Raiders assistant head coach Marvin Lewis had no answer when I asked him Monday about the last time he saw a dominating NFL defense.

He thought for another 30 seconds. He still didn’t have a response.

“Hey, I can’t tell you,” the former Ravens defensive coordinator and Bengals coach said.

It might be a long time before we hear comparisons with those great defenses from the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1970s, or the Chicago Bears in the mid-1980s, or the 2000 Ravens.

It might never happen again, actually. NFL rules and regulations have steadily trended toward helping offenses, an emphasis by Commissioner Roger Goodell since he took over in 2006.

He’s not the only reason. The rise of the dual-threat quarterback, shutdown cornerbacks getting paid massive salaries, the college football transfer portal and youth seven-on-seven tournaments have all played a part.

But let’s be clear: this is not an excuse for the Ravens’ defense and their woeful secondary that is the worst in the NFL. This group can’t cover a small pot of boiling water much less shut down a top receiver like Cincinnati’s Ja’Marr Chase or even a no-name like Cleveland’s Cedric Tillman.

But it might be a sign of things to come.

“When you can cover, you can play good defense,” Lewis said. “If you have that second element of a rush, you’re going to be really good.”

Lewis would know. He was the architect of that historic 2000 Ravens defense that set a 16-game record by allowing only 165 total points and only 970 rushing yards.

That team had a dominating front with strong pass rushers on the outside in outside linebacker Peter Boulware, ends Michael McCrary and Rob Burnett, and good cover cornerbacks in Chris McAlister and Duane Starks. And, of course, there was middle linebacker Ray Lewis.

No team comes close to that level now. It’s embarrassing watching some of these games because receivers are so wide-open that defenders aren’t even on the TV screen.

What’s the problem? There are many.

“I think by utilizing the quarterback as a runner and the [run-pass option] game and so forth, they do make it 11-on-11 football,” Lewis said, “so defenses don’t have that one-man edge. You have players making their reads on one and two, and that’s keeping them further from the receiver.”

Offenses are utilizing more presnap motion, which can cause communication issues for a defense, a problem the Ravens have had in the secondary. Offensive coordinator Todd Monken uses a lot of shifts, even to the point where it doesn’t seem to make much sense.

Few teams use motion more than Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel. His offense is not like decades ago in which teams lined up in traditional formations with two running backs.

“That’s why you can have some wide-open people because there is such a change each week in game plans and how it’s applied,” Lewis said. “And if the formation ends up a little different than what you practice, then you have explosive plays. One or two people are going in motion every play, so defensively you’re trying to react to that. Heaven forbid you get a young guy that hasn’t played a lot.”

That could happen. Shutdown cornerbacks, such as the Jets’ Sauce Gardner and Broncos’ Patrick Surtain II, are like the quarterback or receiver on offense. They get paid big bucks, but that usually hurts a team elsewhere.

Dominant pass rushers also get paid well. The Ravens couldn’t afford to keep outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney, who signed a two-year, $20 million deal with the Panthers in March after having a career year with Baltimore in 2023.

Sacks and interceptions get you paid.

“It’s a learned thing from college, and unfortunately when they get here, they think the interceptions get them notoriety even though when you study them, it’s the same guys giving up big plays,” Lewis said.

Having or keeping a top cornerback is only part of the problem. During the Ravens’ 2012 championship season, opposing teams feared throwing across the middle because of safety Bernard Pollard. He was an enforcer, much like former 49ers safety Ronnie Lott.

The Ravens have usually had a thumper like Pollard in the middle or a player who covered a lot of ground, much like Rod Woodson did in 2000. Hall of Famer Ed Reed could do both.

Those days are gone, too.

“Officials react to an explosive hit, not whether it’s helmet to helmet,” Lewis said. “They just react to it, and so that’s been taken out of the game for fear of being fined or ejected. And quarterbacks literally have no fear of throwing the ball down the middle of the field.”

According to Lewis, who worked for Arizona State from 2019-23, there has also been a dropoff in fundamentals from college players as they enter the NFL. The transfer portal has played a big part in that because players are hopping from program to program.

“If you look at them cross-eyed, they leave,” Lewis said, laughing.

There is also an emphasis on seven-on-seven tournaments, which is popular among youngsters and teenagers. The problem is it’s not the same game. It’s all about the offense.

“The kids are all playing in these seven-on-seven leagues and that’s the whole emphasis, that’s the whole structure,” Lewis said. “Then they go to college and the time has been cut down, so there’s not much continuity because they move on. So the fundamentals kind of go by the way wide, like tackling and so forth.

“That makes a difference, too. Cornerbacks get out of position because they’re always looking in the backfield and then they go into a panic mode and that’s when they get a penalty. I think it’s a reaction from the first part of being so unsound, so they have to grab or do whatever to stop the receiver from catching the ball.”

Lewis thought the Ravens were playing well despite his Raiders upsetting them, 26-23, on Sept. 15. He believed the Ravens played more man-to-man because that’s what they wanted to improve on.

Since then, the Ravens have struggled to cover anybody. Fortunately, so has just about every other team.

The Ravens still have a real shot at returning to the AFC championship game, which is trending toward being in Kansas City. The Chiefs, much like Baltimore, have flipped a switch, with their defense leading the way and Patrick Mahomes and company still working out their issues.

Beating Kansas City will require a strong pass rush and good coverage. The former hasn’t been consistent and the latter has been horrendous.

But hey, what else is new? It’s the NFL these days.

Have a news tip? Contact Mike Preston at epreston@baltsun.com, 410-332-6467 and x.com/MikePrestonSun.