The Baltimore Ravens seem to be imploding after two consecutive losses. This one stings a little more because it came against the Cleveland Browns, who had struggled in their first three games. The Ravens could have had a two-game lead over the rest of the division, but instead they are fighting on the field and in the locker room.
Even though it feels like there’s nothing to take away from a loss like this, good teams are able to learn more about themselves through defeat than through victory. We’ll hope that’s the case at the very least as we review the four takeaways from Baltimore’s Week 4 loss to Cleveland.
Marlon Humphrey is a shutdown cornerback
Ravens fans have been saying this all offseason, and Humphrey is backing up the talk already. Where the rest of Baltimore’s defense is struggling, Humphrey has been stepping up and playing well. This week against the Browns, Humphrey shadowed Cleveland wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and held the former All-Pro to an uncharacteristically bad game.
Beckham had no receptions in the first half. According to ESPN’s Jake Trotter, that had happened just one time before in his career. Beckham eventually did catch a pass late in the game but finished with just two receptions on seven targets for 20 yards — the lowest single-game yardage total in Beckham’s career.
The best cornerbacks in the league lock down the best receivers in the game. They don’t need a ton of help, if any, and can do it consistently. Humphrey was tasked with doing exactly that and he aced the exam.
This defense is as bad as it looks
While Humphrey is as good as many expected, the rest of the defense could use a little of that mojo.
It’s been one thing for the secondary to struggle early this season. That could be explained away with injuries and the lack of a pass rush from the young outside linebackers forcing defensive coordinator Don Martindale to blitz often. But against the Browns, there were breakdowns in every level of the defense. Blown coverages and biting on run fakes only to get beat over the middle by the pass absolutely killed the defense on every drive. But the missed tackles were one that’s going to cost people jobs.
Hand it to the Browns for being slippery to bring down, but several big plays happened because the Ravens couldn’t make tackles. And it wasn’t just one play missing a tackle creating a big gain, but multiple defenders failing to wrap up on several plays that equaled touchdowns or what should have been short plays turned into long gains to set up scores.
The lack of any consistent pass rush also doomed Baltimore throughout the game. Coming into this week, Cleveland was noted as having one of the worst offensive lines in the league. But the Ravens got just one sack, often leaving quarterback Baker Mayfield with a clean pocket and plenty of time to pick apart the secondary.
Every time the offense had a solid drive of their own and would get the crowd back into the game, the defense wouldn’t show up on basic things. They allowed 337 net passing yards and 193 net rushing yards on the day, along with giving up five touchdowns.
Miscommunication is still plaguing Ravens
Baltimore made a switch before the game, moving the radio-equipped helmet from linebacker Patrick Onwuasor to safety Tony Jefferson, according to The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec. The hope was the more experienced and even-keeled Jefferson would be able to limit the miscommunications that had plagued the Ravens’ defense through three previous games. At the final whistle, the answer was overwhelmingly negative.
Receivers were still left completely uncovered. The first touchdown of the game came as no one picked up tight end Ricky Seals-Jones, letting him walk into the end zone untouched. Seals-Jones would get another big completion later in the game where he was once again uncovered as Jefferson bit on an underneath route by Beckham.
But the defense wasn’t alone in their miscommunication. On what was effectively a fourth-and-game in the fourth quarter, Jackson threw an out intended for tight end Mark Andrews … except Andrews didn’t run that route. The ball sailed to the sideline, giving Cleveland the ball at Baltimore’s 31-yard line and essentially sealing the game.
The positive here is these issues can be corrected quickly. They’re errors, not failing to beat guys one-on-one or not having enough talent to compete. Some of that will be helped as players come back from injuries, and some is as simple as getting new players to jell with established ones. But regardless, it has to get fixed before the Ravens can hope to win games regularly.
Ravens offense couldn’t account for pressure
Cleveland brought the heat and put pressure on Jackson all game long. It didn’t help that center Matt Skura and left guard Bradley Bozeman were spotted on their backsides several times, giving up interior pressure. Jackson was sacked four times and hit six times as the Browns defense didn’t allow the Ravens to set up big plays down the field.
The problem with that is the offense didn’t really change their game plan to a quick-hit scheme. Instead, Baltimore ate up clock on the ground with Jackson and the running backs, even late in the game when they desperately needed to hasten their attack. Offensive coordinator Greg Roman didn’t really alter his scheme according to what Cleveland was throwing at him.
Things like screens, quick slants and comeback routes are the best way to get the ball out quickly against a pass rush. Keeping a tight end or running back in to block or at least chip can buy an extra second or two for a play to develop. Neither of those things was done often enough against a defense that gave plenty of cushion to receivers and sent blitzes.
With the defense struggling, the offense has to pick up the slack. That means getting better play in the trenches and being able to scheme better with the flow of a game. As we’ve seen in previous weeks, this offense has the talent to do these things. They just need to execute better across the board.
