Injuries Weren't Ravens' Only Major Issue in Chiefs Loss

For the second game in a row, the Baltimore Ravens suffered a demoralizing loss to a quality opponent, falling 37-20 to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 4 of the 2025 season. Much like last week's home loss to the Detroit Lions, they let their opponent dictate the rules of engagement and do whatever they wanted on both sides of the ball, and are now 1-3, their worst start in a decade. Here are some of the top takeaways from another deflating defeat.

Injury Regression is Reaching Critical Levels

The Ravens weren't just the healthiest team in the league last year, according to FTN Fantasy's adjusted games lost metric; they were the third-healthiest team in the last 14 seasons. Their adjusted games lost mark of 16.3 was the lowest since the 2017 Atlanta Falcons, as they were healthy on both sides of the ball. Through the first four weeks of the 2025 season, they find themselves on the furthest end of the opposite end of that spectrum. They've already placed two starters on injured reserve with two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike suffering a season-ending neck injury that could put his career in jeopardy given it's clear severity.

Over the course of their loss to the Chiefs, the Ravens had five more star players leave the game with injuries and not return. In the first half alone, two-time Pro Bowl left tackle Ronnie Stanley re-aggravated the ankle injury he suffered the week before. He didn't play another snap after the opening drive. All Pro defenders Roquan Smith and Marlon Humphrey also went down. Second-year standout corner Nate Wiggins was carted to the locker room in the second half with an elbow injury. The crown jewel on the heap of mounting bodies was franchise quarterback Lamar Jackson, who spent the entire fourth quarter on the sideline with his right hamstring wrapped up.

Head coach John Harbaugh shared that none of the injuries sustained during the game were season-ending, but on Monday, multiple insiders reported that Humphrey and Smith are expected to miss multiple weeks. With the Ravens' bye still three weeks away, it appears that they'll be trotting out the preseason all-stars instead of their All Pros for the time being against the Houston Texans and Los Angeles Rams.

Stars Didn't Show Up Again

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyquan Thornton (80) scores a touchdown as Baltimore Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton (14). — Sep 28, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyquan Thornton (80) scores a touchdown as Baltimore Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton (14) defends during the third quarter at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Even before they started dropping like flies, the Ravens' best players were playing from an elite level after the first couple of drives to open the game. Humphrey picked up where he left off last week and was letting pass catchers get both behind and gain inside leverage on him for chunk gains and even a touchdown on the play he got hurt. Smith was partly responsible for that same play, had other lapses in coverage, and didn't have much of an impact with just a pair of solo tackles before going down.

Safety Kyle Hamilton was the only All Pro who started and finished the game. Yet aside from leading the team in total tackles and logging one quarterback hit on a blitz, he was a non-factor in this game as well, not making a single impactful play and allowing a touchdown to a backup wide receiver.

While Jackson started the game playing like his typical MVP self on the opening drive, he didn't stay hot and continued to look more and more antsy as the game went on and faced more pressure both from the Chiefs' defense and the fact that their one much-maligned offense couldn't be stopped. He went the first three weeks without committing a turnover and had two by halftime, with one being an impressive play by the defender in tight coverage of Mark Andrews, but the other was a fumble that occurred when he ran into the back of his center. Although only one led to points for Kansas City, both were possessions that could've ended in points for Baltimore and possibly impacted the flow and end result of the game.

Coaching Staff Put on Malpractice Clinic

The most egregious takeaway from the Ravens' latest loss is that they were not only outcoached for the second week in a row, but they consistently did not put their players in positions to succeed. Both coordinators had major issues when it came to play selection and sequencing, and neither made the proper adjustments as they allowed the Chiefs to dictate terms and dominate their respective units for the vast majority of this game.

Second-year defensive coordinator Zach Orr continues to look out of his depth and keeps leaving his players out to dry with bad matchups and little to no disguising when it comes to the pressure packages he dialed up. He refused to keep Wiggins, the only player in secondary who showed they could keep up with Xavier Worthy, shadow the Combine 40-yard dash record holder. He continued to deploy two linebackers after Smith went out, even though it was clear that switching to a dime package with safety Sanoussi Kane taking the place of one of them, since he's a better coverage player than any of the front seven players he had left.

After calling a beautifully balanced opening drive and having the second and the third possessions thwarted by a turnover and penalties, third-year offensive coordinator Todd Monken went from being a mastermind to looking like he had absolutely lost his mind. He not only didn't stay committed to the ground game to help sustain drives and keep the Ravens' struggling defense off the field, but he kept taking All Pro running back Derrick Henry off the field despite the fact that he was finally getting in a groove following back-to-back weeks of struggles.

Monken made the offense too predictable for the Chiefs' defense to decipher in crucial situations, especially in short yardage, subbing in Henry for Justice Hill. He had no quick answers for the blitzes on key downs and didn't come up with any countermeasures for when Kansas City copied the Detroit Lions game plan from the week before and deployed a spy on Jackson in obvious passing downs.

One of Harbaugh's best traits as a head coach is his eye for talented assistants and his willingness to empower his play callers to have full control and free range in executing their duties. However, when those play callers are clearly struggling to set up their players to succeed, he needs to intercede and stop being a bystander as his team plummets into chaos on both sides of the ball. At the end of the day, it's his team and his decision whether or not to keeping letting this reoccurring malpractice continue.

Depth Continues to Disappoint

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Cooper Rush throws a pass during the fourth quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 4. — Sep 28, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Cooper Rush (15) throws a pass during the fourth quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

All summer and throughout the Ravens' latest dominant preseason run, they were universally praised for the incredible wealth of talent they had on their roster from top to bottom. They were lauded as being the most complete team in the league that could overcome and sustain a level of excellence even if an injury were to occur. Against the Chiefs, that notion was proven false yet again as the Ravens' backups played just as poor as their starters at key positions, but especially on defense.

With their entire interior defensive line either on injured reserve or inactive, they had to trot out a hodge-podge rotation that consisted of 13-year veteran John Jenkins, sixth-round rookie Aeneas 'Fub' Peebles and a trio of players who either began the regular season on the practice squad or on the street. There was no pass rush up the middle that didn't come from depth whatsoever, and although the Chiefs only had two runs of 10-plus yards, they still ran the ball well enough to consistently get third and fourth and manageable and recorded over 120 yards on the ground before taking a couple of kneel downs to ice the game.

Their young linebackers didn't fare any better in coverage than Smith, and not only got picked on by Mahomes but looked totally lost at times as running backs came out of the backfield uncovered on simple flare routes into the flat for first downs and even a touchdown. By the end of the game, they cycled through every player at the position except undrafted rookie Jay Higgins, who might actually be the most instinctual of the bunch left standing with Smith injured, given that he's a former All American who flashed playmaking coverage ability in the preseason.

Once Stanley went out of the game, the Chiefs drew a big target on Noteboom, and he wound up tying for the second-most pressures given up with 3, according to Pro Football Focus. He saw a lot of Chris Jones and George Karlaftis III during his 38 offensive snaps, and if he has to make his first start as a Raven next week, he'll see plenty of Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter.

God forbid if Jackson has to miss anytime, and the Ravens have to start Cooper Rush who they made the most significant investment at the backup quarterback spot in five years when they signed him to a two-year deal. He played the last bit of the third quarter and the whole fourth and didn't inspire confidence as he sailed passes and didn't push the ball downfield, including on a fourth down that led to a turnover on downs. If their franchise quarterback can't play against Houston, they should serious consider just promoting Tyler Huntley from the practice squad and just keeping Rush as the backup.

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