close
close

first Drop

Com TW NOw News 2024

Lamar Jackson on the Ravens’ 0-2 start: ‘We’ve got to find our mojo’
news

Lamar Jackson on the Ravens’ 0-2 start: ‘We’ve got to find our mojo’

BALTIMORE — The last time the Baltimore Ravens played at M&T Bank Stadium, they fell one game short of the Super Bowl, losing in the AFC Championship Game.

In Sunday’s surprising 26-23 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, Lamar Jackson and the Ravens left their home field dejected and in a big hole to even reach the playoffs.

The Ravens are 0-2 for the first time in nine years and only the fifth time in their 29-year history. In the previous four 0-2 starts, Baltimore has failed to reach the postseason.

“We’ve got to find our mojo,” Jackson said. “We’ve got to find (it), and do what we do, because that’s not who we are at all.”

Baltimore is still winless by the narrowest of margins. In the opener on Sept. 5, tight end Isaiah Likely hit the back of the end zone with his right toe on the final play of a 27-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. On Sunday, the Ravens lost on a 38-yard field goal by Daniel Carlson with 27 seconds left.

The Ravens have gone from being tied for the second-biggest Super Bowl favorite at the start of the season (+850) to finishing last in the AFC North. The only other time Baltimore was 0-2 in John Harbaugh’s 16 seasons was in 2015, when the Ravens finished with their worst record under him (5-11).

“We’re not going to be defined by anybody saying we’re not good, we’re good (or) 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. Nobody inside is going to say that. We know we’re a good football team, and we’re going to keep getting better and better and define the season by the way we play.”

Jackson is the fourth reigning NFL Most Valuable Player to lose his first two games of a season since the merger in 1970 and the first since Kurt Warner in 2002. This is the first time Jackson has lost two consecutive starts since December 2021.

“I’m not used to being 0-2,” said Jackson, who completed 21 of 34 passes for 247 yards with one touchdown and one interception. “(We’ve) just got to grab our momentum and run with it.”

The loss to the Raiders was the third biggest upset in the history of the Ravens, who were 8.5-point favorites. But it was a familiar collapse for Baltimore, who could not hold on to a 10-point lead (23-13) with 10 minutes left.

The Ravens have lost four times since 2022 while leading by double digits in the fourth quarter, tying the Chicago Bears for the most losses in the NFL in that span, according to ESPN Research.

“These are the kind of games we can’t lose,” Ravens offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley said. “We’re too good a team to let them slip away.”

The Ravens have been dealing with a slew of issues, from a struggling, revamped offensive line to penalties (11 on Sunday) and kicker Justin Tucker’s struggles from distance (1 of 7 from 50 yards the past two seasons).

“I think it’s our own lack of discipline that’s causing these problems for ourselves,” Stanley said. “Whatever it is, it’s something we’re going to figure out and I’m confident we’re going to fix it.”

This has been a difficult summer for the Ravens. Longtime offensive line coach Joe D’Alessandris died on August 25. Four players have been involved in car accidents, including first-round pick Nate Wiggins on Wednesday.

Now the Ravens are in one of the toughest stretches of their schedule, with two reigning division champions — in Dallas and at home to Buffalo — before they travel to Cincinnati. Baltimore has a 50 percent or less chance of winning each of its next three games, according to ESPN Analytics.

“What (defines) every person — how you (are) defined in the adverse moments,” Ravens middle linebacker Roquan Smith said. “I know the guys in the locker room and how we feel about it. Trust me, it sucks more for us than anybody.”