OWINGS MILLS — Quarterback Lamar Jackson said the Ravens have been “beating ourselves.” Linebacker Odafe Oweh lamented “self-inflicted wounds,” and described the Ravens facility as “tense.”
As players and head coach John Harbaugh met with the media after practice on Sept. 18, they vowed to turn a corner and put their surprising 0-2 start behind them.
The Ravens are still smarting from a last-minute, home-opening 26-23 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, who came to Baltimore as a touchdown-plus underdog. But the Ravens came up short in all three phases of the game, blowing two 10-point second-half leads and leaving the Ravens at 0-2 for the first time since 2015.
The Ravens have started 0-2 four other times in franchise history, and none of those teams finished with a winning record.
The Ravens visit the Dallas Cowboys (1-1) this coming Sunday, Sept. 22. The Cowboys are also reeling after being pummeled at home by the New Orleans Saints, 44-19, this past week.
“It’s kind of tense in terms of, we do not want to go to 0-3,” said Oweh, who is coming off a personal milestone game against the Raiders in which he recorded a career-high 2.5 sacks. “That’s not what’s going to happen. Everyone is pretty focused and understands what we have to do, even if it’s not outwardly spoken.”
Both Jackson and tight end Mark Andrews said the team seemed especially focused in practice as they began their work week getting ready for the Cowboys.
Jackson, who said mental errors and “the small things” proved costly in losses to the Kansas City Chiefs and the Raiders, said the team had one of its best practices of the season Sept. 18.
“It starts in practice,” he said. “I believe if we just keep going on the right track, we’re going to come out victorious.”
Andrews, who like Jackson had never been 0-2 in his seven-year NFL career, said Jackson was “spot on” in his assessment. “I think guys were really disciplined today, focused, on point, and that’s the type of guys we have — a bunch of fighters.”
“We’ve got the group of men [and] the players to turn this 0-2 start and make it something legendary,” Andrews added.
After facing Dallas, the Ravens host the Buffalo Bills on “Sunday Night Football” and then visit the Cincinnati Bengals, another Super Bowl contender that has also stumbled to an 0-2 start, giving enormous urgency to that early October matchup.
Harbaugh, who bluntly said on Monday that his team has not been consistent enough in any phase of the game thus far, wasn’t looking any further than Sunday’s date in Dallas.
“There’s a short-term focus which is right now, this week,” Harbaugh said. “That is always the focus. … It’s a one-week league. We have to do everything we can to play our best football that we’re capable of right now.”
NOTEBOOK
STANLEY, HAMILTON SIT OUT WITH INJURIES: Tackle Ronnie Stanley missed practice Sept. 18 with an ankle injury, and Kyle Hamilton was sidelined by a back injury, according to the team’s official injury report. Harbaugh said Stanley “will be out there Sunday, I can tell you that.”
Cornerback Nate Wiggins (neck) missed practice again as he recovers from a car accident, and linebacker Kyle Van Noy was out with what the team said was both eye and groin injuries. Van Noy was questionable to play against the Raiders after suffering a fractured orbital bone against the Chiefs in Week 1, but he played 26 defensive snaps and recorded a pair of sacks.
Cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis and offensive lineman Sala Aumavae-Laulu missed practice for personal reasons.
YANDA, SUGGS ON HALL OF FAME BALLOT: Former Ravens guard Marshal Yanda and outside linebacker Terrell Suggs are on the Pro Football Hall of Fame ballot for the first time this year according to the initial list of nominees released Sept. 18.
Yanda and Suggs are among 16 players on the ballot in their first year of eligibility. Others in that group include quarterback Eli Manning, running back Marshawn Lynch, linebacker Luke Kuechly and kicker Adam Vinatieri.
Including those eligible for the first time, a total of 167 modern-era players are under consideration by the Screening Committee, which will make an initial cut to 50 by mid-October.
Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox
