Seeing the Buffalo Bills with 41 points on the scoreboard against the Ravens in Week 1 made All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton feel ill.
He never expected Baltimore to give up that many points in the season opener, but it happened, and it was hard for him to accept.
"First and foremost, the offense put up 40 points," Hamilton said. "There is no way that we should be in that position as a defense. I don't know. We just need to figure out how to win games. We are winning them for 45 minutes, but you have to win for 60 minutes."
The Ravens hoped to get off to a fast start defensively in 2025 but clearly have work to do. Josh Allen passed for 394 yards and two touchdowns while completing 33 of 46 passes. On their final five possessions, the Bills scored three touchdowns and a field goal and rallied from a 15-point deficit with 22 points in the fourth quarter.
"We talked about it all offseason, how we struggled last season at the beginning," Hamilton said. "[We said], 'It's a new year, and it's a new team,' and then we come out here and do that.
"I don't know if there is something mentally that we have to get over or if there is a mental block, but I looked up at the scoreboard when they were about to kick the field goal, and it said they had 400 passing yards or something. I'm about to throw up on the field."
Cornerback Chidobe Awuzie credited Allen for making plays that few others can make. As the game progressed, Allen seemed more comfortable working against Baltimore's defense and became even more difficult to contain.
"He's a great quarterback, so you give him enough opportunities, he's going to make a couple plays," Awuzie said. "We were playing really well and keeping things in front of us, but like you said, great players make great plays in great moments. We're going to look at the film and see where we could've done better."
Awuzie acknowledged that adjustments need to be made, but he didn't want to overreact with 16 games left in the regular season. A bad start in Week 1 doesn't have to dictate the rest of the year.
"Teams start off hot, teams start off cold," Awuzie said. "Obviously, we have things to clean up on both sides of the ball. You hope for a better result, but it's Week 1.
"Probably won't be a fun film session [this week], but that's part of it. Just getting through those moments because success is never a straight line. A lot of teams that make it to the last dance, it's not the cleanest road. This is just part of our road, and I hope everybody looks at it that way so we can continue to get better."
