Sunday can't get any worse for the Baltimore Ravens.
Minutes after the team's 19-13 loss to the Denver Broncos, the club announced that pass rusher Terrell Suggs tore his left Achilles and is out for the year.
Suggs was carted off the field in the fourth quarter, stripping Baltimore of a team leader and one of the NFL's difference-making pass rushers -- even at age 32.
It's worth noting that the injury is not a repeat of his 2012 setback, when Suggs tore his right Achilles in the offseason. Still, this late in his career, it's fair to wonder what this means for Suggs' future in the NFL.
"It's hard to replace a guy like Terrell Suggs," Ravens pass rusher Elvis Dumervil told NFL Media's James Palmer. "He brings so much to our defense, so it's a blow where we kind of have to rally as a team. Guys have to step up, myself included. It was one of the reasons I came here, so it's huge. But we got guys here, we have depth and we got to rally behind each other. No one wants to feel sorry for us that's for sure."
It's a tremendous loss for the Ravens, but what we saw from Baltimore on Sunday provides hope: The team frazzled Peyton Manning, sacking the Broncos quarterback four times and holding Denver to just 3.2 yards per play. Losing Suggs -- one of six players with 100 sacks since 2003 -- will mean more playing time for Dumervil and added pressure on Courtney Upshaw and fourth-round pick Za'Darius Smith.
Suggs was a big part of the effort on Sunday, with the former Defensive Player of the Year and Super Bowl-winner pestering Broncos blockers and helping to fuel a front seven that controlled the line of scrimmage. Future dominance in Baltimore won't be easy without him on the field.
