Ravens' Injury Woes Bring Back Bad Memories

Granted, the severity of these injuries isn't very clear, aside from head coach John Harbaugh stating after the game that none appear to be season-ending. However, the fact that nearly half of the starting lineup is dealing with injuries not even a month into the season is incredibly alarming.

As The Athletic's Jeff Zrebiec pointed out, it's beginning to look eerily similar to the Ravens' rather infamous 2015 season, the worst year of the John Harbaugh era.

"By season’s end, the 2015 Baltimore Ravens had 19 players on injured reserve," Zrebiec wrote. "Any chance of the Ravens stabilizing their season after an 0-3 start ended with an unrelenting wave of injuries to key players. Baltimore finished 5-11, the first losing season of John Harbaugh’s head-coaching career.

"It’s still premature to predict that fate for the 2025 Ravens, but the similarities are getting harder to ignore. For starters, that was the last time before Sunday that Harbaugh’s team was 1-3."

Zrebiec also noted how the injury issues started early in 2015, with veteran tight end Dennis Pitta and first-round wide receiver Breshad Perriman missing the entire season. Pass rusher Terrell Suggs, the leader on defense, tore his Achilles in Week 1 and veteran wideout Steve Smith Sr. played just seven games due to multiple injuries. Even Joe Flacco, who hadn't missed a game in his career up to this point, suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 11.

This was one of only two losing seasons that the Ravens have had under Harbaugh (the other being 2021, when they lost their final six games after Jackson went down), and if the injuries continue to pile up, they could very well be staring down the barrel of their third. Right now, though, all they can do is press forward.

"I believe we're going to be a good football team, we're just not a good enough football team yet," Harbaugh told reporters after the game. "All the things that go with that are the challenges that you face in the National Football League when you get the circumstances that we've had, so that's what we'll go to work on."