BALTIMORE -- After the Ravens' 35-13 loss to the Bengals on Sunday -- which included the worst half in team history -- coach Jesse Minter said his team is at a crossroads.
"Right now, I think it's just a big point in the season for us to determine what type of team we want to be," Minter said.
In his first season with Baltimore, Minter has watched the Ravens go from starting 4-1 and sitting atop the AFC North to dropping to 4-3 and falling into last place in the division. With quarterback Lamar Jackson missing his third straight game Sunday with a high ankle sprain, the Ravens have started 0-2 in the AFC North for the first time in 19 years.
The Ravens' struggles bottomed out Sunday, when they were outscored by 35 or more points in a half for the first time in their 31-year team history. After leading 13-0 at halftime, Baltimore allowed Joe Burrow and the Bengals to score touchdowns on five of six drives in the second half.
"The message is that I think in every game we've proven that we're good enough to be the type of team that we want to be, and we've proven that we're bad enough to be a not very good team as well," Minter said.
Baltimore continues to fail to close out games. This was the NFL-worst 17th time that the Ravens have blown a double-digit lead since 2020.
But Sunday's collapse was more epic than the recent ones. According to ESPN Research, the Ravens became the third team in NFL history to lose a game by 20 or more points after leading by 13 or more points after halftime, joining the 1941 Eagles and the 1950 Colts.
"Right now, we're too much of a momentum team," Minter said. "We're riding the wave when it's good, and we're riding the wave when it's bad. I think that's a main focus for us to be able to stay a little bit more even-keeled."
The Ravens have plenty of issues from a lack of discipline on offense (five pre-snap penalties Sunday) to a lack of playmaking ability on defense (no sacks or turnovers in the second half).
For the second straight week, Baltimore was shut out in the second half. On Sunday, quarterback Tyler Huntley was 8-of-13 passing for 62 yards after halftime with an interception and a fumble.
Defensively, the Ravens got little pressure on Burrow and allowed too much separation in coverage. In the second half, Burrow completed 16 of 18 passes for 249 yards and four touchdowns.
"I mean I still believe in this group," running back Derrick Henry said. "We got knocked down. We know how to get back up. That's what we [have] got to focus on doing. It's all about how you respond."
These collapses have become a frustrating trend for Baltimore. After last week's 13-10 loss at the Browns in Cleveland -- where the Ravens failed to hold a 10-0 halftime lead -- safety Kyle Hamilton called it Groundhog Day. Seven days later, the Ravens again crumbled in the second half.
"We're not losing hope, man," wide receiver Zay Flowers said. "It was like an up-and-down season last year, and we still had a chance to go to the playoffs."
Baltimore is the sixth team in NFL history to have each of its first three losses of a season (the Saints, Browns and Bengals) come in games where it led by 10 or more points. The last team to do so was the 2022 Ravens.
"I think we're too caught up in what's happening in the game," offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley said. "[We] really just need to focus on our job, really not look at the scoreboard and just have our own identity of how we're going to play when we go out there, no matter what the score is."
Baltimore fell to 7-14 (.333) without Jackson since the start of the 2019 season. The Ravens next play at the Buffalo Bills (5-1), who are coming off a bye.
Asked about the chances of Jackson returning to play this week, Minter replied, "I think over the next couple days we'll figure that out."
