BALTIMORE — There were cheers as the clock reached zero and the Baltimore Ravens’ final attempt to get into position for the tying or winning runs was officially foiled by the Las Vegas Raiders.

The Ravens’ season opener was supposed to be a celebration of the return of football, of their status as legitimate Super Bowl contenders, of a roster featuring a two-time MVP quarterback and a star-studded defense.

Instead, the home team provided a tutorial on how to blow a 10-point fourth-quarter lead and squander a game it shouldn’t have lost. By the end of a horrific 26-23 loss to the Raiders, the tension had been sucked completely out of M&T Bank Stadium.

If the Ravens don’t get their act together soon, the anticipation that came with this season of high expectations will fade faster than Baltimore took a 23-13 lead on Sunday afternoon.

“There’s no way we should be 0-2, but it is what it is,” Ravens middle linebacker Roquan Smith said.

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That’s right. And to be clear, these Ravens have earned their way to their first 0-2 mark since 2015. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. In losses to the Kansas City Chiefs and Raiders, they’ve been an error-prone, inconsistent football team that has found ways to lose games instead of winning them. They’ve certainly been unwavering, and that’s one of the many things.

Losing to the reigning Super Bowl champion Chiefs in Week 1 at Arrowhead Stadium is understandable. But there’s no legitimate excuse for a healthy, rested team to lose at home to the Raiders, who didn’t take their first lead of the game until Daniel Carlson’s 38-yard field goal with 27 seconds left.

“They were just better and that’s why they won,” said running back Derrick Henry, who ran for 84 yards and a touchdown. “We didn’t make the plays we needed to make, as an offense.”

The same can be said for the defense and special teams. It was a team-wide collapse that allowed the Raiders to snap a 49-game losing streak in games where they trailed by 10 points or more in the fourth quarter.

“This felt more self-inflicted,” left tackle Ronnie Stanley said. “I felt like there were many, many opportunities to put the nail in the coffin, but we didn’t do it in the end.”

THROUGH THE STRAIGHTS!#LVvsBAL | 📺 @ParamountPlus photo.twitter.com/XlBaWlcpcH

— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) September 15, 2024

When it was over, Stanley ripped off his helmet and trudged back to the locker room as the booing grew louder. All three Ravens units — and, arguably, the coaching staff — had little to feel good about.

The offense started extremely sluggishly, struggled to finish drives, and then seemingly took control of the game with a 76-yard touchdown drive that ended with Henry’s punishing 3-yard run early in the fourth quarter, but it went three-and-out on consecutive possessions, setting the stage for Las Vegas’ comeback. A false start penalty on Henry nullified a first down on the opening drive, and guard Daniel Faalele’s inability to pick up a stunting Maxx Crosby killed the next possession.

An interception by Lamar Jackson that was deflected by wide receiver Rashod Bateman in the third quarter — which gave the Ravens a 16-6 lead — also led to a touchdown for the Raiders.

“We had the momentum,” said Jackson, who completed 21 of 34 for 247 yards, one touchdown and one interception and rushed five times for 45 yards. “In the fourth quarter, 23-13. Usually, we just finish teams off by that point.”

The defense, which made the Raiders one-dimensional and seemed to have a tight grip on the first three quarters, collapsed late, allowing Vegas to score on the final four possessions. It couldn’t have been clearer what quarterback Gardner Minshew II, who beat Baltimore on home turf for the second straight year, wanted to do.

And yet the Ravens couldn’t stop Minshew from finding star receiver Davante Adams (nine catches for 110 yards and a touchdown) and first-round tight end Brock Bowers (nine catches for 98 yards) when it mattered. When they did, Tra Blake’s team of referees ruled they hadn’t done it legally. Cornerback Brandon Stephens’ pass interference penalty in the end zone on third-and-goal from Baltimore’s 17 with just over four minutes left led to Minshew’s 1-yard, score-tying touchdown to Adams.

WE ARE NOT GOING ANYWHERE 😤#LVvsBAL | 📺 @ParamountPlus photo.twitter.com/IwDxFkwp6c

— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) September 15, 2024

“I think the penalties extended drives — that was the biggest thing,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “If those drives don’t extend, (and) you’ve got them supported, then you’re off the field and they don’t have a chance to make plays. If for some reason the drive extends, and you’re playing really good playmakers and then all of a sudden the play gets made, a pass gets made here and there and things like that.”

Special teams also played a role in the loss. Kick returner John Kelly made a curious decision to retrieve the ball from the end zone after hesitating, giving the Ravens poor field position for a key fourth-quarter drive. Punter Jordan Stout had a brutal 24-yard shank that, combined with a penalty on Ka’dar Hollman, gave the Raiders the ball at the Baltimore 43-yard line with the game tied with 2:21 to play. Five plays later, Carlson set up for a game-winning field goal.

And then there was Justin Tucker’s final miss of 50-plus yards late in the second quarter, which was even more damaging because his opponent Carlson completed 4 of 4 passes, including two of 50-plus yards and the game-winning field goal of 38 yards.

“As simple as I can say it, it’s not my favorite conversation topic, but I just missed the kick,” said Tucker, who has converted just one of his last seven from 50-plus yards. “I don’t want to continue that conversation. When I go out on the field, I’m confident I’m going to make every kick no matter where we are on the field. Today was no different.”

Harbaugh also drew criticism for his use of two challenges. The first, in which he contested an incomplete pass from Zay Flowers that bounced off the ground in the second quarter, played a role in preventing Jackson from getting a shot into the end zone. The Ravens settled for a 32-yard field goal from Tucker and a 9-6 lead into halftime. The second, in which Adams completed the pass along the sideline, gave the Ravens one fewer timeout to stop the clock at the end of the fourth quarter.

“Well, the one in the first half, that was a close one,” Harbaugh said. “I thought it was a real shot. We had two timeouts. We had plenty of time, it almost felt like it was a timeout and gave our guys a chance to catch their breath, which is what I wanted to do, so it was worth taking a shot at that. The other one was such a high-leverage play. We had such a shot, (and) we were going so fast. I just thought it was worth it, in the heat of the moment, to take a shot at it.”

After the game, a calm Harbaugh said the Ravens would get back to work. He had no plans to make any changes to his struggling offensive line, saying he needed to review the tape first. The Ravens certainly have an argument for benching Faalele for the more experienced Ben Cleveland or Josh Jones.

“The message is we’re going to define our season,” Harbaugh said. “We’re not going to let anybody define us that says we’re not good … or that the season is over after two games. 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’ve got to take care of our stuff, take care of our business and take care of our job. 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.”

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History, however, has not been kind to the Ravens. They have started 0-2 four times and not only missed the playoffs, but they have not finished with a winning record.

From a broader perspective, of the nine teams that started 0-2 last year, only the Houston Texans made the playoffs. Last year’s Texans and the 2022 Cincinnati Bengals are the only teams in the past five years to start 0-2 and still qualify for the postseason. Going back even further, 74 teams have started 0-2 since 2015, and only eight have made the playoffs.

To make matters even more difficult, the Ravens’ next three games are at Dallas (1-1), at home to Buffalo (2-0) and at Cincinnati (0-2). They are already two games behind the first-place Pittsburgh Steelers.

“At the end of the day, we all have to get better,” tight end Mark Andrews said. “Period.”

(Photo of Lamar Jackson and Maxx Crosby: Patrick Smith/Getty Images)