The Ravens have long been known for their rushing attack offensively. They led the league in 2024 as Derrick Henry rumbled for nearly 2,000 rushing yards.
But after four games, only two teams have run the ball less than the Ravens' 86 attempts.
Henry has rushed just 31 times in the past three weeks and been held to 50 yards or fewer in three straight games, something that never happened in 2024.
The Ravens are averaging a league-best 6.2 yards per carry, but Offensive Coordinator Todd Monken acknowledged that Baltimore needs to make running a larger focus.
"It can start by calling it more often and stacking plays," Monken said. "We're either getting to the point where we're scoring pretty fast, or we're getting off the field fast, and that's not a great recipe, because you can't stack plays. The idea of being able to run the ball, stay ahead of the chains, that's a part of it."
The Ravens still rank No. 3 in the NFL with 32.8 points per game. Their offense has been explosive at times. But they haven't worn teams down with their rushing attack.
"Bottom line is, we've had games where we've had some explosive runs, but not nearly up to the level that we expect. But it's early, and I expect us to really get back on track," Monken said.
"The expectation here is to be elite. We've been elite. We're going to continue to be elite. But I've got to do it better, we've got to do it better."
Head Coach John Harbaugh said on Monday he was not pleased with several offensive play calls against the Chiefs in Week 4 that proved costly for the Ravens. They started fast with a touchdown on their opening drive, but their next four drives were interception, punt, stopped on fourth down, and lost fumble.
Monken said he wasn't surprised by Harbaugh's comments during his weekly press conference.
"There's not one thing John said that we didn't already talk about," Monken said. "There was nothing I hadn't already heard or didn't already feel. One thing I've done throughout my career - you've got to look at what you do. How did we scheme it? How did we coach it? How did we execute it? How was our plan? When it's below the line, you've got to own and fix it."
Henry also acknowledged Baltimore's running attack needs to improve, and that it will take a collective effort.
"I'm focusing on doing my job better than I have done the last four weeks," Henry said. "It takes all of us in the run game. I'm sure everyone's focused on that. We need to go out there and make it happen. Dominate the line of scrimmage. Execution is the big thing. Every man doing their job the way they know how."
Ravens' Outlook With a Short-Handed Defense
The Ravens could be without five Pro Bowlers Sunday, and that's only on defense.
Roquan Smith (hamstring) and Marlon Humphrey (calf) haven't practiced this week. Kyle Hamilton (groin) was downgraded to out of practice Thursday. Kyle Van Noy (hamstring) is still a question mark, and Nnamdi Madubuike (neck) is on injured reserve.
That doesn't even include other key injured starters such as Nate Wiggins (elbow), Chidobe Awuzie (hamstring), Travis Jones (knee), and now Odafe Oweh (eye).
To say Baltimore's defense could be short-handed would be an understatement.
"It definitely creates a challenge," Defensive Coordinator Zach Orr said. "Obviously, you want to be able to do what the guys can go out here and feel comfortable executing. Obviously, we have a lot of young guys who are going to go out there and play football for us, but I think the preparation throughout the week can help handle that. And all these guys have been here with us throughout the spring, so a lot of the playbook, they already know that.
"We're going to still be able to get to a lot of things, because like I said, it's a good rookie class. I've been impressed with them. They've been a mature group. I think they'll be able to handle what we have in the game plan and be able to go out there and execute it."
Orr's Solution to More Takeaways: Hit Harder
The Ravens preached the importance of getting more takeaways all offseason. They built in specific drills working on it after ranking near the bottom of the league last season.
So far, it hasn't panned out, as only two teams have fewer takeaways than the Ravens' two, which both came in their Week 2 win over the Browns.
Baltimore's defense is giving up too many yards – the second-most in the league at 406.8 per game. But the Pittsburgh Steelers aren't too far ahead with 382.5 yards allowed per game.
The big difference, and part of the reason why Pittsburgh is 3-1 and Baltimore is 1-3, is that the Steelers have 10 takeaways.
"I think we have to hit people harder. Let's start knocking the ball loose," Orr said.
"I think we are a physical team, but we have to take it up a notch. And I talked to the guys about that. … So, we're challenging our guys in the trenches; we need to dominate going forward. No matter who the opponent is, we have to start putting people in the ground, putting people in the dirt."
Ravens Aren't Worried About Green Dot
The Ravens' "green dot" helmet, which has the speaker in it so coaches can relay play calls, is usually worn by Smith. If he's not available, Hamilton takes it over.
But what if both cannot play Sunday?
While potentially not having two defensive leaders is concerning, Orr is not worried about who takes over the communication.
"The good thing about it is, at practice, we're allowed to have multiple guys with the green dot. We've had that since the springtime," Orr said. "So, I personally feel comfortable with all of the different options that we have going into a game. Preseason, we got good work with that. Kyle Hamilton and Roquan Smith didn't play in the preseason."
