Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes can’t carry their teams alone

Quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson – arguably the NFL’s top two players – have continued to dazzle early this season.

The teams they lead? Well, not so much.

Despite Mahomes’ typical playmaking wizardry, the Kansas City Chiefs have struggled during their uncharacteristically slow start. Likewise for the Baltimore Ravens, who haven’t provided much support for Jackson – the greatest dual-threat signal-caller in NFL history.

For the Chiefs and Ravens, these are strange times, indeed. On Sunday, things figure to become even more unfamiliar, and uncomfortable, for one team.

Barring the unlikely outcome of a tie, one of the teams will be 1-3 after the Chiefs play host to the Ravens at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. With 13 games remaining, the loser could still recover and qualify for the playoffs.

For the Chiefs and Ravens, however, there’s a difference between being .500 or two games below that mark, especially psychologically. And after their rough openings stretches, both franchises are eager for encouraging news.

“We’ve got to lock in,” Jackson told reporters Wednesday. “I feel like the last three games, even with the win versus [the Cleveland Browns], we started off slow. We’ve just got to play how we play ball – and play Ravens football.”

No team needs a boost more than the Ravens (1-2), who suffered another late-game collapse in Week 3.

For the second time in three games, Baltimore was dominated during the fourth quarter Monday night in a 38-30 loss to the visiting Detroit Lions. Detroit scored 17 points in the fourth to break open a game tied at 21-all entering the quarter. With the outcome all but decided, the Ravens scored a touchdown in the game’s final minute.

Maybe the Lions learned a little something from the Buffalo Bills about how to finish well against the Ravens.

In Week 1, the Bills scored 16 points in the game’s final four minutes, and 22 points total in the fourth to rally for a 41-40 victory over the visiting Ravens. Unfortunately for the Ravens, two concerning themes were present in both letdowns: porous defense and costly fumbles by superstar running back Derrick Henry.

Bills quarterback Josh Allen torched the Ravens’ defense for 394 passing yards and two touchdown passes with no interceptions, and he rushed for two touchdowns. Henry had 169 rushing yards and two touchdowns, but the Bills recovered his fumble with about 3 minutes to play, kicking open the door for their comeback.

Against the Lions, the Ravens’ run defense disappeared.

Detroit rushed for 224 yards (with a 5.89-yard average) and four touchdowns. On touchdown drives of 98 and 96 yards, respectively, the Lions bullied the Ravens. That’s not a sentence written often about a John Harbaugh-coached team.

Henry’s fumbling problems are also uncommon.

The Lions capitalized on Henry’s momentum-changing gaffe in the fourth, extending their lead to 31-24 on a field goal, and “I’m still p—ed off. I’m still mad at myself,” said the All-Pro, who has fumbled in all three games. “I’m my worst critic, so I don’t try to harp on it too much. I talk to my family and the people that I get advice from. My teammates, I lean on them. But at the same time, it’s a problem I have to get fixed, so I’m working on it.

“I’m working as hard as I can to get this issue resolved, and it’s tough right now. It’s just been consecutive weeks, back-to-back-to-back, which is crazy. That’s why you all saw me distraught. I was just like, ‘I can’t believe this happened for a third time.’ But I’ve just got to go back to work and push forward even though it’s hard. Nobody can fix it but yourself, so I’ve got to accept it like a man. Everything that comes with it, I accept, because it’s my responsibility to take care of the ball for this organization.”

Despite Henry’s ball-security issues, the Ravens’ offense continues to produce. Baltimore leads the league with 111 points scored through three games, averaging an NFL-best 37 points per game.

The problem is, the Ravens have allowed a league-worst 1,245 yards. Their opponents are scoring 32 points per game, which ranks 31st in the 32-team league. What’s more, the Ravens are 31st in passing defense and 30th against the run.

It’s hard, if not downright impossible, for a team to reach the postseason with such horrific defensive statistics. No one needs to tell Harbaugh.

“There’s a lot of simple things that we didn’t do very well at times [against Detroit],” Harbaugh said. “We’ll have the same play, against the same defense, two different times.

“One time it’s no gain, because we’re pretty much exactly where we’re supposed to be. And another time, we’re not where we’re supposed to be. Part of it is just trying to do too much.”

The Chiefs (1-2) had a much better week than the Ravens.

Kansas City notched its first victory of the season, 22-9, on the road over the winless New York Giants. The Chiefs’ rushing offense was a little better than in their consecutive losses to start the season. Also, for the second time in as many games, the Chiefs showed signs of improvement defensively.

It appears that Mahomes and fourth-year wide receiver Tyquan Thornton are building rapport on the field. That relationship could provide a boost for the passing game in the absence of top wide receivers Rashee Rice, who will miss the first six games for violating the league’s personal conduct policy, and Xavier Worthy, who has been sidelined since suffering a dislocated right shoulder in Week 1.

Against the Giants at least, the Chiefs took some steps in the right direction. Albeit they were small – but steps, nonetheless.

That’s what head coach Andy Reid has wanted to see.

“It was great to obviously get the win, but there are some things we can take [from the overall performance] that will help us down the road,” Reid said. “I like the effort from the guys, in particular on the offensive side from the second half. Defensively, we played another very solid football game. … We need to keep that coming.”

The Chiefs and Ravens have no worries at quarterback – the most important position. But their performances remind us that even the best signal-callers can’t carry a team alone.