The Baltimore Ravens are 2-1, but that record has come with too much mess attached to it. Through three weeks of the 2026 NFL season, the issues keep showing up in the same ugly places: flags, missed tackles and late-game lapses that have already put them in danger more than once.
That’s the part that has to worry Baltimore most. The Ravens have been good enough to survive so far, but not clean enough to trust. The mistakes have piled up at the worst possible moments, especially late in games, and they were a major reason a Week 2 lead slipped away and why Week 3 nearly followed the same script.
Team captain Kyle Hamilton didn’t sugarcoat it after the defense’s Week 3 struggles.
“[The offense] shouldn’t have to go out there and score 30 points for us to win,” Hamilton said. “We were in position as a defense to get off the field, win the game…it’s unacceptable to be saying we’re a Ravens defense, whatever that means at this point, and us going out there and [blowing it] every time we got a lead.”
The discipline problems have been there from the start. Baltimore has been flagged 26 times for 198 yards, the fourth-most penalties in the league. In their latest game, a tense win over the Dallas Cowboys, they were hit with nine penalties for 78 yards.
That’s not a one-game blip. There’s been no real sign of the trend turning.
It hasn’t helped that 13 of those penalties have been charged to the offensive line, a group that has already had its share of problems. Those infractions point to bigger issues with technique and communication up front, and offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford will have to keep grinding to get that unit under control.
The tackling has been just as troubling. Baltimore’s 19 missed tackles are tied with the Washington Commanders for the ninth-worst mark in the NFL, and the damage has often come in the moments that matter most.
In Week 2, Juwan Johnson and Chris Olave made plays after the catch that kept Baltimore’s defense on the field. In Week 3, CeeDee Lamb and Brevyn Spann-Ford found room in the open field and helped extend drives. The missed tackles have not just been frequent; they’ve come in bunches, and too often on third down or late in the game.
Jesse Minter has already made it clear that this won’t be brushed aside.
"We're not detailed enough in our tackling," Minter said.
He added, "We need to coach them better."
That leaves Week 4 as a clean chance for Baltimore to start fixing itself. The Ravens face the 0-3 Tennessee Titans, and if the penalties and missed tackles still show up against that opponent, this problem could stick around a lot longer than they’d like.
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Baltimore also saw other linemen and front-seven pieces make their case. Zion Young showed up in the run game and as a pass-rush presence, flashing the kind of quickness and physicality that suggest there is more to come. Calais Campbell, meanwhile, kept doing what he has done for years, turning in another effective performance in his 19th NFL season and reinforcing the idea that the Ravens still have dependable veteran production in the mix. [Read more 🡒]
Lamar Jacksons New Approach Could Calm Ravens Fans Biggest Fear
Lamar Jacksons message after the Ravens Week 3 win over Dallas landed because it went beyond the usual victory lap. He made a point of praising his teammates and acknowledging the issues Baltimore has had closing out games, a reminder that the new coaching staff under Jesse Minter is trying to reshape more than just the playbook. For a team that has lived with late-game anxiety, the tone from its quarterback mattered almost as much as the result.
Jackson revisited the subject in a later press conference, stressing why the message was important to him and to the room. For Ravens fans, the bigger question is whether the shift in leadership can finally translate into cleaner finishes when the margin gets tight in the fourth quarter. The words were encouraging, but Baltimore still has to prove the habit has changed. [Read more 🡒]
Ravens 2-1 Start Is Hiding Pressure They Cant Ignore
A 2-1 start usually buys a little breathing room, but in Baltimore it has done something closer to expose the edges of a team that still looks unfinished. The Ravens are sitting right alongside the rest of the AFC North in the standings, yet the early-season review has been harsher than the record, with September drawing a C+ grade after uneven offense and a defense that has had trouble holding up its end.
The schedule is about to tell a lot more of the story. Tennessee and Atlanta are next, followed by a stretch that includes Cleveland, Cincinnati, Buffalo and Jacksonville, and those games should quickly show whether Baltimore can turn a modest opening into real momentum or keep living with the same questions that have already followed them through the first month. [Read more 🡒]