The Ravens never expected to start 0-2, and now their season depends on how well they handle it.
Baltimore can't change the first two games, but they can play better football over the next 15. That's the challenge before them, and the coaches and players are already attacking it.
There's no time to waste.
"I've heard it said the NFL season is a race to improve, to become the best team you can over the course of the long haul," Head Coach John Harbaugh said Monday, the day after falling to the Las Vegas Raiders, 26-23, at home. "We had a disappointing game yesterday, we're not happy about it. We want to play better, we want to play winning football, we didn't.
"So we've got to keep pounding the rock, and the rock is going to crack. That's our job to keep pounding, not get discouraged, not think all is for nothing. Continue to work and our reward will be out there in our future."
Baltimore had not started with back-to-back losses since 2015. This is unchartered territory for key veterans such as Lamar Jackson, Ronnie Stanley, Mark Andrews, Marlon Humphrey, Pat Ricard, and Nnamdi Madubuike, who have spent their entire career with the Ravens.
Following Sunday's loss, the Ravens didn't try to pretend that being 0-2 wasn't a big deal. However, nobody was daunted by the challenge.
"I'm not comfortable at all with how the start has gone," Stanley said. "What we're trying to do here is win. It's not like we have a lack of talent or people to do it. Our standard is very high, and that's definitely not OK for us to start that way.
"The type of effort and tenacity these guys are giving is second to none. I'm not doubting the type of people we have and the type of character that we have in this locker room, but we have to buckle down on these details that really make a difference when you're playing at this level."
Baltimore's season has quickly turned into an uphill climb. Since the NFL expanded the playoffs to 14 teams in 2020, 32 teams have started 0-2, and of that group, only the 2023 Houston Texans and 2022 Cincinnati Bengals made the playoffs.
The Ravens face a difficult task but have the talent to defy the odds, and recent examples show it can be done. Few if any outsiders expected Houston to make the playoffs last season after its 0-2 start with a rookie quarterback in C.J. Stroud and first-year Head Coach DeMeco Ryans. But Stroud became the Offensive Rookie of the Year, and the Texans won the AFC South.
The 2022 Bengals rallied to the postseason after starting 0-2, led by Pro Bowl quarterback Joe Burrow, who’s trying to overcome another 0-2 start after Sunday's loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. They stormed back to win the AFC North at 12-4.
The Ravens still have all their AFC North games ahead of them. The Steelers are 2-0, but nobody is close to being out of reach.
Having a two-time MVP quarterback in Jackson gives the Ravens a catalyst whose presence and performance will be crucial during the upcoming weeks. So often, the Ravens go as Jackson goes, and his 58-21 career record as a starter gives Baltimore historic evidence to believe.
"The most consistent player we have, the consistently executing and consistently playing is Lamar on offense," Harbaugh said. "Lamar's playing very well. He's making good decisions. He's taking charge of the offense. He's making throws. He's moving around when he has to. He's running the ball sometimes when it's a run-pass option, he's throwing the ball when he should. I feel really good about the direction that way."
Jackson often leads by example, but he did not rule out the possibility of becoming more vocal this week if that's what it takes to get the Ravens on track.
"We are going to see," Jackson said. "I'm definitely going to talk to my guys, though, because we've got to find our mojo. We've got to find it, and do what we do, because that's not us at all."
Jackson and Andrews were rookies in 2018 when the Ravens lost three straight to fall to 4-5 entering their bye week. Jackson became the starter in Week 11 and Baltimore won six of its last seven games to make the playoffs.
That's part of the winning history that Andrews will lean on as the Ravens move forward. The players and coaches have built a winning culture in Baltimore that doesn't disappear after two games. Plenty of people will doubt them, but Andrews believes the Ravens will continue to trust each other.
"We've been here before with our backs up against the wall, and that's never stopped us," Andrews said.
Baltimore's next game against the Dallas Cowboys is the most important Week 3 game the Ravens have faced in some time. Falling to 0-3 would present an even bigger challenge. Meanwhile, the Ravens face two teams who are expected to contend this season in Week 4 (vs. Buffalo Bills) and Week 5 (at Cincinnati).
The players and coaches will hear plenty of noise about the hole they've dug to open the season. But it's too early for the verdict on the 2024 season. The Ravens still have 15 games, and plan to state their case as Super Bowl contender.
"We're not going to be defined by everyone that's saying we're not any good, or that the season is over after two games," Harbaugh said. "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 go keep getting better and define the season by the way we play."
