The biggest surprise of the NFL season through five weeks has been the Baltimore Ravens.
After entering the season tied for the best odds to win Super Bowl LX (+700), the Ravens fell to 1-4 — tied for the worst start to a season in franchise history — with Sunday’s 44-10 loss to Houston, tied for the most lopsided home defeat in franchise history.
The Ravens, down starting cornerbacks Marlon Humphrey and Chidobe Awuzie, starting safety Kyle Hamilton and starting linebacker Roquan Smith against the Texans, are last in the league in scoring defense (35.4 points per game) and second to last in total defense (406.8 yards allowed per game).
Baltimore is on pace to allow 602 points, which would be the most in NFL history. The current record is 534, set by the Carolina Panthers last season.
Asked if he’s considering moving on from defensive coordinator Zachary Orr or any other coaches on that side of the ball, head coach John Harbaugh denied that being what is required to fix the issues.
“You try to do the most productive things and I do not think that is the answer,” Harbaugh said Sunday. “We’ve got to go to work is what we need to do. We need to stick together, is what we need to do. We need to find ourselves. That has to do with coaches and players together.”
While the defensive injuries or the absence of star quarterback Lamar Jackson could have been used as an excuse for Sunday’s loss, Harbaugh was adamant the defensive players the Ravens had available didn’t play up to expectations.
“I don’t think we played well. I thought we would play better,” Harbaugh said. “I thought we would tackle better. I thought we would play our run defense better than we did. It was not up to standard. We have good enough players out there to play a lot better than we did. It’s just disappointing.”
The Ravens are tied with Cleveland for last in the AFC North, 2 1/2 games behind Pittsburgh (3-1). Baltimore stays at home to face the Los Angeles Rams (3-2) on Sunday before a Week 7 bye.
