Ravens Weren’t Good Enough in Any Phase of the Game
It wasn’t any one thing that cost the Ravens the game. They didn’t play well enough in any phase, especially in the second half.
The Ravens, who scored 41 points in the Week 1 victory over the Indianapolis Colts, had little problem moving the ball in the first half. Despite not having wide receivers Zay Flowers (hamstring) and Ja’Kobi Lane (wrist), the Ravens had 228 total yards and 13 first downs.
After going three-and-out on their opening drive, the Ravens scored a touchdown, missed a field goal that was blocked, and scored another touchdown on their three other possessions in the half.
A Tyler Loop 49-yard field goal on the Ravens’ first possession of the second half gave them a 17-9 lead with 3:23 remaining in the third quarter. They wouldn’t score again.
After the Saints pulled even at 17-17 with 9:42 left in the game, the Ravens made an aggressive play call that didn’t work out.
“Rookie Offensive Coordinator Declan Doyle’s play calling deserves scrutiny, especially his decision to dial up a deep shot on third-and-1 in the second half,” The Baltimore Sun’s Josh Tolentino wrote. “Lamar Jackson’s pass to Chris Moore fell incomplete, leaving an obvious question: Why not hand the ball to tailback Derrick Henry, who totaled 16 rushes for 68 yards with one touchdown?”
Zrebiec said the call “underscored the team’s seeming reluctance to ride running back Derrick Henry in the second half.”
“Henry had 11 carries for 51 yards and a touchdown, plus two receptions for 22 yards, in the first half alone,” Zrebiec wrote. “He got only five more carries the rest of the game, a recipe that never seems to work out for Baltimore.”
It’s fair to question the decision to throw a deep pass on thirdand-1 rather than running the ball, but Henry’s lack of carries in the second half is somewhat misleading. Henry ran the ball four times for 15 yards on the Ravens’ opening drive in the third quarter, so it’s not as if the Ravens abandoned the run.
The Ravens’ ensuing drive began with a false start and was followed by a 3-yard loss on a pass to Henry, and then a sack of Jackson that put them in third-and-26. Henry had one carry on the next drive, which ended with the incomplete pass to Moore on 3rd-and-1.
The Saints then marched 68 yards on 16 plays for the winning score. The Ravens got the ball back at their own 29-yard-line with 1:21 remaining and no timeouts. They had to be in pass mode at that point.