The Baltimore Ravens fell to 0-2 to start the season with a meltdown, 26-23 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Ravens led 26-13 in the fourth quarter, but allowed the Raiders to score 13 unanswered points. While the defense couldn't get stops, the offense also went three-and-out on its final two drives.
It’s the Ravens’ first 0-2 start since 2015. There are plenty of issues to clean up for the Ravens to get back to .500, but they’ll have to do it against a tough schedule that features two away games against likely playoff teams in the next three weeks.
Here are three takeaways from a brutal collapse.
1. Ravens offense has little rhythm
It’s only been two games, and the starters are still getting their rhythm after not playing in preseason, but the Ravens offense has had very little flow.
The Ravens have scored a combined 43 points across two games, which isn’t bad, but there have been long droughts between scores in both games. Against Kansas City in Week 1, the Ravens scored on their opening drive and did not score again until a field goal to end the first half. They didn’t score the entire third quarter, but then scored 10 points (and nearly six more) in the fourth quarter.
Baltimore did not score a touchdown in the first half of the Raiders. They scored a touchdown on a Zay Flowers catch less than four minutes into the third quarter, but didn’t score again until the early fourth quarter. They did not score over the final 12 minutes over game. The offense went three-and-out on their final two drives of the game, when they badly needed a score to stop Las Vegas’ momentum.
There have been glimpses of the dynamic offense that finished the 2023 season. The Ravens got Derrick Henry going in the second half on Sunday, and at times showed a nice blend of misdirection and short and long passes. They've looked better when they've played with tempo. But these moments have been fleeting. If this inconsistency keeps up into Week 3, it’s fair to be concerned about how the Ravens are managing what should be a wealth of offensive weapons.
2. The vaunted secondary hasn’t been imposing
The Ravens entered the season with almost too much depth in the secondary, highlighted by talented defensive backs like Marlon Humphrey, Brandon Stephens, Kyle Hamilton, and Marcus Williams.
And while any casual on-looker would not think that the Ravens’ pass defense has looked like a problem, so far, this group isn’t living up to its reputation.
Over two games, the Ravens have allowed 514 passing yards combined to Patrick Mahomes and Gardner Minshew. Compare that to the 412 passing yards they allowed over the first two weeks of last season, when Baltimore would go on to be the best defense in the NFL.
The Raiders could not get anything going offensively for most of the game on Sunday. They had just six points at halftime, and their run game was ineffective; just 27 yards on 17 carries.
And yet when the Raiders had to start passing in the second half to try to keep pace with Baltimore, they had no problem. The Raiders scored 13 unanswered points in the fourth quarter. Davante Adams regularly beat coverage on simple go routes. Tight end Brock Bowers got open going across the field.
The Ravens were missing first-round rookie cornerback Brandon Wiggins against the Raiders — Wiggins got in a car accident and was ruled out with a neck injury. But one rookie shouldn’t make that much of a difference against a lesser opponent that was forced to throw in the second half.
3. There may not be great answers at right guard
The Daniel Faalele experiment is not going well.
The 6-foot-8, 380-lb Faalele is trying to adjust to guard after playing tackle, and the results haven’t been good. This was most obvious in Week 2, when Faalele got completely burned by Maxx Crosby on a stunt on a pivotal fourth quarter sack with 3:54 remaining, setting up 2nd-and-19 for the Ravens (they’d go three-and-out).
Daniel Faalele can’t get to Maxx Crosby in time on a stunt as he shuffles his feet, causing a sack in one of the biggest moments of the game pic.twitter.com/jSEMNcFxQz
— Kevin Oestreicher (@koestreicher34) September 15, 2024
That’s led to some calls from fans on social media to try playing backup guard Ben Cleveland.
Perhaps Cleveland could make a difference; he has more experience at right guard.
But the Ravens coaches are watching the games, too. Perhaps they feel they would hurt Faalele’s confidence if they move on from him too quickly. Perhaps they don’t think Cleveland would make a difference. Perhaps a change will come next week!
But it seems like a safe assumption that the Ravens would make a change if they thought there was a considerably better answer than playing Faalele out of position.
After the game, Harbaugh told reporters he’d keep “working” and “improving” with the offensive line, but that they would review everything. GM Eric DeCosta has said the team knows there will be “hiccups” along this new offensive line. The Ravens’ O-line has not been a disaster so far. They may get better with more reps still.
But there may not be any solution that drastically changes things, either.
