Sep 28, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Cooper Rush (15) makes a pass during the fourth quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Ravens' Playoff Goals Put Into Question

Originally posted on Baltimore Ravens on SI
By Henry Brown | Last updated Sep 29, 2025 9:00 AM ET

For the first time in a long time, the Baltimore Ravens' may fall flat on their annual trip to the playoffs.

There's still a long way to go until the regular season comes to a close, but their 1-3 record has surpassed some of the Ravens' classic postseason doubts. Any concerns that they won't be able to hold up against top competition and when the stakes are the highest seem to have already been answered four weeks in, with three losses to some of the NFL's other contenders already casting a dark cloud over their perceived season of contention.

The weekend's 37-20 defeat at the Kansas City Chiefs' hands threatened a lot more of the Ravens' 2025 goals outside of their record, though. The already-leaking roster lost even more star power in a game that sent a half-dozen Ravens to the locker room, a curse that went all the way up to Lamar Jackson in removing the quarterback from the game early-on with a hamstring injury.

With his status questionable going forward while his Ravens sink even further into their sticky situation, ESPN wasted no time in throwing their up-in-the-air fate a mention in their Week 4 overreaction compilation.

"Someone was exiting this Ravens-Chiefs game 1-3. It turned out to be Baltimore ... and it wasn't close," Dan Graziano wrote. "The Ravens were an extremely popular preseason Super Bowl favorite that has to dig out of an early-season hole for the second year in a row.

"There are nine teams in the AFC with better records than the Ravens' mark, and only seven make the playoffs. Somehow, the Steelers are 3-1 and doing what they always do, running out in front of the division and making you chase them down."

Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

Except unlike last year's aforementioned slump to get the fall started, the Ravens don't necessarily control their own destiny. Good injury fortune no longer smiles on Baltimore, and every one of these disparaging losses is one more high-strakes matchup that the Ravens can't afford to drop.

The AFC North is far from the loaded division it was in the early goings of the 2020s, with fellow former MVP-contender Joe Burrow's long-term toe injury takes his feisty Cincinnati Bengals out of contention, while fellow division rivals in the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns remain captained by the only two 40+ starting quarterbacks in the league. The Ravens' road back to the playoffs suddenly closing remains an overreaction, but every week for the foreseeable future will serve as their attempt at seizing control.

This article first appeared on Baltimore Ravens on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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