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TL’s TAKES: A Total Team Loss

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With the Ravens holding a 20-3 lead in the second quarter I couldn’t help but to think how perfectly the game was playing out for the team, AT THAT TIME. But admittedly, when Lamar & Co. couldn’t convert a 3rd-and-5 from their own 30 at the two-minute mark of the first half, thoughts of the fourth-quarter defensive collapse against the Dolphins wormed their way into my mind.

In the end, the defense did give up a 17-point lead to a very dangerous offense, as the Bills knotted the score at 20. But make no mistake about it, this was a team loss, including the coaching staff. From that failed drive towards the end of the first half, up to the 13:38 mark of the fourth, the Ravens offense put up just 45 yards. That ineptitude invited the comeback and the Bills graciously accepted the invitation.

Here are my takeaways from the 23-20 loss.

Coaching

Positives

Mike Macdonald implemented a plan to contain the Bills’ high octane offense and eliminate the big plays. For the most part, they were successful, forcing Josh Allen & Co. off the field on third down, particularly in the first half when Mac’s unit limited an offense that had converted a league-leading 61% of third down opportunities, to just 2 of 6 before the break. It allowed the Ravens to dominate the clock (21:09 to 8:51) and field position as the Ravens started their drives, on average, from their own 43 to the Bills’ own 27.

Negatives

Overall, the Bills staff made in-game adjustments to gradually tilt the game in their favor. That was particularly apparent in the second half, during which the Bills out-gained the Ravens 187 to 127. Through the first 17 minutes of the second half the Ravens offense had just 41 yards…Greg Roman failed to get his top pass catchers involved in the game. Mark Andrews was targeted just 5 times, catching only 2 passes for 15 yards (plus a controversial PI negating an apparent completion to the 1 foot line. More on that in a moment). The sequence of play calls from inside the 10 during the game’s most important possession was weak at best. The Ravens O-line provided a decent push going north-and-south. I thought for sure that Pat Ricard would get the call from the one. Instead Roman opted to go wide and play into the hands of the speedy Bills defense.

John Harbaugh’s decision to go for it on 4th-and-2 from the Buffalo 2 at the game’s 4:15 mark with the scored tied at 20 was the choice of a coach who has no faith in his defense. He leans on analytics to aid in decision-making and while those tools are helpful, an intuitive feel for the game’s ebbs and flows is equally as important. Perhaps more. And apparently, that’s a department in which Harbaugh struggles. Take the points and if not, at least manage the red zone in a way that gives your team a chance to win. On 4th-and-2 you put your rookie left tackle, who has never started at the position IN HIS LIFE, on an island during the game’s most important play? And what was the message you send to your defense? I’ll tell you – it was a billboard that read: “I don’t believe in you!” And Marcus Peters took notice.

And Peters did exactly that!

Mark Andrews supported the 4th-down decision but of course he would. He’s a player wired to compete. He’s a dog! But a head coach is supposed to manage emotions and not get caught up in them. He’s supposed to make choices driven by clarity of the moment. Yesterday he failed to do that. Again!…The staff failed to call a timeout when the play clock expired at the 3:59 mark of the second quarter when the Ravens were setting up for a 46-yard field goal WITH THREE TIMEOUTS TO BURN AND A 17-3 LEAD!!! It wasn’t a good day at the office for Harbaugh’s staff.

Offense

Positives

The Ravens running game seems to be coming around and they appeared to be just a tick off, nearly breaking a couple of big runs. J.K. Dobbins is starting to have that look again while Justice Hill has shown explosiveness when given the opportunity…Devin Duvernay continues to shine. It’s time to make him a more focal point of the offense…When all is said and done, Daniel Faalele held his own against a formidable defense, considering his lack of experience and this baptism by fire…Ricard is a wrecking ball and without Nick Boyle who apparently (and unfortunately) is done, his contributions are vital to the offense’s success.

Negatives

Lamar Jackson is not a mudder. He wasn’t sharp. His passes weren’t on time and they didn’t have the zip or accuracy that we’d seen for the first three games. Of course the elements provided for uncommon effects, but that’s the point. The Ravens QB is built for speed and a fast track. That wasn’t the case at The Bank yesterday and it showed. On the game’s most pivotal play, he needed a better pre-snap read and the worst outcome is a turnover. Lamar also had opportunities to take off and run and either opted not to or waited too long…Duvernay broke open early on that 4th-and-goal play, finding open real estate in the back-right corner. The resulting INT completely defeats the story told by the analytics and is THE LAST THING you want in that situation…Rashod Bateman was off. A drop in each game is a regular occurrence and against the Bills he had at least two that were on him…Tyler Linderbaum was penalized three times – two false starts and a holding penalty.

Defense

Positives

Justin Madubuike was a beast and is clearly trending in a positive direction. He’s menacing inside the tackles. He dropped Zack Moss on a 3rd-and-1 for no gain to force a punt with the Ravens leading 17-3 and the later he beat Pro Bowl guard Rodger Saffold to drop Devin Singletary for a 4-yard loss. Madubuike also tipped a couple of passes…Odafe Oweh was very active and more impactful than he had been in the 3 previous games. He led the team with 7 tackles, registered his first sack, forced a fumble and had two QB hits…Jason Pierre-Paul didn’t record a sack or a hurry but he did hustle all over the field and his presence commands attention and that may have helped Oweh to have a more productive day…Marlon Humphrey had a nice pick off a deflected pass and Marcus Williams closed on a pass along the boundary to help prevent a deep connection. Peters was solid as he and Humphrey combined to contain the dangerous pitch-and-catch combo of Allen and Stefon Diggs who was held to 4 catches for 62 yards…Kyle Hamilton had a PD and seemed to play a clean game, protecting the deep back end.

