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Entering Sunday's game against the Kansas City Chiefs, the Baltimore Ravens find themselves on the wrong end of 4-9 record, but that is due to one of the unluckiest seasons to date regarding injuries.
"This is a bottom line business, and we haven't been good enough to be in the mix in December," Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said. "We have to find ways to get better, and we will continue to work on that every day."
The Ravens have 18 players currently listed on Injured Reserve, including their starting quarterback (Joe Flacco), starting running back (Justin Forsett) and their best wide receiver (Steve Smith).
"I guess it's a record, from what it sounds like," Harbaugh told the local Chiefs media this week. "I don't really have an answer for it or a reason for it. We're looking at a lot of other things that we're trying to deal with, but I'm sure it's something that they're going to look at in the offseason and try to figure out."
The Ravens have lost their last two games in a row, first to the Miami Dolphins (15-3 L) and then to the Seattle Seahawks (35-6 L).
Here's a look at the Ravens coaching staff:
Ravens Coaching Staff
Position
Name
Head Coach
John Harbaugh
Offensive Coordinator
Marc Trestman
Defensive Coordinator
Dean Pees
Special Teams Coordinator
Jerry Rosburg
With QB Joe Flacco out for the season due to a torn ACL and MCL, the Ravens have put the team on the back of Matt Schaub, but Schaub missed last week's game against the Seahawks because of a chest injury. Veteran QB Jimmy Clausen played in his place.
Although Schaub has been limited in practice this week thus far, Harbaugh confirmed that the Ravens would likely turn back to him if he finished the week healthy.
"I think we'd lean that way," he said. "He's been here the whole year with us and I think he'd deserve that opportunity. I'm not going to say for sure, but that'd be the way I would lean."
Schaub, who has a career passer rating of 89.1, has 3 touchdowns and 4 interceptions in the two games he's started this season.
Clausen said that he is still in the process of grasping the offense.
"This is my third week here in Baltimore, so I'm still doing a lot of learning," he said.
Whether it's been Schaub or Clausen for Baltimore, the primary target in the offense has become WR Kamar Aiken. Aiken bounced around the league (Bills, Bears, Patriots) before finding a home with Baltimore in 2013.
Aiken leads the team in receptions (54), yards receiving (674) and touchdowns receiving (T-4).
Since Forsett's injury, Javorious Allen has taken the majority of snaps at running back for the Ravens.
Allen has 101 rush attemps for 381 yards (3.8 yards per attempt) and no touchdowns this season.
Tight end Crockett Gillmore could miss the game with a back injury, so expect rookie Maxx Williams to start for the Ravens.
Familiar Face: Richard Gordon, Baltimore's fourth-string tight end, played with the Chiefs in 2014.
Here's a look at the unofficial offensive depth chart for the Ravens:
Baltimore Ravens Offensive Depth Chart (Unofficial)
POS
FIRST
SECOND
THIRD
THIRD
WR
Kamar Aiken
Jeremy Butler
Daniel Brown
WR
Chris Givens
Marlon Brown
Chris Matthews
Kaelin Clay
LT
Kelechi Osemele
James Hurst
De'Ondre Wesley
LG
Ryan Jensen
James Hurst
C
John Urschell
Ryan Jensen
RG
Marshal Yanda
James Hurst
RT
Rick Wagner
James Hurst
De'Ondre Wesley
TE
Crockett Gillmore
Maxx Williams
Konrad Reuland
Richard Gordon
QB
Matt Schaub
Jimmy Clausen
Ryan Mallett
FB
Kyle Juszczyk
RB
Javorious Allen
Terrance West
Terrence Magee
Here's a look at the Ravens numbers and ranks so far this season on offense:
Offense
Chiefs
Ravens
Net Yards Per Game
340.4 (23rd)
358.2 (13th)
Yards Per Play
5.64 (8th)
5.38 (19th)
Points Per Game
25.5 (8th)
21.4 (20th)
Possession Average
30:39 (12th)
29:53 (19th)
Net Rushing Yards Per Game
123.5 (7th)
92.7 (25th)
Net Passing Yards Per Game
216.8 (27th)
265.5 (8th)
Had Intercepted/Yards
4/44
17/233
Sacks Allowed/Yards
41/-219.0 (29th)
20/-151.0 (3rd)
Fumbles/Lost
14/8
12/6
Third down Pct.
