OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- When the Baltimore Ravens suffered a 27-22 defeat to the rival Pittsburgh Steelers earlier this month, running back Derrick Henry was ticked off as much about where the Ravens lost as how they lost.
"You're supposed to defend your home turf, and we definitely should have a better record at home, but that hasn't been the case for us," Henry said. "That doesn't mean we [will] give up or [that we shouldn't] still play with confidence [or] believe in each other, and go [we will] out there and do what we need to do to give ourselves a chance. But yes, it definitely stings, for sure."
The Ravens are 3-5 this year at the usually formidable M&T Bank Stadium, clinching their third losing season at home in the franchise's 30-year history. The others were 1997 and 2015.
When Baltimore faces the AFC East-leading New England Patriots on Sunday night (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC/Peacock), the Ravens will try to avoid their sixth loss at home, which would be the team's single-season record. Injuries, turnovers and questionable calls have created an uncharacteristic home-field disadvantage.
Ravens safety Alohi Gilman mentioned there has been talk in the locker room about playing better in the final regular-season game this year at M&T Bank Stadium.
"So that's kind of been our focus, and we want to leave [our] home [fans] and this Baltimore Ravens community [and] go out with a bang," Gilman said. "If this is going to be our last one, let's go all in. So, [we have the] same mentality, 'do or die trying,' and this is it. Hopefully the Ravens community can hop along with us on that, and it'll be fun."
This season has featured new lows at home:
In a 38-30 loss to the Detroit Lions in Week 3, the Ravens allowed multiple 95-yard touchdown drives for the first time at home.
In a 44-10 defeat to the Houston Texans in Week 5, Baltimore gave up its most points in a home game since John Harbaugh became coach in 2008. This was the game in which the Ravens were without seven Pro Bowl players due to injury, including quarterback Lamar Jackson.
A week later in a 17-3 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, Baltimore tied its second-fewest points ever at home.
The Ravens' last two home defeats came against division rivals and were filled with mistakes and controversial calls. In a 32-14 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Baltimore committed five turnovers at home for the first time in 18 years. In a loss to the Steelers, the Ravens questioned why Isaiah Likely's go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter was overturned.
"It's not a big jump, it's just little things here and there," Gilman said. "That's not a question of our character, culture or identity. It's just a matter of executing on a high level, on a more consistent basis."
The Ravens had been one of the most dominant home teams in the NFL. From Harbaugh's first season in 2008 to 2024, Baltimore was 99-39 (.717) at M&T Bank Stadium. The only team with a better home record over that span was the Green Bay Packers with a 102-34-2 mark (.746).
This season, the Ravens' home losses have been against teams who are a combined 40-30 (.571). Baltimore's three wins have been against two last-place teams -- the Cleveland Browns and the New York Jets -- and the first-place Chicago Bears (10-4).
"Obviously, when you're home, you have the fans to your advantage," cornerback Marlon Humphrey said after the Ravens' last home loss against Pittsburgh. "You want to win in front of them. People pay a lot of money to get in these seats. We appreciate them a lot, so losing at home, really, it's unacceptable. I'm not going to say it is what it is, but it's just unacceptable."
Asked about the losing record at home, Harbaugh insisted this week that the players must keep looking forward. The Ravens control their playoff path and can capture the AFC North by winning their last three games: home against the Patriots and at the Green Bay Packers and Steelers.
And, if the Ravens can win the division, they will have earned another home game. Baltimore would host the AFC's No. 5 seed in the wild-card playoffs.
"Every game we've lost, our guys were fighting like crazy to win it. So no, there's no frustration. To me, that's made up," Harbaugh said. "Yes, the guys are disappointed. They want to win games. But you can look back at every one of those games. The Houston game was probably our worst home game ever that I can ever remember, [but] our guys were fighting their butts off, the guys that were out there playing, who were playing in the game. That game is what it was; the Rams game is what it was. Guys are fighting their butts off in that game, too. So, those games are history. There's no frustration. There's just opportunity. And that's what our guys are looking at."