Ravens’ identity just got shattered in a brutal primetime collapse

You can go ahead and throw out the preseason power rankings, the hype reels, and whatever else got pushed to your phone the last six months. Because if you watched the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night and still think this team is getting over any hump in 2025, you’re either lying to yourself or watching a different sport entirely.

The Detroit Lions didn’t just outplay the Flock. They exposed them. Tore up the myth of Baltimore toughness. Made their defense look like a sad cosplay of the glory days. And while analysts spent the offseason mumbling about a resurgent unit under Defensive Coordinator Zach Orr, what we saw under the lights was a full-blown identity crisis in real time. Ray Lewis is somewhere punching air. Ed Reed probably turned off the TV.

This was supposed to be the year it all clicked. The second-year leap from a coordinator who fixed it all last November. The continuity. The personnel upgrades. The reimagined secondary. And yet, three weeks in, the Ravens are giving up more yards than anyone, can’t stop the run, and just got dragged for 224 rushing yards and 38 points by a team that didn’t punt once in the second half. The only thing elite about this defense is how fast it disappeared.

Ravens defense crumbles again as Lions rip out what’s left of their identity

The numbers are bad, but the eye test is worse. Detroit averaged 6.5 yards per play, converted every fourth down they attempted, and flat-out bullied a front that used to be the backbone of Baltimore football. David Montgomery ran through arm tackles like a 2011 highlight reel, Jahmyr Gibbs looked like he was in fast forward, and Jared Goff had so much time in the pocket he could’ve filed his taxes between reads.

Zach Orr’s defense gave up 426 total yards and 24 first downs. They sacked nobody. They forced zero turnovers. They spent most of the second half stuck in their own end, reacting late and hitting soft. That’s not just execution, it’s erosion. And it’s a complete departure from what Baltimore built its identity on for three decades.

Sure, the Ravens made some adjustments late last season. They benched guys. They simplified. They surged late. But that second-half glow-up has fully expired. Whatever lessons they learned in 2024 aren’t carrying over, and whatever confidence they brought into 2025 just got detonated by Dan Campbell’s war machine.

This isn’t just a slow start. This is a system failure. And unless Baltimore figures out who they are fast, we’re going to be talking about another talented Ravens roster that went nowhere fast.