After a worrying 0-2 start, the Kansas City Chiefs seem to be back to their old tricks in more ways than one. First, they nabbed a lucky win against a bad New York Giants team. Then last week, they dominated a quality but injury-hit Baltimore Ravens team 37-20 to get to 2-2 and right back in the AFC West title race. Although it remains to be seen how impressive that Ravens win really was.
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It’s still Lamar Jackson and the Ravens, so you’ll always be happy with a three-score triumph. But they don’t seem to be the leviathan they once were. Jackson didn’t even make it through the entire game, being pulled in the third quarter after suffering a hamstring injury. Backup Cooper Rush didn’t exactly inspire confidence (eat your heart out, Shedeur Sanders).
The severity of Jackson’s injury remains to be seen, but at 1-3, Baltimore is in a pretty big hole already. And that’s not only because of poor play, but also because of a brutally unlucky injury record so far this season.
After the big win, Travis Kelce, who has had a modest start to the season with 22 receptions for 182 yards and a score, gave Baltimore their flowers in the face of their current injury crisis.
“Obviously, Ravens banged up man. They’ve had a few tough games here within the first four weeks, and then on top of that, having to travel to K.C. on a short week. Not an easy task, man,” said the tight end on New Heights.
“Hats off to the Ravens, I respect so many guys over there and have so much love for the coaching staff and how they do things over there,” he added.
Hearing a rival talk about you in glowing terms after they just kicked your butt is always a special kind of hurt for an athlete. It’s the most patronizing thing you can experience. But the Ravens can take solace in the fact that Kelce is right: their injury run has been kind of nuts.
Jackson—who is saying he will try to play in Week 5 but has been called week-to-week elsewhere—is by far the biggest issue, but also far from the only one.
Their second-biggest issue at present (but no doubt their most massive long-term concern) is the neck of two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Nnamdi (formerly Justin) Madubuike.
According to head coach John Harbaugh, Madubuike is done for the year, and he declined to comment on whether the neck issue is career-ending, suggesting that it is something Madubuike should address himself. And that says a lot.
And the sad thing is that Baltimore’s best player on both offense and defense is likely to be out for an extended period, which is just the tip of the iceberg. The defensive line is a complete shell of itself. Their best guy, Madubuike, has been gone for some time. His replacement, Broderick Washington, has joined him on IR. The other starter, Travis Jones, also missed Week 4.
Four other starters exited that loss to the Chiefs. And it wasn’t just any quartet either: starting left tackle Ronnie Stanley (ankle), perennial First-Team All-Pro LB and defensive play-caller Roquan Smith (hamstring), and two of their top three corners in Marlon Humphrey (calf) and Nate Wiggins (elbow).
On Wednesday, all four were missing from practice along with Lamar. Their one healthy starting CB, Chidobie Awuzie, was also missing from action. Not ideal.
Jones, at least, was seen back at practice, a tiny sliver of light peeking through the cracks of a Baltimore week so otherwise bleak that even Edgar Allan Poe would be feeling drearier than normal.
Among other injuries, First-Team All-Pro fullback Patrick Ricard also missed Week 4 with a calf injury, and starting tight end Isaiah Likely just made his season debut last week, though he did not have an impact.
One has to admit that 1-3 is not an awful mark considering the teams they’ve lost to. But with their first-place schedule, the hard part isn’t quite over. They play two more 2024 playoff teams in Houston and the Rams before their bye in Week 7. It gets a bit easier after that, but will they be in too deep a hole to climb out of?
