BALTIMORE -- During training camp, Pro Bowl cornerback Marlon Humphrey spoke candidly on July 24 about how the Baltimore Ravens defense was no longer feared. After the Ravens' 38-30 loss to the Detroit Lions on Monday night, Humphrey delivered another humbling assessment of the unit.
"We're just not very good," Humphrey said.
Baltimore has a losing record after three games for just the third time in John Harbaugh's 18 years as head coach, falling to 1-2 primarily because of the struggles on defense. The Ravens are having issues stopping the run because of poor tackling; they also can't slow down the opposing passing game because there's not much pressure on the quarterback.
As a result, the Ravens have allowed 96 points, which are the most in the first three games of any season in the franchise's 30-year history.
"I know we've got Lamar Jackson, but we can't expect them to score 28 [or] 30 points per game," Humphrey said. "It's putting unfair expectations on our offense. We've got to do our part."
Jackson and the league's highest-scoring offense are certainly doing their part. Baltimore's 111 points this season are the most by a team with a losing record through three games in NFL history.
Entering the season, the Ravens were 96-10 (.905) since 2000 when scoring 30 or more points. This year, Baltimore has lost twice in that scenario, despite scoring 40 points in Buffalo in Week 1 and putting up 30 points against Detroit on Monday.
The problem is that the Ravens' defense can't keep teams out of the end zone. Baltimore has given up a league-high 12 touchdowns this season.
Jackson said the defensive struggles haven't put additional stress on the offense.
"Every time we're on the field, I feel like we should score, so I feel like that's just pressure, regardless," Jackson said. "That's our job, to put points on the board. I'm not looking at the other team."
Injuries took their toll on the Baltimore defense. The Ravens were without two Pro Bowl pass-rushers in defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike and outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy on Monday. They have combined for 43 sacks with the Ravens since the start of 2023.
It's unknown when Madubuike will return from a neck injury; he' has been undergoing testing, with no update yet from Harbaugh. Van Noy is considered week-to-week with a hamstring injury.
Without Madubuike and Van Noy, Baltimore didn't sack Lions quarterback Jared Goff once. It marked the first time in four years that the Ravens didn't record a sack in a game.
"[We have] Pro Bowl and All-Pro guys all over the field, and shame on us if we need a Pro Bowl guy to play good defense," safety Kyle Hamilton said. "I think we have a plethora of guys who have accolades, but there are teams in the league that don't have that and play good defense. Obviously, to your point, it hurts not having [Madubuike and Van Noy], but we have guys in the room [with] ample amount of talent to make up for that, at all three levels. So I don't think it's as much of a personnel thing, as it is just a running [and] hitting thing."
Ravens defensive coordinator Zach Orr faced the same type of adversity at the start of last season, which was his first as a playcaller. In the first 10 weeks of 2024, Baltimore allowed 25.3 points per game, which ranked 25th in the NFL. In the final eight weeks of that season, the Ravens held teams to 15.4 points per game, which led the league over that span.
The question is whether Orr can orchestrate another turnaround. On Sunday, the Ravens face a Kansas City Chiefs offense that has its own troubles, ranking 19th in scoring (20 points per game). But in each of their three games vs. quarterback Patrick Mahomes at Arrowhead Stadium, the Ravens have failed to hold the Chiefs under 27 points.
"We're not trying to reinvent the wheel," Hamilton said. "We just have to go play football. It's probably not a good answer, but it's running and it's hitting, and we have to run and hit better."