The Ravens believe the answer to playing better defense starts with looking in the mirror.
It's not so much what opponents are doing to Baltimore. It's more about how the Ravens are hurting themselves.
"Defensively, we are chasing consistency," said Head Coach Jesse Minter, who is the team's defensive play caller. "We are chasing getting everybody onto the same page. That starts with me, I would say, and just the plan and our processes of how we get to everything, how we operate.
"We really need to have the mentality that we are playing against ourselves, and we are playing against the standards that we have for ourselves. If we can stay out of our own way, how good could we be, in really all three phases?"
That's the Ravens' mindset heading into their Week 4 home game against the Tennessee Titans (0-3), a team that is struggling offensively. Tennessee has scored just 37 points. Only the Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots have scored fewer (both have 36).
However, what looks like a favorable matchup on paper could look very different at M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday unless the Ravens raise their game on defense.
Statistically, the Ravens' defense is trending backward. They surrendered 251 total yards Week 1 against the Indianapolis Colts, 298 yards in Week 2 against the New Orleans Saints, and 415 yards against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 3.
Against Dallas, Baltimore lost an 11-point lead for the second straight week and needed seven seconds of magic from Lamar Jackson, Zay Flowers, and Tyler Loop to win. That's part of why Kyle Hamilton called the Ravens’ recent defensive woes “unacceptable” despite their 34-31 victory over the Cowboys.
"Obviously, we have a new staff in, so it is on the players," Hamilton said. "We have to get it fixed as players and do right by these guys to put us in better positions."
Minter believes the coaches and players will figure things out together.
"I appreciate players saying stuff like that, but I always look at myself first, and it is my job," Minter said. "I was brought here to help put these guys in a position to play really good defense.
"It is early. We are going through a few pains right now that I think will hopefully help us in the long run."
Improving their overall tackling would make an immediate difference for the Ravens. Dallas picked up significant yardage after contact when the Ravens allowed ball carriers to escape. The Ravens also missed key tackles against the Saints that allowed New Orleans to mount a second-half comeback.
"I think tackling is an art, and it requires a high, high level of detail," Minter said. "I would say that we are not detailed enough in tackling right now. The angles that we take to approach ball carriers, the body position that we are in as we are sometimes leaving our feet, trying to dive at people or make these big hits instead of just securing tackles."
In the first half of Sunday's game, the Ravens did a good job of keeping a lid on big plays and the Cowboys' elite wide receiver tandem of CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens. That did not continue in the second half, however.
Dallas hit two 19-yard passes on their first touchdown drive late in the third quarter – one to Pickens on third-and-10 in which he broke the tackle to pick up extra yardage, and another to tight end Jake Ferguson on a wheel route touchdown before safety Jaylinn Hawkins could close in.
On the Cowboys' next possession in the fourth quarter, Lamb got past Marlon Humphrey for a 49-yard bomb when the Ravens had the Cowboys backed up on their own 5-yard line. Dallas hit two other passing plays of 19 and 16 yards on that drive, including a slant to Pickens in front of Humphrey on third-and-8.
"Myself giving up some explosive passes there in the fourth, we did not play, I would say, to the standard we wanted," Humphrey said. "With those guys, George and CeeDee, you have to kind of be focused on whatever they are going to do. They are a great duo; probably the best in the league."
However, there were also bright defensive moments for the Ravens in key spots, particularly in the red zone. On Dallas' opening drive, a crucial blitz sack by inside linebacker Roquan Smith on third-and-goal from the one held the Cowboys to a field goal.
Just before Loop's game-winning kick, Baltimore slammed the door after a controversial pass interference call on Nate Wiggins set up Dallas first-and-goal at the two. Wiggins kept his composure and broke up a pass intended for George Pickens on the next play. After a false start penalty moved Dallas back five yards, Smith tackled Dak Prescott for a two-yard gain on a scramble. On third down, Prescott fired wide and high to Pickens with Wiggins in tight coverage, and Dallas had to settle for a game-tying field goal.
Had Baltimore's defense not held firm in the red zone during Dallas' final drive, the Ravens would be 1-2, not 2-1.
"When we needed to get a three-and-out and get the ball back, we were able to," Minter said. "They get down there with a lot of time, really, [and] have the ball first-and-goal inside the two. I thought Nate Wiggins made a couple really nice plays after the penalty that was called on him. [I'm] just proud of them. They gave us a chance."
The return of defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike, who had not played in over a year before he played 47 snaps against the Cowboys, will help the entire front seven. In his first game back, Madubuike was the highest-graded defensive lineman in the NFL by Pro Football Focus, and he presumably will only get stronger.
Inside linebacker Teddye Buchanan (knee) also made his return, and his workload should increase moving forward.
Inside linebacker Trenton Simpson and outside linebacker Tavius Robinson are playing the best football of their careers, and with 14 games left, the Ravens have time to find defensive answers. However, the sooner they do it, the more games they are likely to win.
"There are a lot of things that we will chase and that we need to improve," Minter said. "I think everybody would tell you that. But again, I think we have the guys to do it."
