For the Baltimore Ravens, the early part of this season is very similar to what the team went through about the same time last year.

This season's team has lost its last three games to fall to 3-3, trailing Pittsburgh and Cincinnati by a game and a half in the AFC North. After a bye last week, the Ravens host the unbeaten Denver Broncos on Sunday.

Last year, the Ravens began the season with two wins, but then lost three straight. They went to Miami to take on the surprising Dolphins, knowing they had to win the game to keep alive faint playoff hopes. They beat the Dolphins 27-13 and finished the season with nine wins in their last 11 games to earn a spot in the playoffs.

The Ravens realize that to make the playoffs again this year they must beat the Broncos and finish the season strong once again.

"This is as big a game as we've had here so far this season," cornerback Dominique Foxworth told reporters on Wednesday. "I am rested and eager to get back to work and turn things around."

Foxworth and his teammates in the defensive secondary have come under a lot of criticism. The Ravens rank 23rd in the league in pass defense, giving up 241.5 yards a game. The cornerbacks especially have had problems.

But it's not just the pass defense that is hurting. After not allowing a 100-yard rusher for 39 straight games, the Ravens let Cincinnati's Cedric Benson rush for 120 yards against them in their fifth game of the season. Then, Minnesota's Adrian Peterson rushed for 143 in their sixth game. The Ravens, usually among the top rushing defense in the NFL, are now ranked seventh against the run and 19th overall defensively.

Ravens coach John Harbaugh tried to play down the importance of the Denver game.

"There is always a special sense of urgency, that's how you look at it in this league," he said. "So, to make any game any different would be to demean or diminish the other guys. We aren't interested in doing that."

But it is a critical game, not only because the Ravens can't afford a fourth loss, but because after Sunday, they play away games at Cincinnati and Cleveland, followed by home games against Indianapolis and Pittsburgh. Of those four opponents, only Cleveland is under .500. Baltimore doesn't want to go into those four games with a four-game losing streak.

"You've just really got to take stock of where you are and you've got to look at what you can get better at," Ravens tight end Todd Heap said. "It's the same thing whether you are winning or losing, it's just heightened when you are on a losing streak. There's a little more urgency because we're all aware that we need to get a win."

"There are no steaks. The only thing there is the next game," linebacker Ray Lewis said.

"We understand what's at stake," wide receiver Derrick Mason said. "We understand we're on a three-game losing streak and we've got to dig ourselves out of the hole."

Last year, Baltimore dug itself out of a hole. This year, they can start to do that again Sunday with a win over unbeaten Denver. A victory won't guarantee the Ravens a winning season or a playoff spot, especially with the schedule they play. But it would be a start; it would give them hope for the rest of the season.

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LEFT TACKLE JARED Gaither, who missed the last two games with a neck injury, said he has been cleared to play and will definitely be out there Sunday.

"This is just a bump in the road, a minor setback," he said of his injury. "I've been waiting for this for two weeks now. I'm just happy to be back out there with the guys and practicing with them."

He said he didn't get frustrated.

"It's wasn't tough, it just gave me something to look forward to when I did get out there," he said. "Now I am back out there and will do what I can do."

The Ravens will need their first-team offensive line intact against a Denver defense that's ranked second in the NFL and, in Elvis Dumervil, has the NFL sack leader (10).

n Second-year running back Ray Rice found the bye week strange.

"You wake up Sunday, and not having a game was kind of weird for me," he said. "That was the frustrating part of Sunday, not having a game."

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