The second half of yesterday’s game was about as bad as it can get for a football team on any level. The self-destructive nature that the Ravens played with over the final thirty minutes started with the very first snap, and ended with the last. Kamar Aiken bobbled a pass and all but handed it to Jaguars cornerback Davon House. Before the final kick the Jaguars gave the Ravens every opportunity to win as time expired. Blake Bortles stumbled to the ground but managed to still get back on his feet because half of the Ravens defense was running off the field prematurely celebrating what they thought was a win.
When teams start to fall apart the blame game can start. When you look at a team like the Broncos, it would be easy for their suffocating defense to point the finger at their inept offense. Looking at a team like the Saints, it would be easy for Drew Brees to cast the blame on Rob Ryan’s abysmal defense and secondary. The good (but actually bad) news for the Ravens is there will be no finger pointing because the team yesterday failed in pretty much every regard.
Joe Flacco and the offense were efficient in the first half, but the only word to describe the final thirty minutes is pathetic. Dropped passes, poorly thrown balls and a lack pocket awareness all led to turnovers in the third quarter. The offense posted six points in the final thirty minutes despite the fact that they were facing a team that has given up the third most points per game this year.
The defense at times look rejuvenated and much improved. The Ravens were clearly placing an emphasis on forcing turnovers. The problem is you have to catch a ball in order for it to be an interception. Jimmy Smith dropped one that likely would have been returned for a touchdown and Kendrick Lewis had one hit him in the face that would have ended the game. Good teams find ways to win games and bad teams find ways to lose them. The Ravens defense found a way to lose yesterday even though Blake Bortles gave them every chance he could to win.
The Ravens special teams has been the one bright spot this season before yesterday’s game, but there was nothing special about them this week. Jeremy Ross muffed a punt that led to a touchdown for Jacksonville and Sam Koch made a crucial error at the end of the game by punting the ball into the end zone. Even if Koch had punted it to the ten-yard line Jason Myers’ game-winning FG would have been from 63 yards instead of 53 – that’s a big difference.
The coaching wasn’t much better. For a second yesterday I thought it was 2011 because the play calling had a real Cam Cameron-type feel to it. The Ravens abandoned the run way too early despite playing with a lead for most of the game, and you got the feeling they were trying not to lose the game a lot more than they were trying to win it. They lacked a killer instinct and they let the Jaguars hang around because they committed novice mistakes and mind-numbing penalties.
Losing is tough but don’t expect the Ravens to start pointing any fingers. Not because they’re better than that, but simply because everyone is to blame.
