It wasn’t the same look of anger and frustration that quarterback Lamar JacksonHe wore the same shirt a week before, after his late-game errors were prominent in the 24-20 loss to The New York Giants. But Jackson didn’t exactly look relieved nor satisfied following the Ravens’Much-needed win of 23-20 over the Cleveland Browns Sunday.
Trying to interpret a player’s body language a half-hour after a physical and emotional win is often a fool’s errand and not fair in most cases. Jackson was also a good guy and said the right things as he always does. But we know this about the Ravens’ fifth-year quarterback: he holds himself and the offense he leads to a high standard, and barely getting by against a Browns defense that has struggled for much of the year isn’t going to be good enough.
“I’d rather it not be close, so we’re not around here biting our nails at the end of the game,” Jackson said.
Go Deeper
Although Ravens were not perfect, they managed to win the crucial victory over Browns
The Ravens’ defense has certainly had its issues in the fourth quarter this season, and did so again Sunday. The defense is generally improving after its Week 2 collapse against Baltimore. Miami Dolphins. There were no places to go except up.
The offense? It’s recently been going in the wrong direction.
After averaging 33 and 380 yards in their first three games, the Ravens have now averaged 20.5 points per game and 320 yards for their last four games. A Week 4 loss to Baltimore was the Buffalo BillsIn the second period, the Ravens were held scoreless. The Ravens lost the next game against the Cincinnati BengalsThe Ravens managed to get in the end zone once, but only once. Justin TuckerField goals were made in the final 43 minutes. The Ravens managed 406 yards of total offense against the Giants in Week 6. However, they failed to finish drives and were defeated by second-half penalties.
The Ravens were relatively disciplined in penalty play on Sunday. With just three minutes left, their only turnover was Justice HillThey could have lost the game if they had fumbled. The Browns defense held the Ravens in check, though. New England Patriots rookie quarterback Bailey ZappeLast week.
The Ravens finished Sunday’s game with a season-low 254 total yards and 94 passing yards. Ten of Baltimore’s 23 points came after the offense inherited short fields, thanks to plays made by the special teams and defense.
Jackson was only 9-of-16 and ran for 120 yards. He was also sacked three times. The Ravens ran for 160 yards but averaged just 3.6 yards per attempt. The Ravens’ four active receivers had six total catches. Four of them were by Rashod Bateman. All-Pro tight end Mark Andrews finished without a catch against a team he’s historically had his way with.
“They were just scheming up to take away Mark, really,” Jackson said. “Two guys (were) guarding Mark sometimes. That’s just what they did. We only threw it 16 times, as I mentioned. Some plays won’t go to him. It went to other guys.”
Jackson answered three times when Jackson was asked about his struggles with the passing game. He said that he only had 16 attempts. This will make it hard to find a rhythm. There’s an obvious case to be made for the Ravens taking a few more shots downfield, but a run-heavy game plan against a team that struggles to stop the run and has two dynamic and disruptive edge rushers was the right call.
We witnessed what happened when Jackson didn’t hold the ball as long. It was a terrible decision. The Ravens’ offensive line had some issues keeping the quarterback clean. Ravens will need to find a way for the passing game to be more consistent and balanced.
That’s on offensive coordinator Greg Roman, who needs to show a better touch with his situational play calling. There are still too many head-scratching decisions in the red zone, and on third downs. Then, there are the pass-game schemes that we’ve been talking about for years. Where’s the answer when a defense is all-in on shutting down Andrews? Where’s the effort to get Devin DuvernayMore touches or secondary targets, such as Isaiah LikelyJames Proche is more involved?
That’s on Jackson, who has already overthrown too many receivers this year on deep shots while too often ignoring or not seeing open targets. Jackson needs to get back to making quick decisions and taking the underneath stuff when it’s there. Jackson could have pulled the trigger faster if he had more open guys for a few of the incompletions he made in the red zone on Sunday. There were times when Jackson had only a few passes, but opted to not take the layups. There’s nothing wrong with a 4- or 5-yard gain on first down in this offense, which is built to thrive when ahead of the sticks.
