The First Read: Time to exercise panic or patience for winless NFL teams heading into Week 3?

The Ravens have too much talent to envision a complete meltdown, but starting 0-2 is something this team rarely does. It’s only happened once since John Harbaugh became the head coach — in 2015 — and what’s discouraging is that there are a multitude of problems. The defense is going through its share of growing pains under new coordinator Zach Orr, as that unit gave up a 10-point, fourth-quarter lead in Sunday’s 26-23 loss to Las Vegas. The offense has struggled when it comes to critical moments, as well. First, the Ravens had to deal with Lamar Jackson’s missed throws at the end of that season-opening loss to Kansas City, and then they hurt themselves with penalties (11 for 109 yards) and failed third-down conversions (3-for-11) vs. Las Vegas. And even though Derrick Henry played better against the Raiders, his overall impact has been underwhelming behind a revamped offensive line that’s been far from reliable. One of the few things the Ravens can point to for positivity is the fact that a handful of plays have kept them from being 2-0. A slow start in a deep AFC can be ominous — especially since this team’s next three games are against Dallas, Buffalo and Cincinnati — but Baltimore has too much talent and quality coaching to be counted out so early. VERDICT: PATIENCE

Unlike Baltimore, the Bengals do find themselves in a familiar place at the start of the season. This is the third consecutive year that Cincinnati has started 0-2, and quarterback Joe Burrow is now 1-9 in games played in the first two weeks of the season. Now for the good news: The Bengals tend to finish strong. They won the AFC North two years ago after a slow start, and they were rebounding last season until Burrow sustained a season-ending wrist injury in Week 11. Cincinnati’s 26-25 loss to Kansas City on Sunday also suggests this team can get right in a hurry. The Bengals controlled most of the game until the fourth quarter, when Chiefs safety Chamarri Conner returned a Burrow fumble 38 yards for a touchdown, and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes moved his team into position for Harrison Butker’s 51-yard, game-winning field goal before time expired. The Bengals generated more yards (320 to 286) and committed fewer turnovers (one to three) but made just enough mistakes to lose the contest (including a pass interference penalty by Daijahn Anthony on a fourth-and-16 play that set up Butker’s final kick). This is all stuff that can get cleaned up. Just as encouraging were the plays made by role players — most notably, tight end Mike Gesicki and wide receivers Jermaine Burton and Andrei Iosivas — on a day when Tee Higgins was sidelined with a hamstring injury and Ja’Marr Chase was repeatedly double-teamed. Those who didn’t overreact to Cincinnati’s ugly season-opening loss to New England should do the same thing following Week 2’s defeat. The Bengals will be championship contenders if they regularly play like they did in Kansas City. VERDICT: PATIENCE

The Rams were one of the feel-good stories of last year, as they relied on a slew of young players to return to the postseason. The task will be even harder to achieve now that they’ve dropped their first two games. Sunday’s 41-10 loss at Arizona was eye-opening simply because Rams head coach Sean McVay hardly ever falls to that team. He was 13-2 all time against the Cardinals coming in, but a lot changed in this defeat. You knew the offense would have some problems with star wide receiver Puka Nacua potentially sidelined until Week 9 with a knee injury and then with Cooper Kupp exiting the game before halftime with an ankle injury. The more stunning dynamic is the team’s complete inability to run the football. Kyren Williams — who enjoyed a breakout campaign of 1,144 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground in 2023 — has 30 carries for 75 yards (with two scores) thus far this season. The pass defense is even more discouraging. Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray produced a perfect passer rating on Sunday (going 17-for-21 for 266 yards and three touchdowns) after Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams hit the Rams for five catches, 121 yards and a touchdown in the opener. The Rams still have Matthew Stafford at quarterback, but there’s only so much he can do when opponents are averaging 33.5 points per game against them. This team needs to win with firepower; currently, it doesn’t have enough to keep pace with the 49ers, Bears and Packers, all of whom are coming up next. VERDICT: PANIC

If Jacksonville is supposed to be built to win now, then somebody needs to send the message to the team. The Jaguars have scored a total of 30 points in their two losses, and it doesn’t feel like this offense is equipped to change that anemic production quickly. The most obvious problem is the quarterback. Trevor Lawrence is completing just 51 percent of his attempts and he’s thrown only one touchdown pass this season. Those aren’t the kinds of numbers you want to see from a franchise quarterback a few months after he signed a five-year extension that averages $55 million annually. Jacksonville’s 18-13 loss to Cleveland only reinforced the issues for both Lawrence and this offense, as the Jaguars can’t run the ball effectively or generate anything resembling consistency. There’s a bright spot in rookie wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. (who had two receptions for 94 yards against Cleveland), but this team clearly felt the loss of tight end Evan Engram, who was sidelined by a pregame hamstring injury. You want to know how bad it was in Jacksonville on Sunday? The Browns converted just two of their 14 third-down attempts and committed 13 penalties and still won. The Jags now hit the road to face two teams that will be far tougher: Buffalo and Houston. This could get ugly. VERDICT: PANIC

Indianapolis felt like a team that could surprise some people if a few key elements fell into place. So much for that level of optimism. Second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson looks very much like a player who needs plenty of seasoning before he becomes a true game-changer. He threw three interceptions in Sunday’s loss to Green Bay, and he only completed nine of his 19 passes in a season-opening defeat to Houston. Right now, his completion percentage sits at 49.1 percent. The scary part is that he’s not even the worst thing about the Colts. Their defense was facing a Packers squad that didn’t have starting quarterback Jordan Love available, and Green Bay still ran for 261 yards. It wasn’t like it was hard to figure out what the Packers were going to do with backup Malik Willis under center. Even with that being the case, Josh Jacobs ripped off 151 yards on 32 carries. This is one week after Houston’s Joe Mixon gained 159 yards on 30 carries against Indianapolis. Do you see a theme developing here? Unfortunately, everybody else does, too. VERDICT: PANIC

