NFL
By: Joey MacDonald
The Baltimore Ravens right now are not looking like a legitimate Super Bowl contender, after a humiliating loss to the Kansas City Chiefs by the score of 37-20 to fall to 1-3 on the season. And the injuries didn’t help the matter either, as several Ravens players, including Lamar Jackson, sustained injuries in this game.
The Ravens got off to a good start as they went down the field on their opening drive, going 70 yards on nine plays on a touchdown catch by Justice Hill from 11 yards out. And from then on, the offense was sputtering for the rest of the game until the 4th quarter, when Justice Hill scored the other offensive touchdown as he scored on a 71-yard run late in the 4th quarter. Also, having two turnovers didn’t help out either, as Lamar Jackson threw an interception and lost a fumble in the loss to the Chiefs.
The Defense continues to look like one of the worst in the entire NFL, given the way they’ve been playing and allowing big plays, especially against a team like the Chiefs. Patrick Mahomes cooked up play after play against the Ravens’ terrible defense, throwing for four touchdowns and completing 25 of 37 passes for 270 yards. The Chiefs went for it on 4th down four times and converted all four attempts. Plus, all four of Patrick Mahomes’ touchdown passes were to four different wide receivers. As Xavier Worthy, Hollywood Brown, Juju Smith-Schuster, and Tyquan Thornton all caught a touchdown from Mahomes. The Kansas City Chiefs came in with a game plan to exploit the worst defense in the NFL, and they earned this win with ease by beating the Ravens conveniently 37-20 in Week 4.
The Ravens suffered numerous injuries on the defense in their 37-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Both Marlon Humphrey and Roquan Smith left the game in the first half and were out of the game before the second half began. Humphrey went down with a calf injury, while Roquan Smith went down with a hamstring injury. And in the 4th quarter, Nate Wiggins left the game with an elbow injury, adding insult to injury and making it harder for this defense to overcome the painful start to the season. And, star Lamar Jackson also left the game with a hamstring injury and didn’t return to the game in the blowout. Moving forward, the Ravens must improve their health and play significantly better football to win this season; otherwise, it will be a long season for the Baltimore Ravens.
The Baltimore Ravens currently appear to be a football team that looks lost, confused, and doesn’t put 110% into every single play on both offense and defense through the first four weeks of the season. Most of the blame goes to Head Coach John Harbaugh. Harbaugh appears to have not only been losing games on the field, but also losing the locker room from his players on the team. Another coach to blame for the Ravens’ poor start is Defensive Coordinator Zac Orr. Orr has been experiencing some questionable play-calling through the first four weeks of the season. And so far, the Ravens are last or down at the bottom of every category on the defensive side of the ball. Right now, the two hottest seats on the Ravens are both Head Coach John Harbaugh and Defensive Coordinator Zac Orr, and if both of them don’t pick up the slack, then both of them will be gone by mid-October or early November.
The Ravens’ next up will be taking on the Houston Texans, in a matchup of two struggling 1-3 teams that both made the playoffs last year, as they look to make a statement and to get back on track for a playoff push now that we are coming into October, and the weather is changing as well. More than ever, the Ravens need this win badly in Week 5.