That’s on the offensive line to protect better and the receivers to get open and stop dropping routine catches. And that’s on general manager Eric DeCosta to add to the receiver mix if there’s an opportunity to upgrade beyond the DeSean Jack was removed from the practice squad.
Sunday was a good day for the Ravens. But they’re going to have to be more efficient offensively to beat the Tampa Bay BuccaneersThursday, get to where you want to be.
Rotating outside linebackers
Short at the position for the season’s first month, the Ravens had five edge rushers active against the Browns and used them all. Jason Pierre-Paul38 snaps and another quiet game. Odafe OwehPlayed 33. Malik HarrisonHe was there for 27 minutes, although some came in from the inside. Justin HoustonHe played 16 games in his recovery from a groin injury, and had two sacks. Practice squad elevation Devon Kennard11 photos were taken.
After missing three games due to groin injuries, Justin Houston, Ravens linebacker, returned in Week 7. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images).
The usage of this group Sunday, while clearly influenced by the desire to limit Houston’s snaps in his return and get the best edge setters on the field against Nick Chubb, could foreshadow what it’s going to be like when the Ravens add two more outside linebackers to the mix.
Tyus BowserSecond-round rookie pick David OjaboAre on the verge of making a comeback. It’s not impossible that at least one of them is activated in time to play Thursday night. When they’re back, everyone is going to likely have to sacrifice snaps.
Harrison, who has shown great progress this year, may return to only playing inside linebacker. The Ravens probably won’t have room to elevate a guy like Kennard or any of the other practice squad linebackers. Bowser could be moved around by defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, and may even be one of the solutions to the team’s inconsistency at inside linebacker in some looks.
Oweh and Pierre-Paul, Houston and Bowser will all be there. But it’s one of those good problems head coach John Harbaugh often talks about.
Other thoughts
• The official snap count for the Ravens’ three running backs: 23 for Gus Edwards, 20 for Hill, and 17 for Kenyan Drake. That’s pretty well proportioned amongst the three backs although Edwards led with 16 touches, while Drake had 11 and Hill had five. Assuming he remains healthy, Edwards’ return could be so important for the Ravens, particularly in short-yardage situations. He rarely, if ever, loses yards. He had positive yards on 15 out of 16 carries against Cleveland. He only had one carry that did not result in a gain.
• Drake went from a 10-carry, 119-yard, one-touchdown performance against the Giants to an 11-carry, 5-yard output against the Browns. On several occasions, Drake didn’t get touched until the second level of his carries. He was struggling to even get to the line. It wasn’t a good day.
• As for Hill, the focus will be on the fumble — and that can’t happen. Hill has done a lot to earn the trust of the coaches. But you can quickly lose it by fumbling late, when your team is only 20 yards from winning the game. However, I’m sure the coaches will like what Hill did in other areas. On Jackson’s 10-yard run just before the two-minute warning in the second quarter, Hill leveled Browns defensive end Alex WrightWith a chip block. On the fourth-and-1 pitch Andrews made to Jackson, it was Hill’s lead block on cornerback Greg Newsome that cleared the way.
• First, let’s give credit to Roman for having the guts to call that Andrews-to-Jackson pitch on fourth-and-1 early in the fourth quarter from the Browns’ 49-yard line with the Ravens leading by a touchdown. Second, kudos to rookie center Tyler LinderbaumAndrews, Jackson and other blockers that prevented them from executing it. Harbaugh acknowledged the amount of practice time that the Ravens spent working on this play, and other plays with Andrews under center. But I still have to say it: That’s a pretty risky play to call on a must-make fourth down in a close game in the fourth quarter. I can only imagine how much louder the fan’s “Roman must go” chatter would be today if Baltimore screwed that up.
• I liked Roman trying to establish the run early. Keeping the ball on the ground on six of the offense’s first seven plays was a good way to set the tone. But I didn’t like that rollout on third-and-3 from the Browns’ 14 on the first drive. Jackson didn’t see Duvernay and essentially wound up throwing the ball away.
