KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Baltimore Ravens finished last season with the No. 1 defense in the NFL. Three games into the season, should the defense be the Ravens' No. 1 concern?
In Sunday's 33-28 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore made history for all the wrong reasons, giving up more than 500 yards for just the 10th time in the franchise's 24-year existence.
The Ravens couldn't stop Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (374 yards passing and three touchdowns). They couldn't stop the run (140 yards). And they couldn't stop the Chiefs when they needed to the most, allowing them to run out the final two minutes with a screen pass on third down.
"We've got to play better, play more sound, play more fundamentally sound," safety Tony Jefferson said. "It's Week 3, so get back to the drawing board 2-1, and I still think we're in great shape. I still have faith in everybody in our locker room, and we just go from there."
There was either a level of frustration or anger with some defenders in the locker room. Linebackers Matthew Judon and Patrick Onwuasor both refused to talk to reporters after the game.
It's easy to chalk up the Ravens' struggles on Sunday to the Chiefs. Mahomes is the reigning NFL Most Valuable Player, and the Chiefs have averaged 35.1 points since he took over as the starting quarterback last season.
But Kansas City wasn't at full strength. The Chiefs were without three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Tyreek Hill, left tackle Eric Fisher and starting running back Damien Williams.
Still, the Ravens left Arrowhead Stadium wanting a reunion in the postseason.
"We’re going to see them again," safety Earl Thomas said. "And this tape is going to be everything to me. I feel like we challenged them. We made some mistakes and they caught us in some zero blitzes and they ran some good routes, but it’s going to be great film for us to watch. And when we see them down the line, we’re going to have it."
Last week, Thomas said the Ravens were going to eliminate all the big plays because he was playing free safety for the defense. Mahomes went 7-of-11 for 215 yards and two touchdowns when throwing the ball 15 yards or longer downfield.
One of the biggest plays in the game was an 83-yard pass from Mahomes to Mecole Hardman. It was the longest completion against Baltimore in nine years.
Hardman ran past cornerback Maurice Canady, who looked like he was expecting safety help over the top.
"It's just stuff, easy stuff, that we can fix. We can fix it," Jefferson said. "I'll take the blame on that one. Communication needs to be better. I'll take the blame. That's on me. I'll work on that this week even more so. There's really no excuse."
The Ravens are hurting at cornerback. Jimmy Smith is out multiple weeks with a knee injury, and Tavon Young is done for the season with a neck injury.
The Ravens are currently ranked No. 27 in pass defense, which is far far removed from last season's No. 5 ranking. They have also allowed consecutive 300-yard passers for the first time since 2015.
Baltimore had lapses in the secondary last week against Arizona and Kyler Murray. Everyone in the Ravens' locker room blamed it on communication issues and that all of those would get resolved.
When Baker Mayfield and the Browns come to Baltimore next Sunday, the Ravens' biggest worry is whether these problems on defense will actually get fixed.