Baltimore Ravens Winners And Losers In Week 3

The Baltimore Ravens still have talent on their roster despite their 0-3 record in which they have lost all three games by a combined score of 14 points. The Ravens lost a close one against the Cincinnati Bengals, but there were players who looked good and there are others who looked just plain awful. No worries, one player can't take all of the blame for this debacle.

Let's start with the winners:

Steve Smith Sr. : It's a joy watching him play because he is a gamer. It's also sad watching him play as this will be his last season in the NFL and he will leave a void at wide receiver as the Ravens move on to the future. But Smith Sr. is making sure he isn't leaving the NFL without making a statement.

Against the Bengals, Smith had 13 catches for 186 years and a touchdown? At the age of 36? Incredible. Smith Sr. is doing his best to save the Ravens season.

Brandon Williams: Talk about a force up front. Williams is the main reason why the Ravens haven't allowed a running back to rush for over 100 yards against them in the last 31 games (including playoffs) and there doesn't look to be a sign of that streak ending anytime soon. The Bengals didn't have a running back reach 50 rushing yards on the game.

Elvis Dumervil and C.J. Mosley: Both players played a critical role on the Ravens defense as Dumervil forced a stripped sack/fumble which resulted in Mosley earning his first defensive touchdown of his career to give the Ravens their first lead of the game at 17-14.

Now, for the losers:

The entire Ravens secondary: What a horrible performance. For the second week in a row, the Ravens pass defense not only allowed 28 points, but they also allowed another quarterback to throw for over 360 yards in the game. To make matters worse, 227 of those yards were from one receiver.

What is it going to take for the Ravens secondary to stop being so awful? Does Ed Reed need to come out of retirement? Tackling 101 seems to be an issue as well. This secondary cannot be trusted. This pass defense gets destroyed by anyone who wears a helmet.

Ravens running game: The offensive line did not do their job opening lanes for running backs in Justin Forsett, Buck Allen or Lorenzo Taliaferro. The Ravens only had 36 yards rushing the entire game. It was critical for the Ravens to establish the run against the Bengals front seven and they were never able to do it. The Ravens won't win many games against the Bengals or anyone else playing like that.

If someone told a Ravens fan before the game in week 3 that the Ravens wouldn't be able to run the ball and wouldn't be able stop the passing game they would have assumed the Ravens lost. And they would be right.