Negatives

Patrick Queen is awful. He can’t tackle, takes bad angles and when given a gift INT (two weeks in a row) he fails to finish. He has hands like Roberto Duran. The fact that he played on 98% of the team’s defensive snaps is an indictment of how thin the Ravens are at his position. I’d be shocked if Queen is extended his 5th year option and if he is, it’s nothing more than the front office saving face on another first-round whiff…Queen’s sidekick Josh Bynes probably wouldn’t start for another team. He’s an above average tackler but he’s slow to the ball and fails to scrape down the line and into position to make a play far too regularly…Chuck Clark looked stiff, failed to properly break down when tackling and is always a step or three late in coverage.

Word is the Ravens had decided to concede the score during the Bills last possession in order to get the ball back and try to tie the game. This is what it has come to? But in typical Ravens style, particularly on defense, the message wasn’t properly communicated and Oweh made the tackle anyway.

Image Courtesy of Bobby Trosset

Special Teams

Positives

Duvernay had a nice 28-yard return when there appeared to be nowhere to go…Justin Tucker nailed a 51-yard field goal in poor conditions like he was attempting a chip shot from 30 yards out.

Negatives

The Ravens attempted the pop-up style kick a couple of times without good results. The risk isn’t worth the potential reward unless Tucker gets better at it…Jordan Stout hasn’t been impressive at all. A fourth-round pick who booms the ball on the practice field just isn’t getting it done on game day. On a soft field from the Ravens 43, Stout had an opportunity to pin an opponent deep in their own territory and for the third consecutive game, he failed. The 57-yard punt bounced into the end zone for a net of 37. So far, he hasn’t been as advertised.

Officiating

I don’t want to pin a loss on officiating. But this herd of zebras clearly affected yesterday’s outcome. Jerome Boger’s crew was absolutely clueless. The Super Bowl 47 ref had no control of the game and his merry band of sidekicks were equally inept.

Leading 14-3 at the 14:08 mark of the second, the Ravens faced a 3rd-and-6 from the Bills 12. Lamar hit Andrews on a skinny post, down to the one foot line. But Andrews was called for offensive pass interference.

Facing a 3rd-and-5 at the 2 minute mark of Q2, Lamar attempted to hit Demarcus Robinson on a slant to keep the chains moving. It’s pretty obvious what the call should have been. Instead the Ravens were forced to punt.

Trailing 20-3 with 13 seconds left in the half, the Bills faced a 1st-and-goal from the 4 yard line. Allen hit Isaiah McKenzie for the touchdown although CLEARLY Dawson Knox picks Brandon Stephens, an obvious OPI call to everyone but this crew.

Dawson Knox
Dawson Knox with an illegal pick on Brandon Stephens

Facing a 1st-and-15 with 2:06 left in a 20-20 game, Josh Allen threw a pass that fell incomplete intended for Singletary. Allen faced tremendous pressure from the blitzing Stephens. Boger, perhaps influenced by the excessive whining from Allen that probably made Tom Brady proud, decided that Stephens was a bit too physical with the Bills QB and flagged the Ravens DB for 15 yards. Instead of 2nd-and-15 from the Ravens 41, it was 1st-and-10 from the 26.

The Ravens did a good enough job all by themselves to blow this game. And Boger’s crew apparently thought they need a little more help. How nice of them…

Notes

Yesterday marked the 58th start for Lamar Jackson as the Ravens QB. Ronnie Stanley has started at left tackle in just 30 of them. Perhaps the Ravens need to start a long-term exit strategy with the oft-injured tackle. But it won’t be easy. Parting ways in 2023 will dump $35.7M in dead money on the team’s cap and cost them over $12M of 2023’s overall cap number. Does anyone feel confident that Stanley, if and when he returns, will suddenly become the blind side anchor or will this injury just trigger more drama and instability at the position?…Dating back to last year, the Ravens have now lost five consecutive home games. They’ve done it by a total margin of 12 points…Since December 5, 2021 the Ravens are (2-8).

This week the Ravens host Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday Night Football. Baltimore is a 3 ½ point favorite. Imagine that!

3 Responses

  2. The whole division is less than stellar which is the good thing. I’m no x and o expert but the 4 th down analytics needs to end. There is no player on the defensive front that puts fear in opposing offenses. Unless the Ravens put up 35-40 a game this is what your going to get with this team…..again.

  3. I find it really odd how Harbaugh still gets a pass on these massive gameday mistakes 10 years after the SuperBowl win. Lamar’s best years are getting wasted on this coaching staff.

    Somebody call Sean Payton.

3 Responses

  2. The whole division is less than stellar which is the good thing. I’m no x and o expert but the 4 th down analytics needs to end. There is no player on the defensive front that puts fear in opposing offenses. Unless the Ravens put up 35-40 a game this is what your going to get with this team…..again.

  3. I find it really odd how Harbaugh still gets a pass on these massive gameday mistakes 10 years after the SuperBowl win. Lamar’s best years are getting wasted on this coaching staff.

    Somebody call Sean Payton.

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Picture of Tony Lombardi
Tony Lombardi
Tony is the founder of EutawStreetReport.com and RussellStreetReport.com. His work has been featured on various websites and he hosts The Front Office and Word on The Street podcasts. Among his favorite things in life are his wife, kids, grandbaby Elise, family, friends, My Single Friend on Facebook, The Spirit of Christmas, The Beatles, Breaking Bad, Shawshank Redemption, Gladiator, The Godfather, Guinness, bourbon, meatballs and Key West, not necessarily in that order. Brussel sprouts, bacon and milk chocolate are highly overrated. Follow Tony on Twitter @RSRLombardi. I'm nicer in person than I am on X!
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