The Baltimore Ravens are in trouble. Top defensive lineman Nnamdi Madubuike is out for the season, and star linebacker Roquan Smith will be out for a few weeks, too. Things are quickly going from bad to worse for a team many thought would be a Super Bowl favorite.
The Ravens’ nightmare start just got worse with season-ending injury to top defender
Things are going from bad to worse for the Ravens defense
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Mark Schofield is a former college quarterback and attorney covering the NFL and F1.
After Sunday’s 17-point loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, the Ravens sit at 1-3, two games behind the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC North and tied with the Cleveland Browns at the bottom of the division.
While there are many reasons for their struggles -- games against talented teams such as the Buffalo Bills, the Detroit Lions, and the Kansas City Chiefs could be among those reasons -- many analysts point to woes on the defensive side of the football as a leading culprit. Through four games, the Ravens have allowed 33.3 points per game, the most in the league.
Looking at Expected Points Allowed, the Ravens rank near the bottom of the league against both the run and the pass, as this graphic from RBSDM illustrates:
And then there is this from SB Nation’s own Justis Mosqueda, who looks at both offensive and defensive Adjusted Net Yards per Attempt each week:
While the Ravens offense is among the league’s best, that defensive number is among the league’s worst.
And Baltimore did not get good news on the injury front Monday.
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh announced that defensive lineman Nnamdi Madubuike, who missed Week 3’s game against the Chiefs with a neck injury, will miss the rest of the season as well.
We have not yet reached October, but it is getting pretty late in Baltimore.
An hour later, it was announced that Ravens star linebacker Roquan Smith will also miss a few weeks with injury:
The Ravens have some major problems right now. Maybe this 1-3 start isn’t a fluke.
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