OWINGS MILLS — The Ravens understand the challenge of starting a season 0-3.
No team in NFL history has gone on to win a Super Bowl after starting a season with three straight losses.
That’s the position the Ravens find themselves heading into Dallas after losses to the Kanas City Chiefs and Las Vegas Raiders in the past two weeks.
“We’re trying to right our wrongs [and] get our pride back,” linebacker Odafe Oweh said. “We know we have the city of Baltimore on our backs. It’s kind of tense in terms of, we do not want to go 0-3 – that’s not what’s going to happen. Everyone is pretty focused and understands what we have to do, even if it’s not outwardly spoken.”
The Ravens lost to the Chiefs and Raiders by a combined 10 points.
They were inches away from a potential win in Kansas City. But tight end saiah Likely could not get his toe in-bounds in the back of the end zone as time expired in a 27-20 loss. Quarterback Lamar Jackson had missed two passes in the end zone before Likely’s effort.
Last Sunday, the Ravens squandered a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter at home, losing 26-23 to the Raiders.
Entering the Week 3 game against the Dallas Cowboys, the Ravens are ranked No.1 for total offense with 417.5 yards per game. Baltimore has the seventh-ranked run offense (168.0 yards per game), and the No. 4 pass offense (249.5 yards per game).
However, the Ravens are ranked 14th in scoring with 21 1/2 points per game. Offensive coordinator Todd Monken is confident the offense is close to putting together a complete game.
The Ravens have playmakers on both sides of the ball, which has added to the frustration of starting 0-2.
“It’s [been] two weeks. I’d hate to think this is what we’re going to be the whole year, and it’s a small sample size, for us and them,” Monken said. “Obviously, it’s a big part of winning football games … scoring touchdowns in the red zone. We’ve been pretty good there. A few times, we’ve ended up in two-minute [situations], down on the clock a little bit, but, obviously, it’s a huge emphasis for us.
“They understand that, in terms of winning games, so when we get down there, we expect to score … It’s not just them; it’s anybody we play.”
The Ravens will need a better performance against the Cowboys.