The Ravens took the worst loss of the season against the Chiefs in Week 4, and that’s saying something considering the others. Outside of Tyler Loop and a garbage time Justice Hill run, there’s nothing positive to say. So instead of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, all we’ve got is different levels of ugliness.
The Ugly
Derrick Henry usage: The Ravens forgot Derrick Henry existed, again. He had four rushing attempts in the first half, half of them coming on the first drive. It looked like they got back to the run
game in the second half, but took Henry out on a 3rd and 1, where they were then stopped. Despite the success at running the ball, once again, Todd Monken and the offense couldn’t find the rhythm to keep it going and be impactful.
The Uglier
Play calling: Neither Todd Monken nor Zach Orr had a good day. As mentioned above, Monken completely abandoned the run once again. The Ravens specifically got Derrick Henry for the big games, the playoff-caliber contests, yet all too often, they forget to use him. Failing to run with Henry and then running a total of four play-action passes is not setting your team up for success. Lamar Jackson wasn’t set up for success against the Chiefs’ blitz packages, either, and it hurt him, physically and schematically.
On the other side, Orr can’t seem to get the defense on track. There have been no adjustments made at any point this year, both in-game or from week-to-week. That cannot continue amid so many injuries. The outside linebackers and edge rushers are playing middle linebacker at an alarming rate despite the fact that the team has five inside linebackers on its roster. None of Sunday made sense.
Lamar Jackson: People have noticed that Lamar Jackson hasn’t been running a lot since Week 1. When he has, he seems to have lacked his trademark speed and shiftiness. Today, he missed a large chunk of the second half for a hamstring injury, his right leg being wrapped by a trainer on the sideline. Before that, he had one of his worst games in a while. He threw his first interception of the season, took another three sacks (after seven vs. Detroit), and fumbled on a scramble. Jackson stayed on the sideline after his injury, so it doesn’t appear to be long-term, but he is expected to miss a few games. When he’s back, he will quickly need to return to MVP-caliber play and elevate this team to pull them out of this hole if they even want to make the playoffs, much less have a chance at the division.
Marlon Humphrey: While most of the defense could be called out, Marlon Humphrey has earned special attention. This is one of the highest-paid players on this defense and one of it biggest leaders. But so far this season, he has been one of the Ravens’ biggest liabilities. He has gotten burned multiple times in coverage and has also missed tackles, leading to big gains. (Credit where it’s due: he gave every last bit of effort in chasing down David Montgomery in Week 4.) Teams are actively attacking the two-time All-Pro defensive back and it’s an issue. He won’t have a chance to rebound for a while, as he left Sunday’s game with an injury and is also expected to be out for a few weeks.
The Ugliest
1-3 start: The record is ugly. What’s even uglier is how they got there. A 4th-quarter collapse against the Bills and then two embarrassing performances against the Lions and Chiefs. The ugliest part is the Steelers now have a firm grasp on the division at 3-1, and even the Bengals without Joe Burrow are ahead at 2-1. It’s bleak right now. Lamar Jackson is injured with no idea of his status. The defense is broken without repair in sight, both in performance and actual injuries. The offense just had its worst performance of the year. It’s hard to picture this team finding a second win before the bye week.
Injuries: Heading into this game, the Ravens placed Nnamdi Madubuike and Broderick Washington on injured reserve. Patrick Ricard, Kyle Van Noy, and Travis Jones were all inactive due to injury. Then, during the game, the team lost Ronnie Stanley, Marlon Humphrey and Roquan Smith before the end of the first half. After that, Lamar Jackson and Nate Wiggins went down and never came back. This defense was already struggling to even be an average unit, and now has six starters down, and an offense that has to win shootouts is now without its franchise quarterback.
The entire defense: It’s been talked about all too frequently at this point. We know what this is. It’s the worst unit in football. I don’t know what the fix is, as the players continue to say the same thing each week: they know it has to get fixed, but they have no idea how. It might be bad enough to consider a coordinator change, though the team might be hesitant to throw Orr under the bus with so many injuries. The unit has more than half its starters hurt, with no idea when many of them could return.
John Harbaugh: It might be time to abandon ship. The Ravens should have to win the AFC Championship game to save his job. Who knows what Steve Biscotti and Eric DeCosta will actually do when the season is over, but I think even the biggest Harbaugh supporters know it’s time for a new message in the locker room. Both sides of the ball not only outplayed, but also outcoached, by Kansas City. When one coordinator fails one week, it’s on that coordinator. When that coordinator fails four weeks in a row, you look at replacement options. When one coordinator fails four weeks in a row and the other coordinator begins to struggle as well, you start skipping over the coordinators and go right to the top.
The calls for Harbaugh’s seat are nothing new. The lack of playoff success with a multi-time MVP has had fans at his throat for a while, but the saving grace was that the team looked like a Super Bowl contender in the regular season and made the playoffs every year, giving them a chance at an elusive Lombardi. But failing to succeed with this roster is damaging the Ravens as an organization. If the buck truly stops with the head coach, something has to change eventually.
