EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsBALTIMORE -- In the final minutes of Sunday's 35-13 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson stood on the sideline with his hood over his head and a scowl on his face after watching his team allow 35 unanswered points after halftime.It's unknown when exactly Jackson will come back from his high-ankle sprain, but he acknowledged he was "heading in the right direction" at the end of last week. Once the two-time NFL MVP returns, the question becomes: Can Jackson turn the Ravens into a championship contender once again?"Obviously, Lamar's one of the best players in football and one of the best players to ever play the game of football," Ravens defensive end Calais Campbell said. "So when he's on the field, you feel a whole lot better, of course."Though Jackson might not solve all of Baltimore's issues, he can inspire hope for a team with an identity crisis not seen in the NFL in 46 years. The Ravens are the NFL's best team in the first half, outscoring teams by 65 points. But in an extreme reversal of fortune, Baltimore is the league's worst team in the second half, getting outscored by 70 points.The Ravens' 135-point disparity between the first and second halves is the second-worst through seven games in NFL history, according to ESPN Research. It trails only the 1980 Los Angeles Rams, who had a 139-point disparity between halves."I think we're just too much [in our] heads [during] the game," Ravens offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley said. "We have one bad drive and they have one good drive, [and] we start to feel something happening in the game."The Ravens fell to 4-3 (0-2 in AFC North games), which drops their chances of winning the division to 10.5%, according to ESPN Analytics.Since the formation of the AFC North in 2002, only three teams have started 0-2 in division play and advanced to the playoffs (2011 Steelers, 2015 Steelers and 2020 Bengals)."It's definitely something I'm tired of hearing as well, not just you guys," Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith said of the second-half collapses. "But it's about what I said, chasing that consistency, and finding that missing piece to where that consistency that we're chasing -- there's something in there that's missing."Here are the biggest problems facing the Ravens:Stagnant run gameAfter being a top-three rushing attack for the first six weeks, Baltimore recorded a season-low 83 rushing yards Sunday. It marked the second time in the past five seasons that Baltimore has failed to rush for over 100 yards in consecutive games."I [have] got to be better," running back Derrick Henry said. "It's not good enough. [It was] terrible. I'm looking at myself."Henry finished with 45 rushing yards Sunday, which is his fewest since October 2025. He didn't break a run longer than 9 yards against the Bengals.Henry's 3.9 yards per carry is his worst average through the first seven games since 2019 and currently ranks 25th in the NFL.Minter is concerned about the plodding rushing attack."We [have] to search for those better answers and how people are playing us," Ravens coach Jesse Minter said. "[We need to] continue to try to create continuity on our O-line with what we have going on. We certainly need to find a way to create plays in the run game where we can at least sustain some drives and do those types of things when a game's going like that. We'll continue to search for that."Unraveling defenseOne of the reasons the Ravens hired Minter as their head coach was his expertise to turn around defenses. Instead, Baltimore has been just as horrible in the second half of games as last season.This year, the Ravens have allowed 114 points after halftime, which is worst in the league. Last season, Baltimore allowed 117 points in the second half through seven games, which was tied for worst."Starting with me -- it was just a bad effort by the defense in the second half and one that I know our guys will look at and not feel good about," Minter said. "Only we can do something about it."Finishing out games hadn't been a problem for Minter. In his two previous seasons as the defensive coordinator with the Los Angeles Chargers, they gave up a combined 158 points in the second halves in 2024 and 2025, which ranked 13th in the league.On Sunday, the Ravens allowed the most points in the second half of an NFL game in four years, when the Indianapolis Colts allowed 36 points to the Minnesota Vikings after halftime.In the fourth quarter, Baltimore has allowed an average of 101.7 yards passing. Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey has given up an NFL-worst 176 yards in the fourth quarter, according to NFL Next Gen Stats."We have to continue to rely on the technique that we've been coached and not make the moment bigger than it is," Ravens outside linebacker Trey Hendrickson said. "It's just the details that win games. Going through the process one play at a time will result in the way we want it to go. But like I said, if momentum is something that we're riding on, we're going to snuff that out and figure it out."Injuries along the offensive lineRookie first-round pick Olaivavega Ioane, who sustained a knee injury in the first quarter Sunday, became the latest blocker for the Ravens to leave a game and not return. Baltimore has already placed its top three centers on injured reserve this season.If Ioane can't play Sunday at Buffalo, Emery Jones Jr. will fill in. That would mark the sixth different starting combination for the offensive line this season for the Ravens, who have scored a total of five touchdowns in the second half (tied for second fewest in the league)."That's no excuse," Stanley said. "We have a lot of players hurt, they have players hurt. That's happened throughout the league. We still have enough to get the job done, and that's what we expect from our players."Baltimore next plays at the Buffalo Bills (5-1), who are coming off a bye. Since Josh Allen's first full season as a starting quarterback in 2019, the Bills have scored more points in the second half (1,724) than any other team.To avoid another second-half collapse in Buffalo, the Ravens need to have a strong psychological resolve and not let mistakes snowball."That's what we need to understand is we have complete control over that mentality," Minter said. "We've proven that we can play, and regardless of what the circumstances are, we can play [the way we want to and not] lose momentum. We have total control over that, and that's what we need to understand."
