Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens were quite the enigma last season. They took the league by storm in the regular season and earned the right to have a first round bye. However, things fell apart in the playoffs, leading many to ask if this Ravens team can win when it matter most.
Baltimore Ravens Collapse
Things fell apart for the Ravens last postseason, when the Titans came to Baltimore and beat them. The Ravens were 10-point favorites, but couldn’t ever get their offense going. Jackson was 31/59 with 365 yards in the air and 143 on the ground. He also did throw two picks, fumble and post a QBR of just 30.4. The question this entire offseason was whether this team could win when it matters, and the conversation didn’t get any easier after their Monday Night Football loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Ravens Lose to Chiefs on MNF
At the end of the first half, the Ravens found themselves in a deep 27-10 hole against the defending champs. They were unable produce much offense at all. Jackson was 7/15, with a measly 35 passing yards and 41 on the ground. The first half was riddled with drops by Baltimore wideouts with the occasional bad throw as well. Jackson was really only accurate on short passes, and they fumbled three times, although only one was lost.
On the defensive side, they struggled to even contain Patrick Mahomes for a brief second, and they weren’t aggressive at all, whether it was getting pressure to Mahomes or pressing the Chiefs’ receivers. You can’t give Mahomes an inch, much less all the slack he needs to remind everyone why he’s the most talented QB in the NFL already.
Unfortunately for Baltimore, Jackson isn’t experienced in leading comebacks either. He is 0-4 when down by 10 or more points going into the game, and he couldn’t break the streak on Monday night. This team has done well against lesser opponents, but they seem to have too many cracks in their game to win when it matters. They don’t have enough talent at receiver, Jackson is inconsistent, at best, on deep throws and running the option can only get a team so far. Add in a defense that struggles to even look competent against those they need to beat, and things don’t look much different for Baltimore.
If Harbaugh and the Ravens don’t change something soon, or at the very least game plan better for their opponents, it doesn’t look like this Ravens team will be much more than a great regular season team.
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