The Baltimore Ravens went into Detroit looking to wrap a win against an up-and-coming contender in the Lions, and it wasn't the offense that cowered under the bright lights (though Derrick Henry's ill-timed fourth-quarter fumble should be noted). It was John Harbaugh's defense that was gashed, throttled, and thrashed all night by a Jared Goff offense that has found its groove.
That is ultimately what is so surprising: on Monday night, we saw one of the worst showings for a defense that has been consistently good for more than a decade. With season rankings of 10th, 6th, and 9th in yards per game over the past three years, and even better marks when points allowed are measured (10th, 1st, and 3rd, respectively). What gives?
Why is it that a team that only allowed 30 or more points twice last season has already surrendered that many 30-point outings in the first three weeks of the year?
This week’s game at Arrowhead will highlight weaknesses, no matter who wins.
The culprit can’t be pinned on one thing. It's twofold: opponents and the weight of expectation.
The Ravens have been the “new kids on the block” for nearly seven years. Notching 10 or more wins every season since 2018, with the exception of eight wins in 2021, the Ravens have hovered on the cusp of AFC greatness more than any team not named Buffalo. What has eluded them is on-field success when it matters most.
Take Monday night, for example. The Ravens defense gave up 224 yards on 38 carries, a nearly six-yard-per-carry clip. That kind of defensive showing will leave them far behind in both their division standings and the conference. The obvious impact of poor defensive play is that you give up points, but the ripple effect is that the offense must play from behind and take more risks. That was clear Monday night as Lamar Jackson did everything he could to keep Baltimore in it, but came up short.
This Ravens defense is not the same unit as even one year ago. Giving up 41 and 38 points in Weeks 1 and 3, respectively, is sobering, and even the Week 2 game against the Browns, where they allowed only 17, looks different when you note they still yielded six yards per carry to Quinshon Judkins before Cleveland abandoned the run.
Last year, the Ravens allowed just 80.1 rushing yards per game. Through three games in 2025, that number has ballooned to 149. The flaw isn’t likely to be fixed on the fly. Baltimore will probably lean on situational coverage, blitzes, and gap pressure to disguise this paper-thin run defense, but the proof is already on film.
It’s also worth noting that for the first time since 2022, defensive tackle Michael Pierce is gone after retiring in March. An elite run-stopper, Pierce was known for occupying multiple blockers to free linebackers, corners, and safeties to make plays. His spot has only been addressed with the sixth-round selection of Aeneas Peebles, signaling a shift from the defensive emphasis of years past.
Now comes a week featuring Baltimore’s blossoming rivalry with Kansas City—a matchup of 1-2 teams desperate to avoid a 1-3 start. History shows that beginning 1-3 dramatically lowers playoff odds, and for Baltimore, early losses to Buffalo and Kansas City would almost guarantee missing the AFC’s No. 1 seed unless the Bills stumble late.
This week’s game at Arrowhead will highlight weaknesses, no matter who wins. On one side is the Chiefs’ anemic run offense, ranked 17th in yards per game. On the other is the Ravens’ “so bad it’s funny” run defense. It’s hard to imagine Kansas City not testing Baltimore with plenty of Isaiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt. Whoever loses Sunday will face the unforgiving math: teams starting 1-3 miss the playoffs more than 60 percent of the time.