Ravens Have Chance to Rectify Biggest Weakness

The Baltimore Ravens calmed some of their frightened fans in Week 2, bouncing back from their opening night collapse in backing up the championship-caliber roster that many had touted them for during the summer.

Their defense, stacked of name-brand linemen and secondary contributors, shook off some of the age concerns with a strong outing in the Ravens' 41-17 win over the Cleveland Browns, while the offense continued flourishing. They have no shortage of weapons for Lamar Jackson to dish the ball to, creating a luxurious problem for a scoring attack that once lacked in such options.

But for some doubters, an early-season win against the Browns means nothing when assessing how the Ravens will hold up in the face of their biggest obstacle, and Bleacher Report's Brad Gagnon agrees.

He marked "big-game letdowns" as Baltimore's biggest hurdle that's yet to be overcome, and that's tough to do with every matchup. The team's already allowed the Buffalo Bills to slip through their fingers this season, though, just like they had in their most recent playoff loss, putting them on the defensive in preventing that disappointing narrative from growing any further.

"That Week 1 collapse in Buffalo added to a trend for the Ravens, who have Super Bowl-level talent but consistently fall short in critical moments," Gagnon wrote.

"As we noted last week, it happened earlier this calendar year in a playoff loss to the Bills, and they also blew a double-digit-point lead last September against the Raiders. They lost a winnable home game to the Chiefs in the 2023 playoffs and they still haven't won multiple playoff games since their 2012 Super Bowl campaign."