Barring a tie, either the Baltimore Ravens or Kansas City Chiefs are about to have a 1-3 record attached to their name.
That’s not the type of mark typically associated with either AFC powerhouse, but it will become one team’s reality when the Ravens visit the Chiefs on Sunday afternoon.
Kansas City started the season with consecutive setbacks for the first time since 2014 before recording a 22-9 victory over the New York Giants last Sunday. The typical firepower of a Patrick Mahomes-led offense has been missing.
The Ravens have been lighting up scoreboards but proving powerless to stop opponents. Baltimore averages a league-high 37 points per game but ranks 31st in scoring defense (32.0 per outing) and last in total defense (415.0).
In Monday night’s 38-30 loss to the Detroit Lions, the Baltimore defense was trampled for 224 rushing yards.
“There’s nobody in that locker room that thinks that’s good enough,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “That’s disappointing. That’s bad run defense, and that’s not who we are. It cannot be who we are. It’s not going to be acceptable, and it has to be better.”
The Chiefs don’t figure to have the same success since Mahomes is their leading rusher with 125 yards.
What the three-time Super Bowl champion does know is the slow starts on offense must end.
“We got to start faster,” Mahomes said. “I think every game we’ve said that, but we haven’t really got to do that. We were moving the ball early in the game last week, but we were settling for field goals. When you play teams that are really good and have dynamic quarterbacks like the Ravens do, you got to turn those into touchdowns.”
Kansas City is tied for 21st in scoring offense (20 points per game) and 17th in total offense (315.7 yards per game). The Chiefs have been thin at receiver but expect to have wideout Xavier Worthy on the field against Baltimore.
Worthy dislocated his right shoulder in the first series of the season against the Los Angeles Chargers. He was a full practice participant on Wednesday.
“We’ll just evaluate him,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “Take it day by day, but he feels good, so we’ll see.”
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has a league-best nine touchdowns passes and zero interceptions in 75 attempts. He has thrown for 722 yards and Baltimore has scored 40 or more points in two of its three games.
Star running back Derrick Henry ranks fourth in the NFL with 242 rushing yards and has three scores. But he has fumbled three times, losing two.
Henry fumbled just three times in 325 regular-season carries last season. The previous season, he didn’t fumble at all while playing for the Tennessee Titans.
“It’s a problem that’s got to be fixed,” Henry said. “I’m working on it as hard as I can to get this issue resolved. It’s tough right now because it’s been consecutive weeks — back to back to back — which is crazy. … It’s my responsibility to take care of the ball for this organization.”
Baltimore will be without two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike (neck) for the second straight game. Harbaugh admitted he was concerned that Madubuike’s absence could be lengthy.
Two other defensive tackles, Travis Jones (knee) and Broderick Washington (ankle), also missed practice. Others who sat out were outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy (hamstring), left tackle Ronnie Stanley (ankle) and fullback Patrick Ricard (calf).
Tight end Isaiah Likely (foot) was a limited participant and could make his season debut.
Cornerback Kristian Fulton (ankle) and defensive end Michael Danna (quadriceps) were limited for the Chiefs.
Kansas City has won six of the past seven meetings with the Ravens, including a 17-10 victory in the 2023 season AFC Championship Game.