37.9% (18th)
34.3% (27th)
Red Zone TD Pct.
55.3% (19th)
47.5% (26th)
Giveaways
12 (T-3rd)
23 (T-24th)
The Baltimore Ravens defense allows 347.8 yards per game, ranking it 15th in the league. The Ravens allow 248.3 yards passing per game (No. 21) and 99.5 yards rushing per game (No. 11).
Linebacker Elvis Dumervil leads the Ravens in sacks with 6.0, and he is one of 13 players on the team with at least 1.0 sack.
The Ravens have struggled to turn the ball over this season, totaling just 11 takeaways. Since the offense has turned the ball over 23 times, Baltimore has a negative-12 turnover differential, which is the second worst in the league (Dallas Cowboys – negative-15).
Cornerback Jimmy Smith leads the Ravens in interceptions with 2. Safety Will Hill and CB Lardarius Webb each have an interception apiece.
Here is a look at the Ravens defensive depth chart:
Baltimore Ravens Defensive Depth Chart (Unofficial)
POS
FIRST
SECOND
THIRD
DT
Timmy Jernigan
Kapron Lewis-Moore
NT
Brandon Williams
Carl Davis
DE
Lawrence Guy
Brent Urban
OLB
Elvis Dumervil
Za'Darius Smith
ILB
C.J. Mosley
Zachary Orr
Arthur Brown
ILB
Daryl Smith
Albert McClellan
SAM
Courtney Upshaw
Albert McClellan
LCB
Ladarius Webb
Kyle Arrington
Tray Walker
SS
Will Hill III
Brynden Trawick
FS
Kendrick Lewis
Terrence Brooks
Anthony Levine, Sr.
RCB
Jimmy Smith
Shareece Wright
Jumal Rolle
Here's a look at the Ravens numbers and ranks so far this season on defense:
Defense
Chiefs
Ravens
Net Yards Per Game
333.1 (8th)
347.8 (15th)
Yards Per Play
5.11 (6th)
5.45 (14th)
Points Per Game
18.7 (4th)
25.1 (T-23rd)
Net Rushing Yards Per Game
92.2 (7th)
99.5 (11th)
Net Passing Yards Per Game
240.9 (15th)
248.3 (21st)
Intercepted by/Yards
18/338.0
4/52.0
Sacks For/Yards
39/-245.0 (4th)
28/-178.0 (20th)
Opponent Fumbles/Lost
16/6
14/7
Third down Pct.
33.7% (5th)
42.5% (25th)
Red Zone TD Pct.
62.9% (25th)
52.5% (11th)
Takeaways
24 (T-5th)
11 (T-30th)
Here's a side-by-side comparison of the individual statistical leaders for both teams:
Chiefs
Ravens
Passing Yards
A. Smith
3,034
M. Schaub
540
* *
* *
* *
J. Clausen
274
* *
* *
* *
Rushing Yards
C. West
462
J. Allen
381
A. Smith
366
T. West
84
S. Ware
312
B. Taliaferro
47
Receiving Yards
J. Maclin
935
K. Aiken
725
T. Kelce
749
C. Gillmore
412
A. Wilson
366
J. Allen
286
Points Scored
C. Santos
111
J. Tucker
108
Three Tied
30
Two Tied
24
T. Kelce
28
Two Tied
18
Interceptions
M. Peters
5
J. Smith
2
Six Tied
2
* *
Two Tied
1
Sacks
J. Houston
7.5
E. Dumervil
6
T. Hali
6.5
Four Tied
3
A. Bailey
4.5
Two Tied
2
D. Johnson
4
Six Tied
1
Defensive Tackles
D. Johnson
88
J. Smith
103
R. Parker
61
C. Mosley
85
M. Peters
55
W. Hill, III
56
