BALTIMORE – The last time the Baltimore Ravens played at M&T Bank Stadium, they missed the Super Bowl by one game, losing in the AFC Championship Game.

In Sunday’s unexpected 23-26 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, Lamar Jackson and the Ravens left their home field dejected and in great difficulty even making the playoffs.

The Ravens are 0-2 for the first time in nine years and only the fifth time in their 29-year existence. In their previous four 0-2 starts, Baltimore has failed to reach the postseason.

“We have to find our mojo,” Jackson said. “We have to find it and do what we do, because that’s not who we are at all.”

Baltimore is barely winless. In the opening game on September 5, tight end Isaiah Likely’s right toe hit the back of the end zone on the last play of a 27-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. On Sunday, the Ravens lost on a 38-yard field goal by Daniel Carlson with 27 seconds left.

The Ravens have gone from being the second-most favorite to win the Super Bowl at the start of the season (+850) to last place in the AFC North. The only other time Baltimore was 0-2 in coach John Harbaugh’s 16 seasons was in 2015, when the Ravens posted their worst record under him (5-11).

“We’re not going to let everybody define us by saying we’re not good, we’re good (or) the season is over after two games,” Harbaugh said. “That’s what’s being said, and we understand that, but they’re not here, they’re not in there. Nobody in there is going to say that. We know we’re a good football team, and we’re going to keep getting better and better and better and define the season by the way we play.”

Jackson is the fourth reigning NFL Most Valuable Player since the 1970 merger to lose his first two games of a season, and the first since Kurt Warner in 2002. This was the first time since December 2021 that Jackson has lost two games in a row.

“I’m not used to being 0-2,” said Jackson, who completed 21 of 34 passes for 247 yards with a touchdown and an interception. “(We) just have to use our momentum and get going right away.”

This loss to the Raiders was the third biggest upset in the history of the Ravens, who were favored by 8.5 points, but it was a familiar collapse for Baltimore, who could not hold on to a 10-point lead (23-13) with 10 minutes left.

Since 2022, the Ravens have lost four times after leading by double digits in the fourth quarter, tying them with the Chicago Bears for the most losses in the NFL during that span, according to ESPN Research.

“These are the types of games we can’t lose,” said Ravens offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley. “We’re too good a team to let this game slip away.”

The Ravens are battling a number of issues, ranging from a revamped offensive line to penalties (11 on Sunday) to Justin Tucker’s problems with distance (1 of 7 from 50 yards in his last two seasons).

“I think we blame these problems on our own lack of discipline,” Stanley said. “Whatever it is, we’ll figure it out and I’m very confident we’ll figure it out.”

It was a difficult summer for the Ravens. Longtime offensive line coach Joe D’Alessandris died on August 25. Four players were involved in car accidents, including first-round pick Nate Wiggins on Wednesday.

Now the Ravens are winless and face one of the most difficult stretches of their schedule: They play two defending division champions — in Dallas and at home against Buffalo — before facing Cincinnati. According to ESPN Analytics, Baltimore has a 50% or less chance of winning each of its next three games.

“What defines every single person – how you are defined in difficult moments,” Ravens middle linebacker Roquan Smith said. “I know the guys in the locker room and I know how we feel about it. Believe me, it’s worse for us than anybody else.”