OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Coming off a Monday Night Football loss against the Detroit Lions, the Baltimore Ravens have another uphill battle to climb for the second consecutive year.
WATCH: Injuries taking toll on Ravens ahead of game against Kansas City Chiefs
After starting 1-2, the Ravens will look to get back to .500 against the Kansas City Chiefs.
But that's only one thing weighing on the team's mind as injuries continue to pile up and become a concern.
The battle in the trenches was a major concern for the Ravens on Monday night. On the defensive side, defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike and outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy were not in uniform due to injury, leaving the Ravens' defensive front unable to get pressure on Lions quarterback Jared Goff.
On the offensive end, Baltimore gave up seven sacks against the Lions, which ties a career high for Lamar Jackson.
Pertaining to Madubuike's injury, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said that he is concerned, but couldn't provide further comment.
"I haven't been given the ‘OK’ to comment on it at this point," said coach Harbaugh. "So, [Nnamdi Madubuike] is not going to play this week. I can tell you that. We're going to have to see going forward when [the medical staff] knows what they need to know.”
Outside linebacker Odafe Oweh and rookie defensive tackle Aeneas Peebles shared the same sentiment with preparing to play without the two for a second consecutive game.
"It's next man up mentality. We gotta find ways to get that cohesiveness as a group because a lot of new guys, a lot of younger guys together, playing off each other and stuff like that. We're gonna have to get that fast, but I believe we can do that," Oweh said.
"It's always weird when you don't see familiar faces out there, but, you know, at the end of the day, it's the name of the game we play. That's how the NFL goes, and it's our responsibility as athletes to be ready when our name is called," Peebles said.
Defensive tackles Broderick Washington, Jr. and Travis Jones also missed Wednesday's practice, marking a practice period where the entire Ravens' starting interior defensive line was absent.
To bolster their defensive front, the Ravens signed defensive tackles Taven Bryan and Josh Topou to the practice squad.
Even with these moves, coach Harbaugh said that he isn't too worried that Washington and Jones could miss time.
"They're nursing some things. We're only less than 48 hours out from the end of the [Monday night] game, so I have a good feeling about those guys, but we will have to wait and see,” coach Harbaugh said.
Fullback Patrick Ricard missed another practice with a calf injury. Offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley missed practice with an ankle injury.
On the brighter side of things, Isaiah Likely returned to practice at a limited capacity, boding well for his return to action this week.
As for Sunday, the Ravens will hope to contain three-time Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes, who is coming off a Sunday Night Football win against the New York Giants and is also trying to avoid falling to 1-3 for the first time in his career as a starter.
"When you try to defend him, it's the same issues. He's just capable of making incredible plays. I think they build the offense around him really well. It's also a well-principled offense, in terms of just fundamental football and all that. It's built for the quarterback, and the quarterback operates really well in it. Obviously, he's just talented and makes a bunch of plays, and we're going to have to deal with it,” said Coach Harbaugh.
"Mahomes can make just as many plays on his feet as he can, you know, in the air with his hands. So we have to find a better way of, you know, still pressuring him, but at the same time not having run lanes where, you know, some guys, one guy's trying to win, the other guy's trying to win, it opens up a big crease. So we got to do it smart," said Oweh.
Kickoff is set for Sunday at 4:25 p.m. at Arrowhead Stadium.
