By the time the Baltimore Ravens play another game

By the time the Baltimore Ravens play another game Authentic Za'Darius Smith Jersey , they'll have gone five weeks without a victory.After enduring nine straight weeks of football to get this far, the weary, aching Ravens will gladly take a week off before attempting to end a three-game losing streak.Baltimore (4-5) will use the time off to rest, regroup and assess what went wrong during an inexplicable skid following a 4-2 start."We'll look at everything, as we always do during the bye week," coach John Harbaugh said after Sunday's 23-16 loss to Pittsburgh. "I think the biggest thing we need to do is get healthy and get fresh."Getting back starting tackles Ronnie Stanley (ankle) and James Hurst (back) will certainly help an offense that started the season going 12 for 12 in converting red zone opportunities into touchdowns over the first three games. Lately, though, those chances inside the 20 have resulted in field goals.Twice in the first half, the Ravens drove deep into Pittsburgh territory and had to settle for field goals."It's frustrating because in these types of games, you don't get that many plays and that many opportunities, and obviously, scoring touchdowns is the name of the game," quarterback Joe Flacco said.In the first half, Pittsburgh scored two touchdowns and the Ravens got two field goals. That put Baltimore in a hole from which it could not recover."It helps if you can run it in," Harbaugh said.The Ravens have yet to get their running game on track. On Sunday Youth Maurice Canady Jersey , they finished with 61 yards rushing 鈥?including two attempts for 4 yards after halftime."I think we can turn it around," wide receiver John Brown said. Brown was Flacco's go-to guy early in the season, but his effectiveness has been negated by frequent double teams."Things happen. We have to find a way to get it right," Brown said.But a struggling offense is only one of Baltimore's issues.The NFL's most dominant defense has suddenly become vulnerable to the pass, particularly the underneath routes that elongate drives and turn short throws into big gainers."They kept us on the field for a lot of long drives, just grinding us down," defensive end Brent Urban said. "You can't win like that."Since blanking the Titans 21-0 in Week 6, the Ravens have yielded 82 points in three defeats. Sixty-seven of those points came in a stretch of six periods through halftime of Sunday's loss."That's not up to our defensive standard," defensive back Anthony Levine said. "We know what our standard is, and that isn't it."With the Ravens struggling at the bye and in danger of missing the postseason for the fourth year in a row, it's only natural that Harbaugh would start fielding questions about job security. He said Sunday he wasn't concerned with being fired."I've never been someone who's worried about keeping a job," he said. "It's always been, for me, (about) doing the job." Giovani Bernard is the last veteran running back standing for the Cincinnati Bengals, and even he was limited in practice on Wednesday.The Bengals (2-0) head to Carolina (1-1) with Bernard as their only experienced back who knows their system. No. 3 back Tra Carson was waived Wednesday after suffering a hamstring injury in practice.The Bengals signed free agent running back Thomas Rawls http://www.ravensauthorizedshops.com/authentic-mark-andrews-jersey , who was released by the Jets at the end of training camp.The running game has shown significant improvement over last year, helping the Bengals get off to their fast start. The challenge is to keep it going with only one proven option to carry the ball."I feel like people are freaking out but my goodness, it's football," Bernard said Wednesday before his limited practice. "Guys are going to go down and the next man has to step up and be prepared."Joe Mixon hurt his right knee during a 34-23 win over Baltimore on Thursday night. He had a surgical procedure over the weekend to remove a piece of torn cartilage. He walked without a limp or a brace Wednesday, saying the knee felt good. He'll be sidelined for a few games as the knee recovers."I'm not sure of the timetable and however the recovery process is going to be or whatever they are going to let me do," Mixon said.Mixon's injury opened the way for Carson to move into a bigger role behind Bernard, but he got hurt during practice on Monday.The Bengals decided they needed another healthy runner and signed Rawls, who played for Seattle from 2015-17, starting 17 games.Rawls did his best in his rookie season, carrying 147 times for 830 yards and a 5.6-yard average. His production dropped each of the next two seasons, and he was released after carrying 58 times for 157 yards in 2017.The Bengals also have rookie Mark Walton, a fourth-round pick in 2018. Walton had only 21 yards on 22 carries in the preseason."I was hesitating, second-guessing myself," Walton said. "I had a lot of cutbacks."Provided he's healthy, Bernard will get the ball a lot at Carolina James Hurst Jersey , moving into a role that he's filled on occasion during his five-year career. He's been used more as a complement to BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Jeremy Hill and Mixon over the years, pressed into a featured role when the starter was injured."He may be 5-foot-8, 200 (pounds), but he's about 6-foot-4, 250 in heart," running backs coach Kyle Caskey said. "So he's one of those guys who's going to be more productive and explosive than you think he's going to be with his size."Bernard has carried the ball 20 or more times in three games during his career, including a 23-carry, 116-yard performance during a 26-17 win over Detroit on Dec. 24.Bernard's biggest contribution to the offense has been as a receiver. He's caught at least five passes in a game 23 times, with nine as his career high. He has two 100-yard receiving games."He does the same things I do," Mixon said. "I have complete faith in Gio and however they are going to use him. I'm not worried about any downfall in the running game and passing game. He's done it for years."PRICE IN THE BOOTRookie center Billy Price was walking with a boot on his injured right foot Wednesday. He sprained the foot when it was stepped on during the win over the Ravens. Doctors concluded on Wednesday that the injury won't need surgery.He'll wear the boot continuously for two weeks and get treatment."We'll reevaluate in two weeks and see where we're at," Price said.ALSO SIDELINEDDefensive end Michael Johnson hurt his left knee early in the game against the Ravens and was limited in practice on Wednesday. Linebacker Preston Brown missed the Ravens game with a sprained right ankle and also had a limited workout.