Mink: The Ravens defense surely did not have a good time in the film review session early this week. There are always going to be things to improve on after Week 1, win or lose, but there's a heightened sense of urgency after surrendering 41 points.
The two areas that I'll point to for improvement are the pass rush and coverage, which are married. Both had too many letdowns against the Bills.
Baltimore sacked Josh Allen just once, but that wasn't the biggest problem. Keeping Allen in the pocket was a major part of the game plan and the Ravens did not accomplish that. Allen is an escape artist, but the Ravens also made it too easy at times by not staying in their rush lanes, which allowed Allen to step up and throw some darts on the move or scramble. Head Coach John Harbaugh said not keeping Allen in the pocket was probably "the No. 1 disappointment for me."
In the secondary, the Ravens' cornerbacks gave too much cushion at times and didn't have proper leverage on some key plays. Some of this may have to do with trying to play conservatively with a big lead to protect against big plays over the top, but it ended up biting the Ravens as the Bills hit too many chunk plays underneath and caught fire in the fourth quarter.
The Ravens defense was solid at the start of Sunday night's loss. Baltimore held Allen to 65 yards passing over his first four offensive drives. He finished with 394, however. Allen is the reigning MVP, and he made some incredible throws down the stretch, but Baltimore's defense didn't make it hard enough.
This Ravens defense is too talented to have many performances like that. We saw a major turnaround last year under Defensive Coordinator Zach Orr and I expect another (faster) rebound this season.
Brown: Chidobe Awuzie played the third-most snaps among Baltimore’s cornerbacks in Week 1 (79%), and I expect him to be the No. 3 corner again in Week 2. That's the role he was expected to play before Jaire Alexander was signed, and Awuzie looked more than capable of handling it. He had the Ravens' second-best coverage grade (74) in Week 1, according to Pro Football Focus.
Alexander missed almost a month of practice before returning last week, and he performed below his standard in his Ravens debut. He gave up three catches on three targets for 100 yards and played just 39% of the defensive snaps.
Alexander is a proven playmaker, but he's appeared in just seven games in each of the past two seasons. For Alexander to play a bigger role moving forward, staying healthy is the obvious key.
General Manager Eric DeCosta is always looking to upgrade the roster, and we know the Ravens value corners. However, they have a strong group behind Marlon Humphrey and Nate Wiggins that also includes T.J. Tampa and undrafted rookie Keyon Martin. I'm not expecting them to add a corner who will break into this year's rotation.
Mink: The Ravens stressed the importance of protecting the football all offseason. Harbaugh instituted a new grading system for practice, which rewards players for displaying the fundamentals of ball security, etc. There was tangible action taken, not just talk.
That's still not going to eliminate all turnovers. Sometimes you just get unlucky or don't have the right fundamentals in the moment, no matter how much you practice it. Derrick Henry fumbled just three times on 325 carries last season. He's not a fumbler.
There are no steps you can take to eliminate turnovers in "critical games." You just have to practice and preach the fundamentals to try to minimize them across the board. I'm sure Henry won't forget that fumble anytime soon, and it is another reminder to everyone at the start of this season of the importance of ball security.
Brown: Your frustration is understandable, but I think players and coaches have taken accountability for the Week 1 loss.
Regarding his late-game fumble, Henry said in the locker room, "First of all, I have to take care of the ball. I told my teammates after the game that the loss is on me."
Harbaugh acknowledged on Monday that the Ravens have lost "too many" fourth-quarter leads in recent seasons – six games since 2022 when they've led by nine points or more in the fourth quarter.
"I do believe that we need to be really thoughtful of how we decide that we're going to approach those situations going forward," Harbaugh said.
Unlike the playoff loss in January, this heartbreaker didn't end the Ravens' season. It happened in Week 1. They didn't finish off Buffalo but how they finish the 2025 season is still in their hands. We'll see how they respond.
