I was inundated with calls and texts Sunday from friends and family during the Baltimore Ravens’ loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.
“The offensive line is terrible.”
“Harbaugh is crazy.”
“Lamar can’t throw.”
These and so many other doomsday comments jarred my message apps and eardrums. After the excitement of two wins, Sunday’s lackluster performance had some people not leaping off the Ravens bandwagon.
But let’s all take a deep breath, exhale, and focus on what’s an issue and what’s an overreaction. We’ll start with the one getting the most attention all offseason long: quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Lamar Jackson showed his true colors
If you mean this in a completely negatively sense, then I’d say it’s an overreaction. If you mean that we got another taste of what Jackson is capable of under a little more adversity, then I’d say the latter notion is certainly more appropriate.
Jackson is still developing his game, and while he had some early luck playing against the Dolphins and Cardinals, two teams in the midst of rebuilds, this was his first major test against a team pegged by many to reach the Super Bowl. The Chiefs are well-coached and an overall great team, so I wouldn’t put the blame squarely on Jackson for this one.
Did he overthrow the types of passes he had made to Marquise Brown in the past? Absolutely.
Did he hold the ball longer than needed and make bad decisions with his legs on occasion? Sure.
Quarterbacks have off games, and the Chiefs’ defense played a masterful game containing Jackson’s targets — virtually erasing his favorite, tight end Mark Andrews — and putting him under duress in the pocket. I watched Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff Sunday night against the Cleveland Browns; he blew more than a few throws to wide-open receivers, and he’s been to two Pro Bowls in three years. It happens to every quarterback at some point in his career.
What’s important to take away from this game is Jackson put the problems solely on himself as a “field general,” even though there were problems with the offensive line and receivers getting open.
Jackson showed serious grit, getting the Ravens to within five points after they were down by 17 points going into the fourth quarter. Similar to the previous outing in Kansas City last season, Jackson showed that he can make adjustments and he’ll fight for all 60 minutes, no matter the numbers on the scoreboard. That’s certainly a quality any team looks for in a franchise quarterback and not something all of them have.
Let’s not forget that this game came down to just five points — a few better passes here and there, a little more help from the defense, a call in their favor from the officials and the Ravens leave victorious.
There’s a lot to learn from this game, and Jackson, along with the rest of the team, can use this lesson to improve so they’re ready if they see the Chiefs again in January.
The secondary is a weakness, not a strength
I’m starting to agree here. It’s not an overreaction to say that what was considered the Ravens’ best defensive unit before the season has looked downright feeble the past two games. The loss of cornerbacks Jimmy Smith and Tavon Young is doing this group no favors, and the gap between the would-be starters and the “next man up” may be wider than anticipated.
Yes, Patrick Mahomes is arguably the best quarterback in the league, so the secondary had its work cut out for itself on Sunday. But they were hard-pressed to stop the Chiefs offense most of the game and after having similar issues in Week 2 against the Arizona Cardinals, I’m not sure how to correct this problem while Smith remains sidelined. Defensive coordinator Don Martindale and company need to figure out better options for their personnel or bring in some help if possible.
With the league becoming more pass-happy than ever, the Ravens will need to decide whether their current lineup is enough to help win games like this in the future. After three weeks, it clearly hasn’t been.
John Harbaugh has lost his mind
I was confused by a few calls as much as the rest of you, for sure, but this is a pure overreaction.
I’m the first to applaud a coach who challenges his players to win in fourth-down or two-point situations, and analytics support Harbaugh on this. Harbaugh might’ve realized early on that there was virtually no stopping the Chiefs’ offensive attack and he wanted to maintain possession at any cost, as well as account for every point the Ravens could manage.
I won’t argue that every decision made sense, but Harbaugh’s aggressiveness set the tone for the day and for his players. And none of those players seem to think that was a problem.
Will Harbaugh be that aggressive in the future? Time will tell, but I’d imagine he, like the rest of the team, will learn from this game.
If the Ravens take this loss and work to improve their overall play, like any good team does, fans and pundits alike may see Week 3 as the catalyst for something much bigger.
