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Some teams don’t like to see the bye week so early in the season, but for Baltimore Ravens star safety Kyle Hamilton, it comes at just the right time.
Perhaps the biggest surprise through six weeks of the 2025 NFL season is that the Ravens are 1-5, mired in a four-game losing streak as they enter the bye week. They were a serious Super Bowl contender early in the year, but a combination of injuries and inconsistent play have them facing an uphill battle just to make the playoffs in January 2026.
But, while sports talk shows and fans rant and rave about what’s going wrong for the Ravens, Hamilton knows his team has the opportunity to put together a “great story” with its remaining schedule.
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Kyle Hamilton of the Baltimore Ravens reacts after a play against the Detroit Lions during the first half of an NFL football game at M&T Bank Stadium on September 22, 2025, in Baltimore, Maryland. (Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
“We still have 11 guaranteed games left,” he told PK Press Club Digital before participating in a Ravens NFL FLAG clinic with military children and their families at the team’s practice facility on Monday. “So it’s up to us to right the ship and steer it in the right direction because the season isn’t over. We know that, and that’s why I’m coming back to the bye week. It’s good for us to reset, refocus and get back on our feet when we come back.”
Hamilton’s first three seasons in the NFL were filled with regular season success, with the Ravens making the playoffs each season. But any NFL player knows that adversity will come to a team, no matter what the record says.
So this bye week is crucial at a time when the Ravens can step back and evaluate, individually and collectively, what went wrong.
The Ravens expect Lamar Jackson to return in Week 8 after a fourth straight loss.
“Every year that I’ve been in the league, it seems like the bye week comes at the perfect time,” Hamilton added. “I think it shows that you can use a bye week whenever we need it, which is the case now. It’s even more needed now than in the past. I think it would be good for the team to keep things simpler than necessary. Sit back and not have to think too much for a week. Obviously we’re preparing for the Bears when we come back and that kind of thing, but I think it would be good as a hard reset for us as a team and simply a self-assessment. “
Bye weeks can also help teams get healthier, and two key players have been out for the Ravens: quarterback Lamar Jackson and middle linebacker Roquan Smith.
Jackson, a two-time MVP, was unable to participate in the last two games, and the Ravens’ offense suffered in his absence. But head coach John Harbaugh expects him to be back in Week 8 when the Ravens face the Chicago Bears – a well-deserved return.
Kyle Hamilton of the Baltimore Ravens reacts during an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams at M&T Bank Stadium on October 12, 2025, in Baltimore, Maryland. (Michael Owens/Getty Images)
“Those two guys are the heart of our team, especially Lamar. No offense to Ro, he’s obviously a big heart of our team. But Lamar is our quarterback, and he’s the guy that puts butts in stadium seats, sells tickets and wins games for us,” Hamilton said. “Obviously, we also contribute defensively and supporting the guys on offense. But, at the end of the day, [No.] 8 is what makes this thing work.”
Coach Harbaugh also noted after his loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday that he believes his team has what it takes to put on the winning streak needed to make the playoffs later this season. After all, many players on this list were there in 2023, when Baltimore won 10 of 11 games before resting its starters in the regular-season finale to ensure playoff health.
Only four NFL teams have managed to overcome a 1-5 start to the season and make the playoffs. But, as Hamilton said, this group has what it takes to make this great story come true.
RAVENS’ LOSS TO LIONS PUT BALTIMORE IN UNWANTED PLACE IN NFL HISTORY BOOKS
“Obviously we’re not in the position we wanted to be in as a team. But if there’s a problem, [team] who can do it is us,” Hamilton said. “I think that’s the mindset that everyone in this building has right now. Obviously the players, the coaches, the fans, everyone who supports us is disappointed with the results we have achieved so far in the season.
“We have to get to the end of the bye and do what we say. It’s just talk until we go out there and win games.”
The Ravens had a tough schedule to start the season, but their final 12 weeks should be easier based on how their opponents performed to start the season.
Kyle Hamilton of the Baltimore Ravens warms up before an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions at M&T Bank Stadium on September 22, 2025 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
The circumstances are different from 2023, of course, but the usual ‘one game at a time’ mindset is the one Hamilton will adopt. It starts at week 8.
“I think it’s good to focus on one day at a time, one week at a time and I think the wins start to pile up when you do that. But we can’t get too far ahead and say, ‘We have to win eight games in a row to get in,’ or whatever. We just have to win one game,” he said.
IMPACT ON MILITARY CHILDREN
A change of pace during the bye week can be beneficial for a struggling team, and that’s what Hamilton saw Monday when he partnered with Toyota to help create a positive impact on Baltimore’s military community by hosting a Ravens NFL FLAG clinic for military children through “Our Military Kids.”
After all, flag football was invented right next to the Ravens’ training facility at Fort Meade in the 1940s, during World War II.
Baltimore Ravens star Kyle Hamilton participates in a flag football event through Toyota with children from “Our Military Kids.” (Toyota/Our military children)
“It’s super fun and I’m honestly grateful to Toyota for letting me be a part of it,” Hamilton said of the event. “I know Toyota is a big supporter of NFL FLAG and has helped 300,000 people. I know there’s a slogan they like, ‘All in, all season,’ and I think that’s very true with what they’ve done with this program and with the NFL in general.”
Toyota’s belief that football grows communities has led to its support of more than 300,000 NFL FLAG youth players across the country through sponsorships to date.
