OWINGS MILLS — Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton had a sleepless day when the team arrived home after a season-opening loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Ravens. made several costly mistakes, and Hamilton kept playing the errors over in his mind.
The main blunder that stands out is blown coverage on Kansas City wide receiver Xavier Worthy that led to an easy 35-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter and was the difference in the Ravens’ 27-20 loss.
Hamilton took full responsibility for the busted play.
“That was on me 100 percent. I was supposed to go back to the half; I played the wrong call,” Hamilton said. “It wasn’t on [defensive coordinator] Zach Orr, it wasn’t on Marlon [Humphrey] or anybody else – it was on me. If you watch the play, you can probably tell that we’re missing a half safety. I got kind of mixed up and was supposed to go back to the half, and I take the blame for that.”
Hamilton became a playmaker last season, but he didn’t make plays in the regular-season opener. He’s looking forward to the home opener Sunday against the Raiders to show the fans the Ravens’ defense is capable of playing at a high level.
“I think it was early Friday morning after the game,” Hamilton said. “We got back [and] probably got in my bed at 5 a.m., and I couldn’t sleep. I didn’t feel like I played well, and I’m like, ‘I cannot wait to get back out there on Sunday.’ I literally dreamt about the Raiders game – going out there, making plays and stuff like that.
“It makes you that much more hungry, and I feel like a lot of guys are in that same thought process with it. I think that’s what makes us great – we’re all competitive and want to do well. We’re just bred that way.”
Hamilton has the potential to become one of the best defensive players in Ravens history. He earned All-Pro honors in just his second year in the NFL after setting the Ravens’ single-season record for defensive backs with 10 tackles for a loss. He had 13 passes defensed, which was tied with Detroit’s Brian Branch for the most by a safety last season.
Now, he wants to use the hard lessons learned in Kansas City against the Raiders.
“I don’t know how many undefeated seasons there’s been in the league in history – maybe the Dolphins that one time, but every other Super Bowl champion has had a loss,” Hamilton said. “I don’t think the season is a disaster or whatever it may seem, or some people may be making it out to be. It’s something we can definitely learn from, and I think it’s good for something like that to happen early in the year, so we get better.”