The Carolina Panthers’ 0-2 start resulted in the benching of quarterback Bryce Young, the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, on Monday. Even though the Panthers weren’t considered contenders, it’s worth noting the significance of such a move this early in the season. No matter how Carolina head coach Dave Canales wants to spin this — and as recently as Sunday following the Panthers’ loss to the Chargers, he was talking about Young being the team’s quarterback — this is one more example of how poorly this franchise has managed this situation. Former head coach Frank Reich lasted all of 11 games, with owner David Tepper firing him in November of last year. The team presumably hired Canales because he is known for helping beleaguered quarterbacks turn around their careers, and it’s apparently taken him two games to decide that sitting Young made plenty of sense. There have been upgrades to the offensive line and the skill positions, and Young still hasn’t improved. Don’t expect his confidence to increase now that he’ll be watching Andy Dalton run the team for the foreseeable future. The Panthers drafted Young because they believed he could elevate this franchise. He should be playing through his mistakes instead of paying a heavy price for making them. It surely doesn’t help that the man drafted one spot behind him, C.J. Stroud, has blossomed into a star quarterback in Houston — but that’s not Young’s fault. The Panthers thought Young gave them the best chance to win. All they’ve proven with this latest decision is that he’s not the only reason this plan has gone south in a hurry.

The Saints running back is quickly making people forget that last season was the worst of his career. He produced 180 total yards (including 115 on the ground) and four touchdowns in Sunday’s 44-19 win over Dallas, and it’s fair to say New Orleans isn’t a fluke. Kamara is the headliner on a team averaging 45.5 points through two weeks. If Kamara keeps up this pace — he’s already scored just one fewer touchdown than he had in all of 2023 — he’ll run away with Offensive Player of the Year honors.

Arizona clearly accomplished its goal of creating more touches for its star rookie in the offense. Harrison dominated the first quarter of the Cardinals’ win over the Rams, and what’s scary is how easy he made it look. The No. 4 overall pick finished with four receptions, 130 yards and two touchdowns while roasting the Los Angeles secondary. With Harrison exploding and the Cardinals nearly winning in Buffalo in Week 1, it’s worth rethinking how competitive this team can be this season.

It’s time to start buying into the idea that Darnold was a sneaky-smart acquisition by the Vikings this offseason. He was supposed to be a placeholder until first-round pick J.J. McCarthy settled into the NFL. Now it feels like the Vikings should have higher hopes with Darnold under center and McCarthy recovering from season-ending knee surgery. The veteran delivered another solid performance against the 49ers (268 yards, two touchdowns and an interception), and he’ll have to be even better in the coming weeks. The Vikings face a vicious upcoming schedule — with the Texans, Packers, Jets (in London) and Lions on the horizon — and their receiving corps is beat up.

Tennessee’s second-year quarterback has developed a troubling habit of making bone-headed errors. He did it in a season-opening loss to Chicago, when he tossed an off-balance pass into the air that turned into a pick-six for Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson. Levis then made a similarly stunning decision to try to pitch the ball backward to running back Tyjae Spears against the Jets on Sunday — this time while stumbling forward at New York’s 10-yard line — only to see that play end up in a fumble recovery by Jets linebacker Quincy Williams in that 24-17 loss. Levis has two touchdown passes and three interceptions thus far. He has obvious talent, but it’s hard to see the positives in the way his career with new head coach Brian Callahan is starting off.

The Chiefs pulled off a thrilling, last-second win against Cincinnati, but their rookie left tackle had to watch it from the bench. Kansas City head coach Andy Reid pulled Suamataia in the fourth quarter after a long day of learning hard lessons from Bengals edge rusher Trey Hendrickson. Along with giving up two sacks to Hendrickson, Suamataia was penalized twice (once for holding and again for illegal hands to the face). This is a talented, young player who’s set to face several elite edge rushers — including T.J. Watt, Myles Garrett, Maxx Crosby and Nick and Joey Bosa — throughout this season. He’ll need to grow up fast.

No kicker in NFL history has been more accurate than Tucker, which is why the first two games of this season have been so troubling. The same man who has made 90 percent of his career field-goal attempts missed a 56-yard kick against the Raiders. He also had an errant 53-yard try in a season-opening loss at Kansas City. Tucker holds the league record for longest field goal (66 yards). He’s now made just one of his last seven attempts from 50 yards or longer. 

Baltimore Ravens

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AT

Dallas Cowboys

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The Ravens desperately need a win after suffering through two frustrating losses that easily could’ve been victories. The Cowboys need a strong showing after losing by 25 points at home to a Saints team nobody thought would be this good this early. Both teams have the talent to overcome slow starts, but the reality is they definitely need to rebound fast.

• DraftKings odds: +350
• Weeks in top five: 2
• Next game: at Falcons (SNF) | Sunday, Sept. 22

• DraftKings odds: +550
• Weeks in top five: 2
• Next game: at Vikings | Sunday, Sept. 22

• DraftKings odds: +400
• Weeks in top five: 2
• Next game: vs. Jaguars (MNF) | Monday, Sept. 23

• DraftKings odds: +4000
• Weeks in top five: 1
• Next game: vs. Eagles | Sunday, Sept. 22

• DraftKings odds: +2500
• Weeks in top five: 1
• Next game: vs. Broncos | Sunday, Sept. 22