Baltimore Ravens: The Opposite of the Kansas City Chiefs

The Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs both started the season with 1-5 records, and lost star players due to injury. However, they have seen their seasons go in different directions.

The National Football League has to be disappointed with the Baltimore Ravens this season. They expected them to be in playoff contention at this time of the season. That is clear by how their schedule stacked up for the final four games of the season.

Instead, the NFL has flexed them out of two prime time games as the Ravens have turned out to be one of the worst teams in the league at 4-9. What makes the season more heartbreaking is that this week’s opponent, the Kansas City Chiefs, also started off slow. The difference is they actually made the improbable run back into contention that the Ravens said they would make.

The Chiefs and Ravens both started the season with a 1-5 record, but the path each team has taken since has been different. The Ravens are on the verge of their first losing season since John Harbaugh took over as coach. The Chiefs are in the thick of a playoff race.

Both teams had brutal schedules to start the season. The Chiefs had a three-game stretch against the Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers and Cincinnati Bengals, all of whom will make the playoffs. The Ravens had a rough schedule of their own having four games on the West Coast in the first seven weeks of the season.

The difference is one team started winning, while the other continued to free fall to one of the worst seasons in franchise history.

Injuries have taken away the top offensive weapon for both squads, but again, one has overcome the loss. Kansas City lost running back Jamaal Charles to a torn ACL in Week 5 against the Chicago Bears. Most thought that was the nail in the coffin on their season. As Lee Corso would say, “not so fast.”

They placed Charcandrick West and Spencer Ware in at running back, and won seven consecutive games with Charles on injured reserve. Alex Smith is quietly having one his better seasons and has his team currently holding the fifth spot in the AFC playoff race.

The same cannot be the said for Baltimore. The significant injuries did not start piling up for the Ravens until the second half of the season. Losing Terrell Suggs in the first game was a serious blow, but the majority of the offense remained in tact until Steve Smith‘s injury against the San Diego Chargers.

The Ravens were still playing competitively, but couldn’t do enough to win. Joe Flacco and Justin Forsett were still in the lineup until Week 11, but could not turn their season around like the Chiefs. Instead, the Ravens are in the discussion of holding one of the top-five picks in the 2016 draft.

Baltimore is at a point in the year where they are looking for ways to get better next season. The next three games will be auditions for many players, especially the quarterback position. The Ravens have been shuffling at quarterback since Joe Flacco went down for the season, starting Matt Schaub and Jimmy Clausen, and signing Ryan Mallett in a three-week span. The revolving door at quarterback could continue to be the norm the rest of the way.

The Ravens are not trying to lose, that cannot be stressed enough. Professional teams do not tank – unless you are the Philadelphia 76ers, and how has that plan worked out for them? – for better draft picks, despite what the fans want. Pride will always prevail for players and coaches, and the front office does not want to put a bad product on the field because they have money at stake.

The truth is the Ravens are not good enough to win with the current roster. They have players that show flashes, but as a whole, this is one of the worst in the NFL. Injuries have a lot to do with it, but they had a chance to turn the season around and could not.

Next: Ranking the 10 Best Players in Ravens History

With the Chiefs and divisional rivals Pittsburgh and Cincinnati rounding out the schedule for Baltimore, those who predicted the Ravens would have the number 12 in their record were right. We just did not expect they would be 4-12 and not 12-4.

Stay with us Ravens fans. Three more weeks until this season of misery is over, and we turn our focus to a better 2016 season. Hopefully.