The 2026 Baltimore Ravens are getting used to promising growth after a tough-to-explain loss, but one member of the team that won the franchise’s first Super Bowl is tired of hearing the same old rap.
Former Ravens wide receiver Qadry Ismail eviscerated today’s team after the 13-10 defeat to AFC North rivals the Cleveland Browns in Week 6. Ismail, the most-productive wideout for the famed 2000 Ravens who won Super Bowl 35, didn’t have the patience for Nnamdi Madubuike’s explanation of what went wrong in Cleveland.
Two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Madubuike promised, “We’re going to grow from this, per ESPN’s Jamison Hensley. Those words rang hollow for WJZ CBS Baltimore’s Purple Pregame Show co-host Ismail, who asked, “Mother of Pearl how many times before y’all grown, already?”
Ismail’s given voice to the increasing frustration over the present-day Ravens’ unhappy knack for losing games they should win in recent years. It happened at Huntington Bank Field on Sunday, October 18, and also against the New Orleans Saints on home soil in Week 2.
Losses like these are why talented rosters are consistently failing to meet expectations. It’s why Ismail’s frustration is shared by others more closely connected to today’s Ravens.
Ravens Getting Tired of Being Ravens
Explaining why this keeps happening is tough, but All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton is tired of even trying. Hamilton admitted, “I’m not gonna sound like a broken record. It’s Groundhog Day with this question. I don’t know,” per The Baltimore Sun’s Brian Wacker.
The same question keeps getting asked because the Ravens continue to waste fourth-quarter leads. Hamilton’s attempts to explain these losses aren’t the only depressingly familiar theme.
There are also recurring issues in all three phases of the team. Similar problems are leading to similar results, and that makes taking a more philosophical response to these setbacks more difficult.
Familiar Issues Lead to Familiar Results
The Ravens don’t lack for marquee talent, but they also aren’t short of damaging issues at key spots. One of the most damaging involves two-time NFL rushing champion Derrick Henry’s ongoing trouble protecting the football.
Rookie head coach Jesse Minter tried to shield Henry from blame after his fumble against the Browns started the Ravens on the path to defeat. Yet it’s getting increasingly difficult to offset the cost of Henry’s mistakes with ball security.
Especially when Henry’s “lost 5 fumbles in 39 regular season games w/Balt. The Ravens are 0-5 in those games, all 5 were one-score losses. Average margin of defeat in those losses is 3.6 points,” according to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic.
Henry is becoming a bigger concern, but he’s not the only problem for the Ravens. Minter’s defense can’t get off the field on third down, while erratic kicker Tyler Loop continues missing in clutch moments.
Each of these failings showed up at the worst time against the Browns, per Ravens Vault co-host Sarah Ellison. She noted the “Missed FG by Loop * Fumble by Derrick Henry * Dropped (but recovered) kickoff by Ali * 3-and-out by offense.”
* Missed FG by Loop * Fumble by Derrick Henry * Dropped (but recovered) kickoff by Ali * 3-and-out by offense
Try as they might, the Ravens can’t dismiss the defeat to the Browns as simply just one of those things. Not when the manner of the defeat followed a pattern Madubuike, Hamilton and Co. can’t seem to shake.
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