Baltimore Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton criticized fans and defended defensive coordinator Zach Orr when speaking to reporters Thursday about his team’s 1-2 start to the 2025 NFL season.
Through Week 3 of the unit’s second year under Orr, the Ravens defense has allowed an NFL-high 415 total yards against per game.
“I feel like sometimes Ravens fans can be a little spoiled, just the amount of success that this franchise has had,” Hamilton said (h/t ESPN’s Jamison Hensley). “We lose five games, and the world’s about to end.
“I think, on Zach, it’s unfair to put all the blame on him when there’s 11 guys out there on the field that are playing their hearts out, and he’s put us in the right positions. It’s just a matter of us doing the right stuff, and that’s where I feel like the critiques of Zach or whatever coaches are unfair, because he can’t go out there and play for us.”
Hamilton added, “It’s not a Zach thing. It’s not a coaching thing, on the defensive side of the ball. It’s just players have got to get the stuff right.”
Hamilton went on to credit Orr for taking responsibility when the Ravens defense has struggled early in the season, per BaltimoreRavens.com’s Ryan Mink.
“[Orr] comes in the rooms; it’s not like he’s pointing fingers. [He says] ‘I could have had you all in a better spot,’ or whatever it may be,” Hamilton said, per Mink. “I think that kind of trickles down throughout the whole room. There’s no hostility within it, and that goes for the whole defense. Having a leader like that, you gain respect.”
Hamilton concluded, “We’ve been through the fire last year, and we’re going through it right now.”
The Ravens head into Week 4 with a sub-.500 record despite being the only NFL team to average at least 37 points through the first three games of the season.
A 40-point effort from the Ravens offense in Week 1 wasn’t enough to overcome struggles on pass defense, which allowed Josh Allen to average 8.5 yards per pass attempt while the Buffalo Bills racked up almost 500 total yards of offense.
The Ravens suffered their second loss of the season in Week 3 when, with defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike and outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy sidelined by injury, the Detroit Lions racked up 224 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns.
Injuries to the defensive line could continue to be an issue for the Ravens going forward. Starters Travis Jones and Broderick Washington Jr. have joined Madubuike and Van Noy on the injury report this week.
Baltimore signed defensive tackles Taven Bryan and Josh Tupou to the practice squad on Wednesday, but the defense’s depth remains a question mark ahead of Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Ravens will look to begin the climb back to .500 when Week 4 kicks off at 4:25 p.m. ET at Arrowhead Stadium.
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