The biggest loss of Sunday's opener had nothing to do with the final score.
Veteran outside linebacker and team leader Terrell Suggs suffered a torn Achilles tendon in the fourth quarter of Sunday's game, ending the season for the 13-year veteran.
"You try to find why things happen, and here's a tough break for a guy who's done nothing but work above and beyond to a degree – at least as hard as he's worked his whole career – I'd say more," Head Coach John Harbaugh said. "He's just prepared himself to be the kind of leader that you admire so much. This guy has been such a leader for us."
The injury is the second time Suggs has torn his Achilles. He suffered the same injury going into the 2012 season, and missed the first six games of that year.
Suggs went down when trying to get around the left tackle on a pass rush. He grabbed his foot and eventually walked off the field under his own power before getting carted into the locker room.
"Why does that happen on a play like that? I don't even know what happened out there," Harbaugh said. "I just looked back and he was on the ground."
The injury is a crushing blow to Suggs and the defense.
The 32-year-old defender was one of the team's top players and a clear leader of the unit. He was coming off one of the best seasons of his career in which he racked up 12 sacks.
Several players were emotional in the locker room talking about losing Suggs.
"I lose my locker mate. We lose a leader, a vocal leader," wide receiver Steve Smith Sr. said. "It's a heavy blow. It's a tough deal."
"A guy like Terrell Suggs, what he brings to the table is hard to replace," outside linebacker Elvis Dumervil added. "We have guys who have to step up, myself included, and we just have to get the job done."
Dumervil and Courtney Upshaw will now be the two starting outside linebackers. Rookie Za'Darius Smith, who was a healthy scratch Sunday, will also see an increased role.
"Terrell is our leader, especially in the outside linebacker group. He's been the cornerstone of this defense for a long time," Upshaw said. "Everybody knows the accolades, the stats and everything he does for this team. A lot of guys have to step up and try to replace the things he did on the field."
In addition to losing Suggs, the Ravens also played almost the entire game without starting left tackle Eugene Monroe because he left with a concussion in the first quarter.
"There are things in life that happen. Adversity is all about how you respond to it," Harbaugh said. "It's about how you react to it. And it's how you come back and play the next game, and how our young guys step up, and how our older guys wrap their wings around those guys, and how they play the way they need to play.
"That's what a team is all about."
