any -- not the way this defense is going, at least. The Ravens have long hung their hat on depth and development, on building through the draft and through smart free agent signings. But this is a lot for a lot of newbies and youngsters, and it's coming all at once.

But these issues were present -- even if just bubbling under the surface -- before this latest wave of injuries. A remade secondary got shredded by Josh Allen in Week 1. Jaire Alexander, expected to be a key part of the new-look cornerback room, hasn't played since. Chidobe Awuzie has struggled. Last year's sack numbers masked what was just a mediocre pass rush (20th in pressure rate). Smith struggled to start last year and has struggled again to start this year.

If a defense can't dominate down-to-down, it has to find a way to create havoc with sacks and turnovers. But because the pass rush and coverage are struggling, it's really hard to produce those splash plays. Because the run defense is struggling, it's hard to even put opponents in adverse conditions. The Ravens have forced just two turnovers this season, and both were against the Joe Flacco-led Browns.

Notice how easy things looked for the Chiefs offense, a unit that has had to scrap and claw for seemingly every yard the first three weeks of the season. Remember Andy Reid bumping Travis Kelce in frustration just a week ago as the Chiefs slugged their way to a win over the Giants? The Chiefs scored on seven of their first eight drives, and the one they didn't score on was due to a missed field goal.

Patrick Mahomes threw four touchdown passes; he had thrown three total through the first three weeks. He was pressured on just 15% of his dropbacks, the least pressure he's ever faced, and the Ravens' second-lowest pressure rate on record (since 2017).

Answers are few and far between, but they do exist. John Harbaugh didn't disclose the exact severity of any of the injuries. Obviously Jackson's injury is the one to keep an eye on; his presence gives Baltimore hope, and a prolonged absence would spell doom. Harbaugh did say he didn't think any of the injuries were season enders.

And Baltimore's season isn't over, either. Far from it. It's Week 4. The Ravens were 1-2 last year. They finished 12-5. No one is running away from them in the AFC North. Last year, the Ravens' defense struggled mightily in the first half of the season before some major adjustments from defensive coordinator Zachary Orr. He certainly has his work cut out for him, as do Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Todd Monken.

It's hard to blame the offense too much, but, like the defense, it doesn't look like the Ravens. Derrick Henry has 115 yards rushing over the past three weeks, his fewest in any three-game span since 2018. His low over a three-game span last year was 239 yards, more than double his total from the past three weeks.

As Harbaugh pointed out, the Ravens have played three of the NFL's best teams. The defensive struggles have forced the offense to be more pass heavy. It may be "coach speak," but the idea of the next week being the only one that matters is true: Baltimore hosts the Texans, one of the NFL's worst offenses, in Week 5. In the NFL, all you can ask for is an opportunity, and the Ravens still have plenty.

Last week, Harbaugh said the poor run defense was "not who we are." This week, at least, he recognized that maybe that is who they are ... at least right now.

"I believe we're going to be a good football team," he said. "We're just not a good enough football team yet."

And that 1-3 start?

"I'm concerned, but I'm not overwhelmed by it."

Baltimore has long shown the ability to rebound. This is just the second time they've lost consecutive games in the past four seasons. They've never lost three straight with Jackson as their starter. This column has spent plenty of time focusing on how these Ravens are not those Ravens, but that doesn't mean they can't get closer to that form than they are right now.

"Bring it on," Henry said, per the team's postgame transcript. "I look at it with a positive mindset. We are 1-3. Nobody is going to come out and do it for us. We have to go back to work."