The Baltimore Ravens are in unfamiliar territory. Head coach John Harbaugh’s team has historically fielded a proud defense. Having lost two of their first three games this season, the Ravens have to find a way to respond on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Pro Football Hall of Famer and former Ravens tight end Shannon Sharpe pushed back on the notion that Baltimore’s fan base doesn’t have a right to be upset with how things have been early on.
The Ravens are giving up 32 points per game, ranking 31st in the NFL.
“I think the thing for me is that [are they] spoiled? No. The Patriots fans were spoiled. Kansas City’s fans are spoiled,” Sharpe said on the “Nightcap” podcast. “You winning 10-11 games a year and get knocked out in the first round or the divisional round, that ain’t spoiled. There are a lot of teams that do that.”
The Ravens are 12 seasons removed from their Super Bowl XLVII win. They’ve reached the AFC Championship Game just once since then, losing to the Chiefs two campaigns ago.
“Spoiled for what? Because they see this every year,” Sharpe said. “Now a lot of it hasn’t fallen on the defense. We haven’t seen them play this bad because normally what it was is Lamar [Jackson would] have a turnover, they’d have a turnover at the most inopportune time. But, for the most part, the defense, [in] that championship game they lost, they held Patrick Mahomes to 14 points [actually 17].”
The Chiefs are averaging 315.7 yards per game, ranked 18th in the league. Their 20 points per game are 21st.
Baltimore visits Kansas City at 4:25 p.m. ET Sunday on CBS.
