Forget about shining against the league's best. Now the Ravens are just trying to stay afloat

After taking their lumps — literally and figuratively — in a 37-20 loss at Kansas City on Sunday, the Ravens are 1-3 for the first time since 2015. They've had a tough schedule, losing to Buffalo, Detroit and the Chiefs, but with Jackson and several other key players now dealing with injuries, making the playoffs is not even a given anymore.

“We can win games with our guys,” coach John Harbaugh said Monday. “The guys that we have have to step up. Everybody gets injuries in the course of the season. It's who deals with them the best.”

The list of injured players already is extensive. There was no update on Jackson's status Monday, but Harbaugh did announce that two-time Pro Bowler Nnamdi Madubuike (neck) is out for the season. Safety Ar'Darius Washington tore his Achilles tendon during the offseason.

Linebacker Kyle Van Noy (hamstring) missed the last two games. All-Pro fullback Patrick Ricard (calf) hasn't played all season. Then there was Sunday's nightmare, in which All-Pro linebacker Roquan Smith (hamstring), All-Pro cornerback Marlon Humphrey (calf), Pro Bowl tackle Ronnie Stanley (ankle) and starting cornerback Nate Wiggins (elbow) all left the game.

There are plenty of other issues for Baltimore to address. Sunday's game began to get away from the Ravens when they had four straight empty offensive possessions in the first half. Jackson threw an interception and lost a fumble. One series stalled after two delay-of-game penalties, and another ended with a failed fourth-down attempt.

But even if Baltimore cleans up some of that, there's now a real question as to whether there's enough healthy talent for the Ravens to contend. There's plenty of time for injured players to return — and for substitutes to gain experience and play better — but in the short term, Baltimore faces two more division champions from a year ago before reaching its open date in Week 7.

Those matchups — at home against the Texans and Rams — suddenly feel a lot more urgent than October was supposed to be for Baltimore.

What's working

Zay Flowers and Mark Andrews had seven catches apiece, and with Isaiah Likely now back from a foot injury, the Ravens' pass-catching depth is solid.

What needs work

The Chiefs scored on seven of their first eight possessions, with their only empty one coming on a missed field goal. Baltimore has allowed 133 points in four games, playing well defensively only when facing Cleveland's unimposing offense in Week 2.

Stock up

Justice Hill scored the only two touchdowns for the Ravens on Sunday, the second on a 71-yard run late in the game.

Stock down

Offensive coordinator Todd Monken certainly gets credit for an offense that averaged a whopping 6.85 yards per play last season, but he now is under scrutiny — particularly for Baltimore's failure to get Derrick Henry more involved. Henry had 169 yards rushing in the season opener against the Bills but has only 115 over the three games since. He had just eight carries against Kansas City.

Harbaugh was unusually critical of his own staff on Monday.

“I don't think our approach was good. I think we didn't stick to the plan that we had,” Harbaugh said. “We had an idea how we wanted to approach their defense, and we didn't stick to it. I'm not happy about it, and neither is anybody. None of our coaches are happy about it.”

Injuries

According to overthecap.com, no fewer than seven of Baltimore’s 12 highest-paid players — as measured by cap number — were injured by the end of Sunday’s game. There's a real possibility the Ravens could end up like San Francisco did last season — a Super Bowl contender that was so ravaged by injuries that it missed the playoffs.

Key stats

The Ravens are averaging only 52.5 offensive plays per game, while their opponents are averaging 71.5 — a sign Baltimore's defense has been allowing too many long drives.

Next step

Baltimore takes on a Houston team it has defeated three times in the past two seasons — without the Texans managing an offensive touchdown in any of those games.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl