BALTIMORE (AP) — If Baltimore Ravens fans were hoping for a dramatically better injury report this week, Wednesday wasn't the best start.
Receiver Zay Flowers and tackle Ronnie Stanley did not practice, and neither did edge rusher Trey Hendrickson. Baltimore's week includes a lengthy flight to Brazil, where the Ravens face Dallas on Sunday. Last weekend's loss to New Orleans showed just how much Baltimore can dip when without key players on offense.
“We have a bad taste in our mouth from what happened Sunday — offense, special teams, defense — all of us,” quarterback Lamar Jackson said. "It is a team game. It is not a one-guy game or a one-sided game — it is all of us, but all of us have a bad taste in our mouth. No doubt.”
The Ravens started the season with a 41-23 win at Indianapolis in which they accumulated more than 500 yards. Baltimore overwhelmed the Colts with big play after big play, but Flowers left in the first half of that game with hamstring issues and didn't play in Week 2.
Additionally, Stanley was bothered by a toe injury. Although he played against the Saints, he did have to leave the game, and the offense sputtered late. Baltimore is already relying on a new center after losing standout Tyler Linderbaum in the offseason. The Ravens also have a rookie, albeit a first-round draft pick, at one guard spot. Having to worry about Stanley's left tackle position is not ideal.
Against New Orleans, Baltimore was considerably less explosive in a 24-17 loss. The Ravens managed only three points after halftime.
Defensively, Baltimore wilted late, allowing a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns. In particular, the Ravens struggled on third and fourth down.
“I think we pretty much dominated on first and second down for most of the game and got into what we wanted to on third down, but it just goes back to fundamentals, tackling (and) communicating, and those things show up every single week," safety Kyle Hamilton said. "You extend drives, and they are rotating people in and out, so they have fresh bodies, but you have to earn the right to rush the passer on third down, which I think we did, but we just did not execute.”
The trip to Rio de Janeiro involves a time change of only an hour from Baltimore, but the plane ride is a lengthy one. The Ravens are flying down Thursday night.
“There is basically a 10-hour window of time you are committing to being on an airplane with this trip. There are a few different ways you can do it. We feel like trying to get our normal two days in here from a major prep standpoint as much as we can, travel there, realizing that the sleep might not be quite like a normal night," coach Jesse Minter said. “We will spend Friday really doing a ton of things to overcome the flight. It is not the time difference. It is more just from being on a flight that long. We will spend a lot of time on Friday trying to help the guys recover.”
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