A number of teams have fallen flat on their faces after entering the year as popular preseason Super Bowl picks. Minnesota’s offense has crumbled while its new defensive additions have struggled. Carolina was upset by both New Orleans and Miami during the first three weeks.

But neither of these teams looks to be in as much trouble as the Baltimore Ravens. While Minnesota still has a shot to win a NFC North, and Carolina has won its last two games, Baltimore finds itself below the lowly Cleveland Browns in the cellar of the AFC North, a division in which Cincinnati and Pittsburgh are both likely to post double-digit wins by season’s end.

Baltimore’s struggles reached their nadir this weekend when the Ravens gave up 35 points to the Detroit Lions, a team that had scored only 36 points in its first three games. Worse than the scoring was the self-destruction, as Baltimore was called for 21 penalties – the second-highest one-game total in league history – worth a total of 147 yards.

Perhaps no drive defined Baltimore’s season like one Detroit started at its own 27-yard line in the third quarter. Three times during this drive, a Baltimore penalty handed Detroit a new first down. In the most astonishing turn of events, the Ravens gave the Lions six different opportunities to score from the one-yard line. After stopping the Lions three times, Baltimore defensive tackle Maake Kemoeatu celebrated by flashing an obscene gesture to the Ford Field crowd … which led to Detroit getting three more opportunities to score from the one-yard line. When you give a team six chances to gain one yard, it will eventually do it – even if it is the Detroit Lions.

The Ravens were so incensed by this touchdown that they drew two more penalties, leading to the absurd visual of Detroit’s Jason Hanson kicking off from the Baltimore 40-yard line.

The loss to Detroit is even more ironic because Baltimore finally seems to be rounding into form – just in time for the personalities on the team to self-destruct while the schedule gets much more difficult.

The defense, for example, finally seems on track after problems containing Peyton Manning and Steve McNair in its first two games. On Sunday, two of Detroit’s touchdowns came as a result of poor special teams play – drives that began within the Baltimore 25-yard line following an interception and a long punt return. Another came after the odd play where a Joey Harrington incomplete pass was ruled a fumble after Detroit’s Kevin Jones picked it up and advanced it to the Baltimore two-yard line.

Admittedly, the Ravens have straightened out their defense against a quarterback who was immediately benched (the Jets’ Brooks Bollinger) and a quarterback who would be if his backup wasn’t recovering from a broken leg (Detroit’s Joey Harrington).But the Ravens have improved from 5.2 yards allowed per play in the first two weeks to 3.8 yards allowed per play in the last two weeks, and also snagged their first two interceptions of the season against the Lions.

And the Baltimore offense, though still one of the league’s worst, seems to be inching forward as well. Running back Jamal Lewis, only two years removed from a 2,000-yard season, has just 236 yards and has averaged a miserable 3.2 yards per carry. But he had his best game of the season (95 yards on 19 carries) against a Detroit defense that, the week before, had neutralized Rookie of the Year candidate Cadillac Williams of Tampa Bay.

Even the passing game seems to be getting better, although for Baltimore this means going from the league’s worst air attack to one of the league’s five worst air attacks. The Ravens have gained 6.3 yards per pass attempt over the last two games, compared to 4.7 yards per pass attempt in the first two games.

Free agent arrival Derrick Mason has finally given the Ravens that elusive animal they have missed the last few years: an actual, real-life skilled wide receiver. Mason has 278 yards receiving and has caught 71% of the balls thrown to him. Baltimore’s other wide receivers, combined, have only 170 yards receiving and have caught just 37% of the balls thrown to them.

The problem for the Ravens is that Tennessee and Detroit were supposed to be the winnable games. Baltimore has a good shot to take its next two contests, first at home against Cleveland and then on the road in Chicago, but then the schedule gets much harder. Between Week 8 and Week 14, the Ravens play the Bengals and Steelers twice each, and go on the road to face 3-2 Jacksonville and 4-1 Denver.

Even with a little bit of improvement, Baltimore’s offense is still going to be below average, and that means that the Ravens must have a top defense in order to compete for a division title. Despite troubles in the first two weeks, despite 35 points for Detroit, that defense may still be one of the league’s best. But it won’t be good enough to win if it continues handing opponents extra opportunities by acting like spoiled children.

Mr. Schatz is the editor in chief of FootballOutsiders.com.