The NFL season is officially underway, and many interesting events occurred over the course of the past three weeks. With referees getting severely injured, Tyrod Taylor actually winning a couple games, and multiple season ending injuries, this year should be a good one.

The Baltimore Ravens were disappointing to say the least the past three Sundays. Although I am a strong supporter of Joe Flacco, he didn’t play well week one. The offensive line struggled for the Ravens against the Denver Broncos, and completing only 18 passes for 117 yards with two INTs isn’t going to cut it against one of the best defenses in the league.

In bigger news, the Ravens lost their reliable pass rusher Terrell Suggs in week one. Suggs last diagnosis was a torn achilles, which will keep him out for the year, according to bleacherreport.com.

However, the loss to the Oakland Raiders cannot be blamed on Flacco. Flacco had 45 passing attempts against the Raiders and completed 71 percent of his passes with two touchdowns. The biggest struggle for the Ravens against the Raiders was the play of the defense.

Allowing 448 yards of total offense to Derek Carr and the Raiders is unacceptable. The Raiders, a team who lost to one of the Raven’s division foes last week, the Cincinnati Bengals, is not one of the elite teams in the NFL.

The Ravens lost their home opener against the Bengals on Sunday, and in my opinion, the game was a must win. The chances of the Ravens making it to the playoffs this year are slim to none at this point. However, a season ending injury to a division foe’s starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger does help their chances.

The play of Steve Smith Sr. and Crockett Gillmore have impressed me so far for the Ravens. Smith Sr., has accumulated 349 yards this season with two touchdowns. Smith Sr. has had back-to-back games with at least 150 yards receiving. Gillmore, a player that no one really saw coming, has been a key offensive contribute, despite low expectations.

The Ravens won their first game against the Pittsburgh Steelers last night 23-20. A win goes down in the record book but the play of the Ravens and Steelers was nothing spectacular. In a game full of miscues, the Ravens came out on top with a 52 yard field goal by kicker Justin Tucker.

Another injury that caught most people by surprise during the Ravens and Broncos game was an injury that left a referee in what seemed to be excruciating pain. According to www.cbssports.com, the referee suffered a broken collarbone, nine broken ribs, and a collapsed lung during Sunday’s game.

Tyrod Taylor, the Ravens former backup quarterback, got his first NFL win week one, leading the Buffalo Bills to a 27-14 win over the Indianapolis Colts. The only thing that worries me about this win for Taylor and the Bills is that the “Flacco haters” will rise once again. I’ll take Flacco and his Super Bowl ring over Taylor any day.

In other news, Tony Romo actually led a successful game-winning drive week one against the New York Giants. However, Romo broke his collarbone the following week. The Cowboys will have to go the next four to eight weeks without starting wide receiver Dez Bryant, and Romo has been placed on the short-term IR list.

With the first couple of weeks of this season in the books, there doesn’t seem to be any dominant team, but time will tell. Ravens fans have the rest of a promising season to look forward to. The Ravens are now 0-3 with losses to Broncos, Raiders, and Bengals.  A great season seems to be in store for Flacco and the Ravens.

Alex Rasmussen is a Social Media Manager for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.

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