NFL Sunday notebook: Would-be Super Bowl contenders staring at possible 0-2 starts
What a predicament. After blowing a 14-point lead for the first time under John Harbaugh in falling Monday night at Las Vegas, the injury-stung Baltimore Ravens drew the consolation prize of a short week that ends with a primetime tilt against an opponent Lamar Jackson once called their “kryptonite.”
Put nicely, the Kansas City Chiefs, with their own electrifying quarterback in Patrick Mahomes, have been quite a matchup problem for the Ravens. Jackson & Co. are 0-3 against Kansas City, including a 34-20 drubbing early last season. Now comes a serious gut check on Sunday night at the Big ATM (uh, M&T Bank Stadium).
Falling to 0-2 would deal a serious blow to visions of a Super Bowl run before the season is barely cranked up. Or so it seems.
The Ravens are not alone. The lineup of would-be contenders staring at the possibility of an 0-2 start includes the Bills, Titans, Colts and Cowboys. It’s no wonder that someone asked Harbaugh, who has started 0-2 just once as Ravens coach, whether this setup can already constitute a “must-win” game.
“To me, every (game) is ‘must-win’ because I want to win every game, just like our players do,” Harbaugh told reporters on Friday. But he stopped short of declaring the contest a Super Bowl deal-breaker. He knows. It’s too early for that.
He said, “There’s no loss here that’s going to derail our season at this point in time.”
Bad news: Starting 0-2 is a serious hole.
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Good news: It’s not over yet.
Maybe Aaron Rodgers had a point when he refused to push the panic button after the Packers, who would also fall to 0-2 with a home loss against the Lions on Monday night, were rather pitiful in their season opener against the Saints. Championships are not won in September.
Of the past 20 Super Bowl winners, two began their title treks at 0-2. Then again, that makes the 2001 Patriots and 2007 Giants pretty special because 18 of the past 20 Super Bowl winners didn’t start 0-2 and 13 were 2-0.
In Baltimore’s case, it is seemingly less about the record at this point and more about assessing how the Ravens measure up against the team that won the last two AFC titles and again looms as the favorite to reach Super Bowl 56. That and recovering from an opening act marred by turnovers and a defense that couldn’t hold up in crunch time as the Raiders marched 38 yards in 35 seconds for the field goal that set up a wild overtime.
“The good thing about a short week is you don’t really have time to dwell on the negatives,” Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey said. “You’ve got to move on with the positives. So, it’s really a great opportunity for us, for this club to really go out there Sunday night and show that we belong on the field with them.”
After all, “kryptonite” is a dangerous thing to play with.
“I said that because they did beat us three times, so it’s like, ‘Man, we’ve got to find a way to win,’ " Jackson told reporters. “And hopefully this Sunday night will be different.”
If not, the problem will become that much bigger.
Sack exchange
Chandler Jones insists that he wasn’t thinking about his contract status last weekend as he collected five sacks and forced two fumbles in an effort that earned him NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors amid Arizona’s upset rout at Tennessee.
“I think I play best when I don’t go in thinking about the deal, the contract,” the Cardinals linebacker, playing on the final year of his contract, told reporters this week while preparing for Sunday’s home opener against the Vikings.
Regardless, he demonstrated perhaps the best negotiating tactic possible by turning in a dominant performance.
But still: How can he not think about the contract? The issue hovered over an offseason that included Jones skipping non-mandatory work, and on the eve of the new season, Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt became the league’s highest-paid defensive player by striking a five-year, $112 million deal that included $80 million guaranteed.
Jones, averaging $16.5 million on his current pack, is positioned to re-set the market again for premier edge rushers — especially with more outings like he produced last weekend. Watt’s average salary of $28 million tops Joey Bosa ($27 million), Myles Garrett ($25 million) and Khalil Mack ($22.5 million).
And for a guy not thinking about it, it was rather striking that Jones celebrated one of his sacks by pretending to spread dollars on the field. After the game, he clearly sent a message by patting the pockets of Cardinals GM Steve Keim.
“He knows what that means,” Jones said.
We know. Pay the man.
All of which make me wonder: What is Aaron Donald worth?
The Rams' phenomenal D-tackle and three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year has nearly four years remaining on a six-year, $135 million contract ($86 million guaranteed) that averages $22.5 million per year.
Seems like Jones isn’t the only defensive star who may benefit from a market correction.
Vital insurance for Saints
When the Saints used a first-round pick in 2020 to select Michigan center Cesar Ruiz, the move drew some second-guessing. In 2019, New Orleans traded up to select center Erik McCoy in the second round.
Turns out that Ruiz, lining up at guard, is perfect insurance. When McCoy went down early in Week 1 with a calf injury that will also keep him out of Sunday’s game at Carolina, the switch to Ruiz was seamless.
Interestingly, Ruiz had just one practice snap with Jameis Winston — which was one more than he had all of training camp. The Saints also knew what they had in their backup center, allowing him to work throughout offseason, camp and preseason at improving techniques at guard. He hadn’t played center in over a year until Sunday.
Sounds like a snap.
Or, as Ruiz put it, “Snapping is just muscle memory at this point.”
Follow USA TODAY Sports' Jarrett Bell on Twitter @JarrettBell.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NFL Sunday: Would-be contenders face possible 0-2 starts
