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Jamison Hensley
BALTIMORE — Ravens coach John Harbaugh said he’s sticking with defensive coordinator Zach Orr following Sunday’s 44-10 loss to the Houston Texans, the latest defensive meltdown in a season that continues to spiral for Baltimore.
“I do not think that that’s the answer,” Harbaugh said when asked if he will consider changes with Orr and the defensive staff. “We have to go to work, is what we need to do. We need to stick together, is what we need to do. We need to find ourselves. And that has to do with coaches and players [working] together.”
The Ravens fell to 1-4 for the second time in the franchise’s 30-year history because they couldn’t stop quarterback C.J. Stroud and the Texans offense. The 44 points are the most allowed by the Ravens in a home game in Harbaugh’s 18 seasons as coach. It was a low point for the Baltimore defense, which allowed five touchdowns to a Texans team that had scored only six touchdowns this season.
The struggles on defense have been a season-long trend for Baltimore and Orr, who replaced Mike Macdonald in 2024 and is in his second season as the unit’s playcaller. The Ravens have given up 177 points this season, their most in a five-game span in team history.
“We have to get our s— together,” outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy said. “Just being brutally honest. Coaches can give us the plays, but we have to execute. It doesn’t matter who you are in there. Do your job. [If the] coaches ask you to do something, do it. Myself included.”
If the season hadn’t been challenging enough for Baltimore, injuries have taken a toll. The Ravens on Sunday were without seven Pro Bowl players from last year, including two-time NFL Most Valuable Player Lamar Jackson.
Baltimore dropped to 4-10 in games without Jackson, who is sidelined with a hamstring injury. This was the fifth straight loss when Jackson has been unable to play. It’s unknown whether Jackson will be able to play next Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams.
“No excuses,” Van Noy said. “I just watched the Niners have injuries, go out there and play football. No excuses for injuries. [As] professionals, you get paid to play, so we have to play better.”
The other Pro Bowl players sidelined for the Ravens were: safety Kyle Hamilton (groin), offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley (ankle), cornerback Marlon Humphrey (calf), middle linebacker Roquan Smith (hamstring), fullback Patrick Ricard (calf) and defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike (neck), who is out for the season. Baltimore was forced to start five rookies on defense to fill in for the injured players.
“I thought we would play better,” Harbaugh said. “I thought we would tackle better. It was not up to standard. We had good enough players out there to play a lot better than we did.”
The 34-point loss is tied for the second-worst margin of defeat under Harbaugh and represented Baltimore’s largest home defeat since 2013.
Harbaugh called it “a complete disappointment.”
“We’re going to have to find a way to turn it around and figure out who we are this next week and then into the bye [week],” he said. “And after the bye, we’re going to have more than half the season left, and we’re going to have to find ourselves. So that’s what our aim will be going forward.”
The Ravens’ postseason hopes are dwindling. In the Super Bowl era, only 4.1% of teams (16 of 382) that lost at least four of their first five games were able to rebound and make the playoffs, according to ESPN Research.
Ravens running back Derrick Henry said he “definitely” believes the coaches’ messages are connecting with the players.
“I still believe in these guys,” Henry said. “It’s easy to be negative. Everybody can have the ‘Poor me’s,’ and ‘Why this? Why that?’ But I’m not blaming anybody. I look at myself first and see what I need to do better, and then we all go in there as a group, as a unit, and try to fix everything and turn this thing around as quickly as possible.”
When Van Noy was asked if he has seen enough accountability after recent losses, he paused five seconds before responding.
“That’s a good question,” Van Noy said. “I think I’ll be able to answer that better after the week, to be honest — just being blatantly honest. I feel like there’s accountability, but we will see.”
