The Ravens got embarrassed in a 38-30 loss to the Detroit Lions that looks closer than it really was. There’s a lot of ugly to go through, so let’s get to it.
Mark Andrews: It was a slow start to the season for Andrews, who spent the first two games blocking his butt off, but only had 2 catches to show for it. Today he went 6-6 on his targets, going for 91 yards and two scores. Likely should be returning soon, but Andrews coming back to life will allow the Ravens work him into the offense until he’s 100% in rhythm
Nate Wiggins: Through three games, Wiggins might be the best defensive player on the team. Others have had louder or flashier games, but Wiggins has been steady throughout and continues to shut down whoever he’s covering. It’s only game three in year two, but I’m excited to see how much better he can get. I’m already ready to hand him an extension.
Rashod Bateman: Like Andrews, Bateman also had a quiet start to the year, but he came back into his own on Monday with 63 yards and his first touchdown. Remember that Bateman was second on the team with nine touchdowns last year. While hitting deep shots for some, he’s also become one of Jackson’s favorite red-zone targets with a knack for creating separation and finding open spots for easy targets in the end zone.
Jordan Stout: Stout is having the best year of his career. Outside of a bad punt at the end of the game, Stout’s kicks gave the Ravens defense multiple long fields to defend, and they couldn’t do it. If this continues, Stout will be handed an extension and remain in Baltimore.
Lamar Jackson: Slow down with your comments. I can already see them flying. Jackson wasn’t “bad”. Looking only at the box score, he seemed to have another brilliant game. But the two-time MVP wasn’t himself tonight; anybody could have seen that. I don’t know if he’s dealing with an injury that’s limiting his ability to move as well as he normally does, but it didn’t look right. He took seven(!) sacks, and while some blame does go to the line for that, Jackson didn’t do himself any favors. He held on to the ball for too long today and wasn’t decisive with throwing it or just breaking out for yards. He got caught right on the line multiple times, deciding too late to run after not finding a target to throw to. Jackson himself would probably say he didn’t have a good game and take blame for a lot of the negative plays. I don’t expect it to remain an issue.
The coordinators: Both Monken and Orr made some weird, baffling calls tonight. Monken is having goal-line struggles, not being able to punch the ball in on multiple attempts. Orr and his defense letting up multiple 95+ yard drives for touchdowns was downright pathetic. Those two need to get back in the lab and figure it out.
Tyler Loop: Loop looks like the kicker of the future. He looks calm and comfortable, kicking extra points and tacking on three points whenever asked. I would be a solid amount of money he’s going to hit a strong 60+ yard field goal in a clutch scenario this year. He looks good. But he’s clearly having trouble with the kickoffs and the new rules. He leads the league with four illegal kicks in three games. I don’t know how much of it is him and how much it is planned, testing out unique kicks, but it’s not working. This defense is struggling as it is; why give opposing offenses any more help?
The offensive line: It’s atrocious. The early count is that they gave up 30 pressures tonight. 30. Granted, they seemed to be slow burns that gave Jackson time to throw, but it doesn’t matter. It’s a simply inexcusable number. Fans and media have pestered Harbaugh about Daniel Faalele for a long time. It can no longer be brushed aside with a “well, we think he’s going to be a good player”. Both guards are limiting this team right now. It’s time to start mixing in Cleveland, Bullock, and whoever else they can find until something sticks. It’s inexcusable to put an MVP quarterback into this situation. Any longer, and Jackson will be like fellow division rival Joe Burrow behind his line, hurt and watching from the sidelines.
The defense: There are so many names I could individually list, so many different sections of play, but it would take so much space that the page might crash. So, I’ll cover it all in one. Marlon Humphrey got burned left and right tonight. The interior line looked hapless without Nnamdi Madubuike. The impact from the edges was non-existent. Roquan Smith shrank back into his former shell after a breakout game last week. The highest-paid safety in the league made zero impact plays tonight. All the talk of turnovers, and the Ravens have come up empty in their two matchups against good offenses this year. The pass rush didn’t manage a single sack against one of the least mobile quarterbacks in the league, and the run defense was like Swiss cheese, allowing touchdown drives of 96 and 98 yards.
Overall, this unit is pathetic, soft, and an embarrassment to the game of football. They got dragged in their own house, on primetime, in their all-black uniform game. Simply embarrassing. I don’t know how to fix it, but it’s gonna take a lot of work, maybe a trade or two, and potentially even a play-caller switch. It’s bad right now.
Derrick Henry’s fumble problem: Where the heck did this come from? One of the most stable ball carriers ever during his career, then all of a sudden, he’s got three fumbles in three games. Two of them were in late, close, fourth-quarter situations that utterly flipped the game. The third could have flipped the momentum in the Browns game had it not been recovered. I don’t know what it is, but it’s ugly, and it needs to be fixed. Yesterday.
Keaton Mitchell scratches: Look at me and tell me this team couldn’t use him? Yes, they’ve put up points in all the games, but the last two game have had their fair share of offensive struggles. Derrick Henry had 36 yards on the first drive. He then had 14 for the rest of the game. Tell me Mitchell couldn’t have helped? Justice Hill had a great 2024, but currently has negative rushing yards this season and just four catches for 21 yards. Tell me Mitchell couldn’t add some explosives? I love all the backs on this team, but for a team with a struggling line and backs that have failed to produce for two games in a row, Mitchell can add a spark. He needs to be active on game days.
John Harbaugh: Oh boy, here we go. I called for the Ravens to replace Harbaugh with Mike Macdonald before he left for Seattle. Once Macdonald was gone and no longer an option, I let it go. I said firing Harbaugh was mostly useless, an overreaction, and simply a bandage for mistakes that were mostly players’ fault. Who would you really trust to hire and come in here and actually win at the same 60+% rate that Harbaugh had in his career? And I still mostly feel that way. Look at most of the new head coaches that have been hired. It either hasn’t worked out, or it’s still taking time to find rhythm. Dan Quinn has been the most successful recent hire with immediate success, and it was one of the least talked-about hirings when it happened. None of the flashy moves has worked with immediate results.
But man, does this loss have me fired up. Harbaugh just had his team embarrassed on primetime at home in an event-style game with the special uniforms, the performances, and everything. I don’t know if I’ve ever been able to remember such a moment like this for Harbaugh. The offensive line he’s constantly defending looks lost, and the defensive pride of Baltimore has been basically dusted to nothing since Macdonald’s departure; this loss is the latest and most glaring example.
He’s not going to get fired, nor am I calling for him to be. But we’ve had this Lamar Jackson window for too long with too little to show for it. Just one conference championship appearance and zero Super Bowl appearances in seven years with an MVP quarterback. The time for change is already too late, with Macdonald gone in my opinion. The window with Jackson gets shorter and shorter, game by game, month by month, season by season. Nothing to show for it would be devastating to the city of Baltimore, disrespectful to the greatness of Lamar Jackson, who Harbaugh himself has said he wants Jackson to go down as the greatest of all time. It would fall squarely on John Harbaugh’s shoulders.