• Roman, though, did mix in a few screens to try and slow down the Browns’ pass rush. The first could have been a nice gain, but Jackson’s pass to Drake was deflected away. Drake would have had some space with Jackson. Patrick RicardBlocking in front of him. Ricard won the second and was well set up, leading to a 19-yard gain. Unfortunately, Proche’s 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after the play negated most of it.
• Not to pile on Proche, but his third-quarter unsportsmanlike conduct penalty now means that he has almost three times more penalty yards this season (19) than receiving yards (7). Harbaugh last week predicted a Proche breakout, but he’s not been targeted in four of the five games he’s been active for this season. Harbaugh had plenty to say about Proche from the sidelines after the penalty. It will be interesting to see whether Proche is given another chance on Thursday.
Marlon Humphrey, cornerback for the Ravens, has been one the most consistent tacklers this season. (Jessica Rapfogel / USA Today)
• On a defense that has struggled with consistency, Marlon Humphrey’s tackling continues to be a constant. His hit on Donovan Peoples-JonesA field goal was attempted on the third quarter’s third-and-six. Humphrey fell in love last year with the idea of trying to take the ball off, and his tackling was affected. This year, he’s wrapping up first. As for the rest of the Ravens’ defensive players, Chubb ran through quite a few arm tackle attempts in the second half. However, he does this to many people.
• Watching Duvernay slow down and set up his blocks on that 46-yard punt return early in the second quarter, it would be easy to forget that the wide receiver had very little return experience when the Ravens tried him in that role as a rookie. He’s become such a weapon. Duvernay displayed patience, and he jumped to the corner. He is quick and has good vision and makes sound decisions. If he’s not considered the top returner in the league, he certainly is in the conversation.
• That’s more like it for rookie punter Jordan Stout. His 69-yard punt late in the second quarter put the Browns within their own 10 yard line and set up a third-and-out. After two sacks by Jackson, the Ravens went three and out on their first drive of halftime. His 62-yard punt in the third quarter helped to shift field position. Even Stout’s last punt in the final minute, which went for a touchback, gave gunner Kevon SeymourThe 5. Peoples-Jones blocked Seymour as the ball slipped through the end zone. What was surprising about Stout’s slow start was he had punted the ball so well throughout training camp. His Sunday performance was the best he had shown all camp.
• You never want to see anybody get hurt, but Browns tight end David NjokuA big moment in that game was when he went down with an injury to his ankle. Njoku was having trouble matching up with the Ravens, so they brought him down after he caught it.
• I woke up still wondering what Browns coach Kevin Stefanski was thinking in challenging that Jackson was down by contact on the first play of the second quarter. The Browns were getting it back anyway. Unless it was an obvious blow call, and that one wasn’t, why waste a challenge there? Stout was able to get a second chance with his punt, and the Browns were pinned inside the 10. Stefanski’s decisions contributed to momentum change.
• When inside linebacker Patrick Queen just goes and doesn’t have to think or diagnose, it’s fun to watch. For example, the back-to-back tackles to loss. Kareem HuntIn the second quarter. Queen has 25 tackles, 3 tackles for losses, 2 sacks, and an interception in the last three quarters. We’ve seen good stretches from the 2020 first-round pick before. He needs to keep this level. He’s plenty capable.
• That was a pretty nifty inside pass-rush move by rookie safety Kyle HamiltonIn the first quarter. He left Browns guard Hjalte FoholdtThe goalie was forced to attempt a field goal by grasping for air.
• Harbaugh said the Ravens went to Patrick MekariAt right tackle in lieu of Morgan Moses in the fourth quarter because of “fatigue” for Moses, who also was playing through a heel injury that he sustained the previous week. Moses spent some of the afternoon matched up against Myles Garrett, which isn’t an easy assignment even for an offensive tackle who is 100 percent. He had some issues, but it’s a credit to him that he was playing. Moses was taken off the field with a towel wrapped around his head by the Giants. It made me wonder if his season was over.
(Top photo of Lamar Jackson by Tommy Gilligan / USA Today
