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Jamison Hensley, ESPN Staff WriterSep 15, 2024, 07:58 PM ET
- Jamison Hensley is a reporter covering the Baltimore Ravens for ESPN. Jamison joined ESPN in 2011, covering the AFC North before focusing exclusively on the Ravens beginning in 2013. Jamison won the National Sports Media Association Maryland Sportswriter of the Year award in 2018, and he authored a book titled: Flying High: Stories of the Baltimore Ravens. He was the Ravens beat writer for the Baltimore Sun from 2000-2011.
BALTIMORE — The last time the Baltimore Ravens had played at M&T Bank Stadium, they left one game short of reaching the Super Bowl, losing in the AFC Championship Game.
In Sunday’s 26-23 upset loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, Lamar Jackson and the Ravens left their home field dejected and in a huge hole to even get back to the playoffs.
The Ravens are 0-2 for the first time in nine years and just the fifth time in their 29-year existence. In the previous four 0-2 starts, Baltimore has failed to reach the postseason.
“We’ve got to find our mojo,” Jackson said. “We’ve got to find [it], and do what we do, because that’s not us at all.”
Baltimore finds itself winless by the smallest of margins. In the opener Sept. 5, tight end Isaiah Likely‘s right toe hit the back of the end zone on the final play of a 27-20 loss at the Kansas City Chiefs. On Sunday, the Ravens lost on a 38-yard field goal by Daniel Carlson with 27 seconds remaining.
The Ravens have gone from being tied as the second-biggest Super Bowl favorite at the start of the season (+850) to sitting in last place in the AFC North. The only other time Baltimore was 0-2 in coach John Harbaugh’s 16 seasons was 2015, when the Ravens finished with their worst record under him (5-11).
“We’re not going to be defined by everyone that’s saying we’re not any 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 inside. No one inside is going to say that. We know that we’re a good football team, and we’re going to go keep getting better and better and better and define the season by the way we play.”
Jackson becomes the fourth reigning NFL Most Valuable Player to lose his first two games of a season since the 1970 merger and the first since Kurt Warner in 2002. This marked the first time Jackson has lost consecutive starts since December 2021.
“I’m not used to being 0-2,” said Jackson, who was 21-of-34 for 247 yards passing with one touchdown and one interception. “[We’ve] just got to catch our momentum and get it started right away.”
This loss to the Raiders was the third-biggest upset in the history of the Ravens, who were 8.5-point favorites. But it was a familiar collapse for Baltimore, which couldn’t hold a 10-point lead (23-13) with 10 minutes remaining.
The Ravens have lost four times after leading by double digits in the fourth quarter since 2022. That ties the Chicago Bears for the most in the NFL in that span, according to ESPN Research.
“These are the type of games we can’t lose,” Ravens offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley said. “We’re too good of a team to let that one slip away.”
The Ravens are dealing with a series of problems, from a struggling revamped offensive line, to penalties (11 on Sunday), to kicker Justin Tucker‘s issues from long distance (1-of-7 from 50 yards in the past two seasons).
“I think it’s our own lack of discipline that’s causing these problems on ourselves,” Stanley said. “Whatever it is, it’s something we’re going to figure out and I’m very confident we’re going to figure it out.”
This has been a difficult summer for the Ravens. Longtime offensive line coach Joe D’Alessandris died Aug. 25. Four players have been involved in car accidents, including first-round pick Nate Wiggins on Wednesday.
Now, the Ravens are hitting one of the toughest stretches in their schedule, playing two defending division champions — at Dallas and home against Buffalo — before heading to Cincinnati. Baltimore has a 50% or less chance to win each of its next three games, according to ESPN Analytics.
“What [defines] each and every human being — how you [are] defined in adverse moments,” Ravens middle linebacker Roquan Smith said. “I know the guys in the locker room and how we feel about it. Trust me, it sucks more for us than anyone else.”
