The Baltimore Ravens were considered a legitimate threat to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl entering this season. Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs were the favorite and that’s still the case after a close victory over the Ravens in the season opener.
Bouncing back with a win over the Las Vegas Raiders seemed inevitable in Week 2, especially considering the game was in Baltimore at M&T Bank Stadium. But, that wasn’t the case. The Raiders handed the Ravens a surprise 26 – 23 loss.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh isn’t panicking despite the rough start to the season.
“We’re 0-2. We’re going to play a 17-game season, and we will be defined by the next 15 games,” Harbaugh said after the game. “So that’s going to be our objective – to play the best 15 games we can, be the best football team we can be, and if we do that, then we’re going to have a really good season, have a shot to win a lot of games and get in the playoffs and make a run, so that’s what we have to do. Big picture – short-term – we have to go back and look at every little thing, continue to clean up the things that we know we can clean up and get better at the things that make a difference in games. We’ll continue to work very hard to do that.”
One positive was the play from Derrick Henry who made his home debut as a Ravens running back at M&T Bank Stadium. Henry averaged 4.7 yards per carry and gained 84 yards overall. He was brought in to give Baltimore’s rushing attack another player to be concerned about besides Lamar Jackson. The rushing attack showed life late in the game. But it simply wasn’t enough. Henry isn’t pleased with the start but still believes the team will be fine.
“We definitely don’t want to be 0-2. We wanted to get off to a good start, but we’ve just got to keep working [and] keep having faith in one another,” Henry said. “There are a lot of teams that start 0-2 and then finish the season strong, and we’ve just got to look at it that way. We’re out to a slow start right now, but we’ll just keep believing in each other and keep working and keep getting better, and the wins will come soon.”
Baltimore hasn’t gotten off to an 0 – 2 start since 2015. Harbaugh hopes his message to the team at the start of the week can help get them back on track.
“The message is we define our season. 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. 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 have to take care of our stuff, take care of our business [and] take care of our work. We know that we’re a good football team, and we’re going to keep getting better and better and better and define the season by the way we play.”
Despite not being worried, the Ravens will attack their next game with a sense of urgency. It starts this week as they prepare to face the Dallas Cowboys on the road.
“[We’ve] just got to find a way to win,” Jackson said. “I’m not used to being 0-2. [We’ve] just got to catch our momentum and get it started right away.”