Maybe the Ravens discovered during the bye week that this franchise was built on a philosophy of toughness.

That’s been the missing ingredient this season, and for the team’s sake, Baltimore will need to develop some in the final four games of the regular season and the postseason.

Let’s call it an identity crisis, one that isn’t just physical but also mental.

Pittsburgh has the physical attributes, and they have beaten the Ravens in eight of the past nine meetings. Both Cleveland and Philadelphia had it, especially the Eagles, who simply outmuscled the Ravens in the final eight minutes of the fourth quarter Dec 1.

Then there is the psychological part of the game. Ravens fans will point to conspiracy theories and the influence of gambling on the Chiefs having won 15 straight one-score games, but that’s ridiculous.

They want to forget that Kansas City has the NFL’s best coach in Andy Reid, the top tight end in Travis Kelce and possibly the best defensive coordinator in Steve Spagnuolo.Then there’s quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who has led the team to four Super Bowl appearances since becoming the starter in 2018. Kansas City could become the first team to three-peat if it wins another title in February, and Mahomes is 4-1 against Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson.

In other words, the Chiefs don’t flinch in crunch time. The Ravens? They’ve blinked in the fourth quarter of all their losses.

Some of it can be blamed on coaching, but coaches in the NFL are supposed to get their teams to the final four minutes of each game and rely on playmakers making plays.

That’s when the tough guys take over by either wearing down an opponent or forcing them into submission. That hasn’t worked for the Ravens, either.

In the past, opponents feared that most about the Ravens. If you played Baltimore, they’d either beat you or the fatigue would carry into the next game. The Ravens still thrive on that style against teams like Jacksonville, Houston and even Buffalo, but it doesn’t work in the AFC North or against teams like Philadelphia.

The Ravens have lost their way.

When the team first moved to Baltimore from Cleveland in the mid-1990s, they brought in giant offensive linemen like Orlando Brown and Jeff Blackshear. Those guys had reputations as maulers and had brawling nicknames like “Zeus” (Brown) and “Big Black” (Blackshear). Even the “smallest” of the group, center/guard Wally Williams, liked to fight because he was an undrafted free agent from Florida A&M.

From 2013 to 2017, the Ravens even had a center, Ryan Jensen, who his teammates called “Big Red” because of his red hair. I called him “Big Red” because he got into a fight almost every week.

He went on to start six seasons in Tampa Bay, winning Super Bowl 55 with Tom Brady.

The Ravens don’t have guys like that on their offensive line. We’ll call them intimidators.

They don’t have that type of player at receiver either, someone who could stir emotions like Michael Irvin did with Dallas in the 1990s or Steve Smith Sr. with Carolina from 2001 to 2013. The best they have is the emotional Zay Flowers.

That’s not enough.

Jackson causes excitement with his electrifying plays, but even he doesn’t fire up an offensive line like Buffalo’s Josh Allen when he runs over a linebacker or Mahomes after he trucked San Francisco 49ers safety Malik Mustapha several games ago on a short touchdown run up the middle.

The Ravens have mauled teams on occasion with running back Derrick Henry, but it came against lightweight defensive lines in Buffalo, Dallas and Cincinnati. It didn’t happen against the Las Vegas Raiders, the Browns or the Eagles.

Tough guys on defense have been the Ravens’ calling card for years. They’ve had two Hall of Famers in middle linebacker Ray Lewis and safety Ed Reed, and possibly a third in outside linebacker Terrell Suggs.

But the Ravens have also had enforcers, players who did the dirty work. They were the blue-collar workers like defensive tackles Haloti Ngata, Tony Siragusa, Sam Adams, end Rob Burnett and safety Bernard Pollard.

They’d either take you out or knock you out. Your choice. The current Ravens have some tough players like safety Kyle Hamilton, cornerback Marlon Humphrey and middle linebacker Roquan Smith. Smith is borderline dirty but at least he has a presence.

The rest are good players, but not the menacing type. Teams don’t fear the Ravens anymore.

In Pittsburgh before a game with Baltimore a few years ago, the Steelers showed coach Mike Tomlin shadowboxing while coming out of the players’ tunnel before the game. The crowd went crazy.

As I watch the current Ravens, they can win the AFC. The Chiefs are weak at offensive tackle and are having cornerback problems. Buffalo plays virtually no defense and the Ravens already ran through them with Henry earlier this season.

That leaves Pittsburgh and maybe Houston, but the Texans have had some struggles this season. Against the Steelers, the Ravens will need to get their swag back. I’m not just talking about wins and losses, but being in that tough guy mode again.

That’s the way it used to be when Ravens tight end Shannon Sharpe would make derogatory remarks about Pittsburgh wide receiver Hines Ward or when Steelers running back Jerome Bettis feared playing against Lewis.

That’s when the Ravens had an edge. That’s when they played with reckless abandon and smacked other teams around. That’s when they knew who they were.

Now, they need to find their way back.

INJURY REPORT

Ravens

Questionable: OLB Adisa Isaac (hamstring), S Sanoussi Kane (hamstring), NT Michael Pierce (calf), CB T.J. Tampa (ankle)

Giants

Out: DL Rakeem Nunez-Roches (neck/shoulder), LB Bobby Okereke (back), DB Dru Phillips (shoulder), OL Jon Runyan (ankle)

Doubtful: QB Drew Lock (heel/left elbow), DB Cor’Dale Flott (quad)

Questionable: DB Tae Banks (rib), OL Chris Hubbard (knee), LB Dyontae Johnson (ankle), OL Austin Schlottmann (fibula)

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