Roquan Smith is correct that the Ravens should not be 0-2. This has happened despite Baltimore winning the cumulative yardage battle considerably.
The Ravens outgained the Kansas City Chiefs 452-353 in the season opener before outgaining the Las Vegas Raiders 383-260. In terms of turnover margin, it’s perfectly even.
The Ravens had one takeaway and one giveaway in each game so far.
What about defensive and special teams touchdowns?
We haven’t seen any of those, by the Ravens nor their opponents, through the first two. They also have the edge in time of possession by about five minutes while racking up seven more first downs than their opposition.
So what gives? How have they dropped both games thus far?
Penalties
Got to start here, are the Ravens were flagged 11 times for 109 yards, versus the Raiders 3 for 15 this past weekend. Factor in the seven penalties for 64 yards against six infractions for 45 penalty yards by Kansas City, and you have a noticeable difference-maker here.
Baltimore is -9 on aggregate penalty differential and -128 in penalty yardage.
Opposing Passing Efficiency
Through two games, the Ravens have yielded an opposing completion percentage of 76%. Patrick Mahomes and Gardner Minshew’s completed passes have kept drives alive against this Baltimore defense.
It’s more than just the dinks and the dumps too, as the Ravens are yielding 283.5 yards passing per game.
So there you have it. The Ravens’ keys to defeat have been a lack of overall discipline and some substandard pass defending.