BALTIMORE -- The once-proud Baltimore Ravens defense has put the season in jeopardy. The Ravens stunningly sit at 1-4 on the season because their defense can't finish games.
The Ravens blew two fourth-quarter leads and allowed the winning 32-yard field goal in overtime to Josh McCown and the NFL's 20th-ranked offense in a 33-30 loss Sunday to the Cleveland Browns at M&T Bank Stadium.
"I'm the first to say, I put this on the defense as a whole," cornerback Jimmy Smith said. "We didn't come through today. We were supposed to show up, and we did not show up in the second half."
A banged-up Baltimore defense looked like it had been roughed up in giving back leads of 21-16 and 27-22 to the Browns.
For the season, the Ravens have lost five fourth-quarter leads. Michael Vick, a backup in Pittsburgh, is the only quarterback Baltimore has beaten.
The Ravens have allowed 137 points this season, the most they've given up in the first five games of any season in their 20-year existence.
This isn't the same defense that had Hall of Famers like Ray Lewis and Ed Reed and put fear in opposing offenses. This defense was without its two top pass-rushers -- Elvis Dumervil didn't play in the second half because of a groin injury, and Terrell Suggs is out for the season with an Achilles injury -- and was down to two healthy experienced cornerbacks thanks to injuries to Lardarius Webb and Will Davis.
This shows the current state of the Ravens' defense: McCown threw for 425 yards in regulation, the fourth-most ever against a Ravens defense. He finished with 457 yards passing.
It's difficult to imagine the Ravens can stop this downward spiral when they can't stop a Browns offense at home.
What it means: The Ravens' playoff hopes are officially in trouble, and this loss was a morale crusher. Since 1990, only 5 percent of teams (6 of 121) to start 1-4 have advanced to the postseason. This marks the first time since 2007 that the Ravens lost to the Browns in Baltimore. John Harbaugh and Joe Flacco had been 13-1 in their careers against Cleveland. The Ravens are now alone in last place in the AFC North.
What were they thinking? On Flacco's first-quarter touchdown run, Cleveland defense bit on his fake to running back Justin Forsett, which allowed the 6-foot-6 quarterback to roll left and score a 1-yard touchdown without being touched.
One reason to be optimistic: The Ravens' offense didn't totally stall in its first game without leading receiver Steve Smith, who was inactive with a back injury. Kamar Aiken, a journeyman, stepped up with four catches for 78 yards, most of which came in Baltimore's 14-point first quarter. Flacco spread the ball around more than any other game this season, connecting with eight different receivers.
One reason to panic: Injuries to the secondary. It's starting to look like last season, when there was a revolving door at cornerback. The Ravens played with only three healthy cornerbacks (Jimmy Smith, Kyle Arrington and rookie Tray Walker) in the second half after Webb (thigh) and Davis (knee) went down with injuries. Webb was probable to return but didn't play after halftime. Davis had a more serious injury and was listed as doubtful to come back. That forced Baltimore to play safety Terrence Brooks at nickelback.
Fantasy watch: Forsett ran for 121 yards and scored a touchdown in what was a predictably good game. Forsett's value increased before the game, when the Ravens made backup Lorenzo Taliaferro inactive. Taliaferro is the red zone back. Forsett needed to be helped off the field late in the fourth quarter and didn't play in overtime.
Ouch: Dumervil (groin) didn't play the entire second half as injuries mounted for Ravens. With Suggs already out for the season, Baltimore went with rookie fourth-round pick Za'Darius Smith and Courtney Upshaw at linebacker. ... Webb (thigh) and Davis (knee) were injured in the first half. ... WR Darren Waller (concussion) was hurt in the third quarter and didn't return. With Steve Smith (back) inactive, the Ravens had three healthy receivers: Aiken, Marlon Brown and Chris Givens.
What's next: The Ravens play at the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. It's the first time these teams have met in a game that counts since the Ravens beat the 49ers in the Super Bowl 32 months ago.