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A day after one of the Ravens’ most humbling and potentially most damaging losses in years, coach John Harbaugh was keeping the faith.

“We can win,” he said Monday. “We have a really good team, and we can win games with our guys.”

The pressure to win is on. The Ravens are 1-3 after a 37-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, and they could be without star quarterback Lamar Jackson and several other Pro Bowl starters Sunday against the Houston Texans.

Injuries are a problem. Execution is a problem. Leadership is a problem. Coaching is a problem. There’s a lot wrong with a team that was a hot preseason pick to win the Super Bowl.

But what are the Ravens’ biggest shortcomings entering October? Here are five struggling units, ranked from least concerning to most concerning. All stats are courtesy of Sports Info Solutions and the NFL’s Next Gen Stats unless otherwise noted.

5. Pass defense

Through Week 4 last year, the Ravens ranked 29th in pass defense (257.5 yards per game allowed), and a turnaround was almost two months away. Things got a lot worse before they got a lot better.

This year, the Ravens again rank near the bottom of the barrel: 31st in pass defense (265.5 yards per game), 26th in passer rating allowed (102.3), 21st in completion percentage allowed (66.7%).

But the gaudy numbers paint a somewhat incomplete picture of the Ravens’ pass defense — or at least of what it was before injuries mounted in Sunday’s loss, which cornerbacks Marlon Humphrey (calf) and Nate Wiggins (elbow) were knocked out of.

Week 1 did a number on the Ravens’ statistical profile. Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen went 33-for-46 for 394 yards and two touchdowns in the comeback win, picking on a gassed defense that, perhaps unwisely, relied on cornerback Jaire Alexander to hold up in coverage not long after he’d returned from a training camp knee injury.

Over the past three weeks, the Ravens’ secondary hasn’t found its elite form. But it’s at least been solid. Since Week 2, according to analytics site rbsdm.com, the Ravens rank 14th in drop-back success rate and 16th in expected points added per passing play — and that’s despite a toothless pass rush.

Cornerbacks Chidobe Awuzie and Wiggins have held up well in man coverage, allowing just eight catches for 73 yards and a touchdown and grabbing an interception on a combined 23 targets. Safety Kyle Hamilton has given up just four receptions on 10 targets for 41 yards overall.

The lowlights have been glaring — Humphrey’s repeated blown coverages, Alexander’s miserable season opener, inside linebacker Roquan Smith’s missed tackle on Bills running back James Cook’s long catch-and-run — but the Ravens have at least played with a coherence that last year’s secondary often lacked over the season’s first two months.

Now they just have to hold on tight while injuries shake things up. Are cornerbacks T.J. Tampa and rookie Keyon Martin ready for significant roles if Wiggins and Humphrey are sidelined? Has Alexander rediscovered the playmaking form he showed in training camp? Can inside linebackers Trenton Simpson, Teddye Buchanan and/or Jake Hummel hold down the middle of the field while Smith recovers from the hamstring injury he suffered Sunday?

A successful showing Sunday against Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud might not mean much; Houston has one of the NFL’s worst offensive lines and a top-heavy passing attack. But the Ravens will need to gear up for Week 6. Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford is second in the NFL in passing yards and has two star wide receivers in Puka Nacua (NFL-best 503 receiving yards) and Davante Adams (269 yards).

4. Rushing offense

The Ravens’ ground game has been boom-or-bust all season. Of their 74 designed runs this season (excluding kneel-downs), 15 have gone for at least 10 yards — and 26 have been stopped for 1 yard or fewer.

Sometimes it looks as easy as it did last year, when the Ravens led the NFL in rushing. Running back Derrick Henry’s first carry Sunday against the Chiefs went for 14 yards, and Justice Hill easily converted a third-and-2 later in the opening drive with a 4-yard gain.

But the Ravens’ runaway rushing success in Week 1, when they bludgeoned Buffalo for 238 yards (8.2 per carry), hasn’t seemed to carry over. Over the past three weeks, the Ravens are last in the NFL in designed runs (46), 28th in stuffed rate (percent of designed runs stopped at or behind the line of scrimmage) and 28th in success rate. Only their explosive runs have kept their rushing average respectable (5.0 yards per carry, eighth in the NFL).

Bad luck and a small sample size could account for some of that production. The Ravens rank seventh in Pro Football Focus’ run-blocking grades, 14th in ESPN’s run block win rate and 16th in SIS’ blown-block rate on run plays. Fumbles have cut short drives at inopportune moments, and explosive plays have led to shorter scoring drives, limiting the Ravens’ opportunities for rhythm-finding runs.

But injuries could lower the unit’s ceiling and floor considerably. The Ravens were already without fullback Patrick Ricard (calf), one of their best blockers along the line of scrimmage and in space as an escort for Henry. Left tackle Ronnie Stanley, maybe their most athletic lineman, left Sunday’s loss with an ankle injury.

If Jackson is unavailable or even limited physically, one of the NFL’s biggest gravitational forces will have considerably less pull in the Ravens’ running game. Why bother accounting for him on read-option plays or on potential bootlegs? Defenses can crowd the box against Henry and dare a not-totally-healthy Jackson or backup quarterback Cooper Rush to beat them.

3. Run defense

The best help here might come from the Ravens’ schedule. Of their next four opponents — the Texans, Rams, Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins — only the Rams have an above-average rushing offense.

Still, the Ravens will be fighting short-handed. Nnamdi Madubuike, who won’t play again this season because of a neck injury, has been one of the NFL’s most disruptive defensive linemen against zone running schemes. Travis Jones, their top nose tackle, might need to get to the Week 7 bye to get over a knee injury that sidelined him Sunday.

