We’re five games into this year’s NFL season. The Ravens are now 1-4 and dealing with a plethora of issues that have led to their three losses. Injuries are mounting up, coaching is inept, and a lack of execution is apparent. The players, at times, look lethargic and lost. After Sunday’s embarrassing 44-10 loss to the Houston Texans, fans and media are asking if they’ve simply given up.
And yet, the same could be said about the 2025 Baltimore Orioles.
The Orioles, after a 2024 campaign of winning more than 90 games and two consecutive playoff berths, looked as if they were poised to continue that trend into the 2025 season. Fans were excited about the arrival of Jackson Holliday, looking forward to seeing Gunnar Henderson continue to rip balls out of ballparks, and hoping that Adley Rutschman would get back to his old form after a dismal second half of the 2024 season.
Instead, they were met with injuries from multiple key players, questionable front office choices (or lack thereof), and management issues.
The Orioles started the season without Henderson, starting pitcher Grayson Rodriguez (who we never saw this season), Kyle Bradish (who underwent Tommy John surgery after an elbow injury last year), and Félix Bautista, who was still recovering from his 2023 injury. In the first quarter of the 2025 season, they went 13-27, winning only 48% of their games. Things went from bad to worse, as poor execution and questionable decision-making led to the firing of Orioles manager Brandon Hyde. Under interim manager Tony Mansolino, the Orioles played better, but the damage had been done. They couldn’t overcome what happened in the first quarter of the season.
The Ravens are already in a similar predicament. Tight end Isaiah Likely and fullback Pat Ricard have missed the beginning of the season due to injuries. Nnamdi Madubuike, the team’s best pass rusher, was recently placed on injured reserve for the season, with defensive tackle Broderick Washington out for at least four weeks. Add the injuries that ensued in Sunday’s embarrassing loss to the Kansas City Chiefs — which include quarterback Lamar Jackson, left tackle Ronnie Stanley and linebacker Roquan Smith — and the Ravens have a health issue. They’re also dealing with a coaching issue, which still hasn’t allowed Derrick Henry to get more than 20 carries this season (despite the fact that he’s averaging five yards per carry), and a defense that has given up 30-plus points in four games, almost all to Super Bowl contenders. They couldn’t stop a nosebleed if they tried, right now.
After initially calling the fanbase “spoiled,” safety Kyle Hamilton came out after last Sunday’s loss to apologize for his words — and rightfully so. This defense, while not necessarily bad, appears to be poorly coached, poorly assembled (with lack of interior linemen depth), and poorly executed. Forcing fans to spend an hour looking at the back of Marlon Humphrey’s jersey — or watch undrafted rookie Keyon Martin act like he’s in la-la land while the running back sprints past him — is disgusting, unacceptable work. Asking a Super Bowl-aspiring team to be competent is not being spoiled. It’s asking the players to hold up their end of the bargain. Hamilton knew that, and as a result, did the right thing.
So where do we go from here? The Ravens have seemingly checked out, making the effects of their latest loss more difficult to handle. It’s a reminder of the Orioles, who, earlier in the season, gave up six runs to the Washington Nationals in the first inning, appearing to have quit on Hyde. Have the Ravens quit on John Harbaugh? Does his message still resonate within the locker room? Is a change necessary to salvage the season, in a way that the Orioles did when they made the change at manager and started playing with a little bit of fire again?
I don’t have the answer to any of the questions above. What I do know is, it’s not too late to turn things around. In 2012, the Ravens played the Houston Texans and were humbled by a 43-13 loss. That same season, they were beaten by the Broncos with a 34-17 loss, in which quarterback Joe Flacco laid face down in the grass after throwing a pick-six. Things were looking bad and chances of a championship looked bleak, until things turned around. There’s still hope, Ravens fans. If the key injured players don’t have season-ending injuries, all is not lost and the team can make a late push, thanks to a softer second-half schedule.
The Ravens, who many believe are the better sports product in this city, are now looking in the mirror and seeing orange. In a weird way, they have become the 2025 Orioles. Will they make similar coaching changes? Will they get healthy when it counts? Can they find a way to salvage their reputation and their season? Only time will tell.