Ok, Flock, has everyone’s heart rate finally settled down from Sunday evening? We all good now?
Baltimore captured their ninth win of the season in dramatic fashion, and their successful return from the West Coast means that they can finally begin their BYE week. I don’t want to sound ungrateful for the victory, because that road trip is no joke, so let me highlight some positives first. Despite LA’s struggles this season, they have tons of offensive firepower, and Baltimore’s defense forcing four turnovers was huge. Zay Flowers put on a clinic. Justin Madubuike is the first Raven to record 10 sacks in a season since Terrell Suggs.
Were there plenty of good things that came out of this game? Absolutely. Was it still a panic-inducing nightmare in the fourth quarter? Also yes. You can’t tell me that, when the win likelihood began trending downward in the fourth quarter, we weren’t all dreading the possibility of another collapse.
At the risk of raising your blood pressure once again, let’s recap some of the issues to be addressed during the week off. Fair warning, those with cardiovascular concerns should exercise caution reading on. Let’s start with maybe the most important issue for Baltimore to fix as they move forward: pass protection. Keep your eyes on #79 here.
Sack No. 12 this season for Khalil Mack 😤
📺: #BALvsLAC on NBC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/4A9GOmQsZC pic.twitter.com/wLpp2PNUOc— NFL (@NFL) November 27, 2023
I want to fully acknowledge and give credit where it’s due: if any player can make blockers look outmatched, it’s Khalil Mack, and he beat up on the O-line all evening. That said, blocking was bad all around the entire game, even with backs shifting to chip and double the Chargers EDGEs. An insistence on having Lamar stand in the pocket when the run was working in the second half meant a pocket that deteriorated quickly, and the line gave up pressures all over the place.
Week 12 pressures allowed by the #Ravens:
6 – Ronnie Stanley
3 – Morgan Moses
2 – John Simpson & Tyer Linderbaum
0 – Kevin ZeitlerThat's Zeitler's 3rd clean sheet this season.
In his last 5 games, Zeitler has allowed just 2 pressures.#RavensFlock
— Cole Jackson (@ColeJacksonFB) November 27, 2023
Ronnie Stanley in particular looked pretty lost out there, and he briefly left the game with a knee injury before returning. He hasn’t looked 100% in a while, and unfortunately with the extent of time he’s missed to this point in his career, I don’t know if we see 100% again. There’s already a fair amount of conversation about Stanley’s future with the team beyond this year (with an out in his contract in 2024 for a $17 million cap hit) but expect that the outings against Jacksonville and San Fran could amplify those questions significantly.
John Harbaugh on the bye week helping Ronnie Stanley get to full strength: "I do think it'll be beneficial for him. It's something that's been…it's not been great. I think he'd probably be the first to tell you it's not been great. He needs to get stronger and get his technique…
— Sarah Ellison (@sgellison) November 27, 2023
Speaking of significant questions… who was supposed to be paying attention to giving the green light on challenges? Did they miss the flight to LA?
Nelson Agholor clearly falls past the first-down marker here
Officials rule it short pic.twitter.com/LWA9ZjGutL
— Kevin Oestreicher (@koestreicher34) November 27, 2023
Terry McAulay confirms that the Ravens likely would have won a challenge.
And as he does it, the Chargers turn the ball back over to the Ravens. pic.twitter.com/ljWvCg2B4U
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) November 27, 2023
John Harbaugh said the Ravens didn't get a good look on TV at the Chargers' first-half lateral before they challenged it, but they figured it was worthwhile to test it because of the difficulty of throwing backwards.
— Jonas Shaffer (@jonas_shaffer) November 27, 2023
Sure, we at home get the benefit of the slo-mo replay while the guys on the sideline are trusting their eyes at full speed. It wouldn’t have been so bad, except that the play-calling to follow, especially offensively, was atrocious.
Here's a look at Gus Edwards' unpopular Wildcat run last night.
Right side of the offensive line loses quickly, so Gus Bus seemingly bounces it outside his assigned gap, and Chargers gang-tackle him before the marker. Don't know that Lamar would've had that much better luck. pic.twitter.com/TXHT2ZcJ9v
— Jonas Shaffer (@jonas_shaffer) November 27, 2023
Ravens go three-and-out, don't even take a minute off the clock. After getting five yards on Edwards first down run, why not just keep running the ball until they stop you?
Chargers get a good punt return too and take over at own 40.— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) November 27, 2023
It seemed like so many of the issues came down to communication, either in a lax fashion or without any intentionality at all. Game flow is going to dictate a lot of how you proceed on specific plays, but when any play can be the one that breaks the game open, it’s imperative that you get the little things right. That’s what has impressed me so much about Roquan Smith’s influence on the defense; even on plays when the Ravens defense is set and in position, you’ll see him reiterate instructions to his guys without fail. As a result, that unit has been among the most consistent in all of football this season, but the rest of the team needs to get with the program. Heck, even on a play that we all celebrated, the smart thing to do would have been to communicate the expectation ahead of time.
Kyle Hamilton deadpanned that the defense was a little "salty" when Zay Flowers scored late instead of going down near the goal line.
"We wanted to unstrap the pads."
— Jonas Shaffer (@jonas_shaffer) November 27, 2023
As I said earlier, I don’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth with the success that the Ravens are having. 9-3 with a 1st place spot atop the AFC is awesome, but the good practices that got them there can’t be taken for granted. Anyone in a happy, long-term relationship can tell you that communication is a key fundamental to success and happiness. With additional time to game-plan in the BYE week, here’s hoping that the quality time the Ravens spend together helps them focus on improving their communication and becoming a more harmonious household.
