In a tumultuous weekend in the NFL, from the Saints beating the Cowboys in Dallas to the Buccaneers beating the Lions in Detroit, the most surprising was the Ravens falling to 0-2 after losing to the Raiders in Baltimore.
Ravens squander a 10-point lead The Raiders scored 13 points in the final 10 minutes Won 26-23. Baltimore, which was the AFC’s top seed in the playoffs a year ago, fell to 0-2 for the second time in John Harbaugh’s tenure.
“We’re not going to be defined by all the people that are saying we’re not good, that we’re good (or) that the season is over after two games,” Harbaugh said“That’s what’s going to be said, and we understand that, but they’re not here; they’re not in. Nobody inside is going to say that. We know we’re a good football team, and we’re going to get better and better and define the season by the way we play.”
The Ravens lost the season opener by literally a toe to the eventual Super Bowl champion Chiefs in Week 1. In Week 2, they were the favorites to beat a Raiders team that was coming off a losing streak.
After running back Derrick Henry scored a touchdown early in the fourth quarter to make the score 23–13, it looked like the Ravens would cruise to a victory in their home opener. The Raiders then had three straight scoring drives to close out the game, while forcing the Ravens’ offense into two three-and-outs.
Reigning MVP Lamar Jackson completed 21 of 34 passes and threw for 247 yards with one touchdown and one interception, and he rushed for 45 yards on five carries. According to ESPN, Jackson is the fourth reigning MVP to lose his first two games of the season since the 1970 merger and the first since Kurt Warner with the Rams in 2002. The Rams went 7-9 in 2002, a year after reaching the Super Bowl.
“I’m definitely going to talk to our guys because we have to find our passion,” Jackson said. “We have to find (it), and do what we do, because that’s not who we are at all.”
Of course, the season is still new, but recovering from an 0-2 start has been historically difficult for teams, and in the expanded playoff era less than 10 percent of teams that start this poorly ever reach the postseason.
Getting out of this hole won’t be easy for Baltimore either. The Ravens’ next game is with the Cowboys, another 2023 playoff team that will be looking to bounce back after a forgettable performance. Then, Baltimore will host Buffalo, a team that has made five consecutive postseason trips and is off to a 2-0 start.
But the schedule can be viewed as an opportunity for the Ravens. They can turn their season around and re-establish themselves as legitimate contenders. No matter how it is looked at, there is no doubt; it is surprising to see Baltimore in this position so early.
Most expected Baltimore (0-2) to be replaced with Pittsburgh (2-0) in the AFC North, as the Ravens are bringing back the MVP at quarterback and the Steelers are rebuilding projects at the position.
As the great Bill Parcells said, you are what your record says. And the Ravens are 0-2.
“Our standard is very high,” tackle Ronnie Stanley said. “It’s definitely not good for us to start out like that.”