It's probably natural to feel a sense of panic after watching the Ravens perform so poorly against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium. It wasn't pretty, and it certainly didn't leave anybody with the lingering notion that reaching the playoffs this season is a formality.
The postseason is never a lock in the NFL. Just ask the 2008 New England Patriots.
The Ravens left a very winnable game on the table and - just that quickly - cast reasonable doubt on their playoff future. The fact that they have two undefeated teams lined up in front of them only adds to the perception that they could be facing a serious competitive crisis.
My take: Try to calm yourselves.
Just about every NFL team dials up a clunker at some point in the season, and Sunday's game certainly fit that description for the Ravens. They didn't play particularly well in any facet of the game, but that doesn't mean the offense has permanently come down to earth or the defense is too porous to compete against the quality teams that stand in the way of another deep playoff run.
It's tempting to lump together the Patriots loss with the Bengals fiasco and wonder whether the Ravens are headed for an extended swoon, especially with the 5-0 Minnesota Vikings waiting at the Metrodome on Sunday and the surprising Denver Broncos headed here after the bye week.
But you might be better served to look behind the Brett Favre hype and the win-loss records. Maybe you would do well to remember that the Ravens have played very well on the road during the John Harbaugh era and compare favorably with the Vikings and Broncos.
The Cincinnati loss was damaging because it would have been great to head into the next two games with a 4-1 record and some momentum, but the Ravens are pretty much where they were expected to be at this early point in the season. Just about everyone figured them for 3-2 until they went to San Diego and stole one from the depleted Chargers.
This week, we're going to find out whether their offensive hiccup was the sign of some systemic weakness that has recently surfaced or just the byproduct of a few flat individual performances and some great defensive game-planning by the Bengals.
I'm guessing the latter, and I'm guessing offensive coordinator Cam Cameron will get some things straightened out and Joe Flacco will move the ball against a Vikings defense that leads the NFL in sacks but is ranked in the middle of the pack overall.
