Call me an optimist, call me an apologist, but it’s fair to say that the term “next man up” can only be used so often until the point that the product on the field suffers depending on the personnel a coach has available to them.
I understand, that by late December, every team is banged up and dealing with injuries and the Ravens aren’t alone in that aspect. What I don’t understand however, is how Baltimore’s D could be expected to shut down Rodgers, Davante Adams & Co. without the likes of Marcus Peters, Marlon Humphrey, Jimmy Smith, Chuck Clark, DeShon Elliott, Chris Westry, and Tavon Young (who exited in the 2nd quarter of Sunday’s game with a concussion). Replacements Robert Jackson and Kevon Seymour played valiantly, but ultimately the depletion of the Ravens defense, particularly the secondary, played a key role in Harbaugh’s decision to go for two.
As disappointing as Sunday’s outcome was all is lost for the Ravens. While it is downright depressing seeing The Flock drop three straight games in December and in turn surrender the division lead to the rival Cincinnati Bengals, Baltimore has shown enough positive things on the field for me to believe the season is not yet lost heading into the final stretch.
The one thing I’m impressed with the most with this Ravens team is, with an injury list longer than Rapunzel’s locks and all the other adversity the team has faced this season, they’ve continued to smile in the face of adversity and fight through a very challenging season, all while remaining relevant in a clustered AFC playoff race.
When it would’ve been easy for the Ravens to fold given the injuries, Harbaugh has instilled a never-quit, family-like team culture that has his guys playing a gritty-style of football in games they have no business being competitive in, on paper. Andrews echoed this same sentiment in his post-game press conference following Sunday’s loss.
“We have a team that fights. We have a team that never quits.”
Looking ahead however, being competitive won’t be enough if the Ravens want to return to the playoffs for a 4th straight season. This week, Harbaugh commented on whether he expects star QB Lamar Jackson to suit up for practice Wednesday in preparation for the teams upcoming game in Cincy.
“As far as the details of it all, that’s not something we need to share with the world, but I’m hopeful.”
Jackson will miss his 3rd game of the season if he’s not able to play Sunday. However, the Ravens should count themselves lucky they have a backup as good as Huntley as the 2nd-year signal-caller has played admirably in Jackson’s absence.
No matter who starts under center for the Ravens, the entire team will have to execute in all three phases if they are going to take their division lead back from the Bengals who punked them earlier in the season 41-17 at M&T Bank Stadium.
The Ravens have beaten the Bengals by a combined score of 87-20 in their last two trips to Cincy, although they open as 2.5-point underdogs for Sunday’s game, which marks the first time they’ll head into Cincy as underdogs since 2017, a game in which they won 20-0, per Ravens reporter Jamison Hensley.
This game promises to feature four quarters of smash-mouth AFC North football with both teams needing this game to propel themselves into pole position to win the division. The Ravens will look to avoid being swept by the Bengals for the first time since 2015-16 when they take on Joe Burrow & Co. at 1pm EST at Paul Brown Stadium.