Smith has led the team or finished second in run stops — tackles that constitute a “loss” for the offense — in each of the past three seasons, according to PFF. And Humphrey has been a reliable, aggressive run defender when aligned in the slot or positioned closer to the offensive line.

Even when the Ravens were closer to full strength, however, they struggled. Over the season’s first three weeks, they were 30th in rushing yards per game allowed (149.0) and 25th in yards per carry allowed (4.9), along with ranking last in success rate, according to rbsdm.com.

The Ravens fared better Sunday against a punchless Chiefs rushing attack, allowing just 3.7 yards per carry. And their front hasn’t been consistently knocked back this season; they’re allowing 1.48 yards before contact per carry, which ranks seventh worst in the NFL but would’ve been a middle-of-the-road figure last year.

Smith’s football IQ will be missed if he’s sidelined for long. But the Ravens can help themselves with improved fundamentals — fewer missed tackles, fewer alignment problems — and some schematic tweaks — lining up with more run stoppers on the field and relying less on light boxes (six or fewer defenders near the line of scrimmage) on early downs.

2. Pass blocking

It’s impossible to know whether Jackson’s right hamstring would be in better shape with a better offensive line. Injuries are fluky things. But better protection couldn’t hurt.

Jackson has been pressured on 40.3% of his drop-backs this season, the fifth-highest rate in the NFL among qualifying passers. Last year, he felt heat on 39.7% of his drop-backs, the seventh-highest rate, but was rarely sacked.

Jackson bears some responsibility for his 15 sacks this season, along with offensive coordinator Todd Monken and the Ravens’ receiving corps. But even basic four-man rushes — or three-man rushes with a “spy” monitoring Jackson along the line of scrimmage — have given the Ravens fits. Their pressure rate against nonblitzes (35.2%) is eighth highest in the NFL, and their sack rate (12.1%) is the worst.

Last year, the Ravens could withstand an even higher pressure rate against four or fewer pass rushers (36.5%) because they had Jackson at full strength. This year, even before he was knocked out of Sunday’s game, he’s looked slower at times, less elusive, less decisive.

Just as important as how often the Ravens are losing up front is how fast they’re losing up front. Quick pressures rarely got to Jackson last season. This year, defenses have blown up plays before Jackson can even finish dropping back.

The Ravens’ fourth-and-1 play in the second quarter Sunday was ruined in part by blitzing inside linebacker Nick Bolton, who came through the “A” gap almost untouched. Jackson fumbled less than two minutes later after stepping up to avoid defensive lineman Chris Jones, who’d beaten right guard Daniel Faalele quickly.

With four starters returning and high hopes for left guard Andrew Vorhees, the Ravens’ offensive line was expected to take a step forward in 2025. But the unit’s blown-block rate (4.2%) on drop-backs is fourth highest in the NFL, and even Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum has struggled in pass protection. If Stanley’s ankle injury sidelines him for long, the Ravens could struggle to keep clean pockets against the Texans’ and Rams’ dynamic pass rushes.

1. Pass rush

Last year, the Ravens could stomach a relatively low pressure rate (34.5%, 18th in the NFL) because they made up for it with a high sack rate (7.5%, sixth). This year, their pressure rate is even worse (31.3%, 22nd), and their sack rate has been cut by more than half (3.1%, 31st). Their four total sacks are tied for second to last in the league.

With Madubuike lost for the season, the Ravens are down their one reliable game-wrecker up front. In the defense’s 102 pass rush snaps without him this season — a chunk of which have also overlapped with the absence of injured outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy (hamstring), who led the team in sacks in 2024 — the Ravens have one sack, good for a 1% rate. Their pressure rate on those snaps is 22.5%, which would be third to last in the NFL this season.

The Ravens haven’t been able to blitz their way into success, either. They’ve sent five or more pass rushers after the quarterback 39 times this season. The results: 15 pressures and no sacks. Only three other teams haven’t recorded a sack on a blitz this season: the Tennessee Titans, Carolina Panthers and Cincinnati Bengals.

The Ravens’ six “Cover 0” calls Sunday against the Chiefs — man-to-man coverage with no safety help and all-out pressure up front — resulted in just two pressures and four completions for 48 yards, including a 15-yard touchdown to wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown.

Perhaps the return of Van Noy and defensive lineman Travis Jones (knee), who’s often drawn a double team this month, even with Madubuike on the field, can spark a turnaround. But the team’s two most active outside linebackers, Van Noy and Tavius Robinson, rank outside the top 60 leaguewide in win rate in “true pass sets” — which PFF defines as drop-backs excluding plays with three or fewer rushers, play-action, screens, short drops and throws released in less than 2 seconds — among the 106 players who qualify at the position. (Van Noy’s win rate is hampered by a small sample size and will likely rebound.)

Outside linebacker Odafe Oweh has been the Ravens’ most consistent edge rusher, but he’s benefitted from a handful of unblocked rushes, doesn’t have a sack and has yet to play more than half of the defensive snaps in a game this season. Meanwhile, the team’s two promising rookie pass rushers, outside linebacker Mike Green and defensive lineman Aeneas Peebles, have combined for just nine pressures and no sacks.

Stroud has been sacked 12 times this season, seventh most in the NFL, and a combined 10 times in his three career starts against the Ravens. If the pass rush can’t find answers Sunday against a Texans team that ranks 27th in PFF’s pass-blocking grades and 28th in ESPN’s pass block win rate, it’s unclear when their next winnable test will be.