Another bright season may be jeopardized by the Ravens’ recent pattern of late-game failures.
![](https://i0.wp.com/cdn.theathletic.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1920%2cformat=auto%2cquality=75/https://cdn.theathletic.com/app/uploads/2023/11/14004352/GettyImages-1776921685-1024x683.jpg?resize=768%2C512&ssl=1)
The Ravens have had trouble maintaining late leads and have not been a good fourth-quarter club. This unsettling trait for a club aiming for the Super Bowl was evident once more on Sunday when Baltimore lost 33–31 after blowing a two-touchdown lead during the final nine minutes and letting the Cleveland Browns score the game’s final 16 points.
Until Dustin Hopkins’ 40-yard field goal went through the uprights with no time remaining on Sunday, Baltimore was leading. The Ravens have only trailed for 28 minutes, 48 seconds in 10 games. They are 7-3, though. NFL Research states that only the Miami Dolphins of 1984 and the Denver Broncos of 1998 had trailed through ten games for fewer time in the previous forty years. By now, both were down 10 against 0.
However, the Ravens’ problems are not a recent development. John Harbaugh’s team struggled to close games the previous season, as it has in the past to varied degrees. The Ravens have wasted two-possession leads in seven of their last ten losses. Since 2021, they have dropped nine games in which they have lost.
However, defeats like the one on Sunday against a divisional foe are sure to start a new round of finger-pointing. There is really an abundance of it.
Jackson has made eight mistakes in the fourth quarter in 22 games since the beginning of the previous season (five interceptions, three fumbles). According to TruMedia, he has committed one turnover for every 23 fourth-quarter plays over that time. Among qualified quarterbacks, only Davis Webb and Justin Fields have a worse fourth-quarter turnover rate.
The Ravens have had difficulty stopping opponents in the fourth quarter, even in games where they have dominated the first forty-five minutes of play. This season, they have only given up 82 points in total across the first three quarters, but they have given up 75 points in the fourth quarter or in overtime. Their fourth-quarter scoring average of 7.5 points per game is the third highest in the NFL, after only the one-win Carolina Panthers (8.3) and the Indianapolis Colts (8.1).
In the third and fourth quarters of Sunday’s game, the second-ranked Ravens defense had three opportunities to seal the victory with a single stop, but they were unsuccessful each time. The defense has had trouble doing that, which is surprising for a team that frequently boasts about ending games on its terms.
And there’s the coaching component as well. It begins there, let’s face it. That must. After all, Harbaugh coaches this squad and frequently promotes grit, toughness, and poise. In crucial moments, the Ravens have far too frequently failed in a variety of areas in recent years.
It’s not just about debating a Harbaugh two-point or fourth-down play here or there. Whether it’s a particular play call or coaching choice, Harbaugh and his colleagues still lack the solutions to buck the unsettling pattern. Before it’s too late, they have to locate them. This Ravens squad is too good to be losing games it shouldn’t be losing.
“We look at the football. You don’t have time to dig into the psychology, if that’s what you’re asking me, for the root causes,” Harbaugh said Monday. “Maybe there is some historical reason for it. I’m not exactly sure, but we’re just looking at the football. We fix the football. That’s what we’re doing. Our guys are good about that. We have a very honest culture, a very straightforward culture. We don’t gloss anything over. We all look at ourselves. We’re in a partnership, that’s how we look at it.”
The curious Keaton Mitchell usage
There was a clear effort made in the first half to get the ball to rookie running back Keaton Mitchell. On the Ravens’ first offensive possession, he took a handoff 39 yards for a touchdown. On the second drive, Mitchell caught a screen pass for 32 yards. Three plays later, Jackson tried to hit Mitchell on a wheel route but the pass fell incomplete. Mitchell got the ball on a reverse in the second quarter and lost 7 yards.
Over the final 33-plus minutes, Mitchell got one total touch and no targets. He had a 2-yard run with two minutes left in the third quarter. There was another run-pass option where Mitchell appeared to have plenty of green grass on the outside, but Jackson kept the ball. That was it. Harbaugh didn’t have an answer for it after the game, saying, “It’s just kind of the way it went as far as the play calling. It wasn’t a part of the plan or anything like that.”
![](https://images.sidearmdev.com/resize?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdxbhsrqyrr690.cloudfront.net%2Fsidearm.nextgen.sites%2Fgeorgiadogs.com%2Fimages%2F2022%2F11%2F22%2F22_Monken_16x9_9xeGK.jpg&height=300)
Any way you look at it, there’s no reason for Mitchell, who is the fastest and freshest skill position player the Ravens have, to touch the ball only once in the second half.
10 random thoughts, observations
1. Ravens rookie wide receiver Zay Flowers had a solid game with five catches for 73 yards, but it could have been even better. Flowers got behind the Browns defense in the second quarter for what should have been six, but Jackson, who did well to recognize the blitz, overthrew him by a couple of yards. Jackson needs to start hitting on a few of these deep balls. According to NFL’s Next Gen Stats, Jackson is 3-for-13 for 89 yards and an interception on deep throws since Week 6, with a 12.7 percent completion percentage under expected.
2. It’s fair to ask whether the Ravens need to make a difficult decision in regard to Marcus Williams. The veteran safety continues to gut it out and play through a torn pectoral muscle. Yet, it continues to be clear that Williams is essentially playing and trying to tackle with one arm. Browns tight end David Njoku took advantage of a one-armed tackle attempt at least once. On a few other plays, it appeared Williams was running parallel to the ball carrier to try to get an angle, where he’d be able to make a tackle without using his left arm.
There’s also the matter of Williams’ return taking either Geno Stone or Arthur Maulet off the field, because it leads to Kyle Hamilton sliding into the nickel role. Both Stone and Maulet have been key to the success of Baltimore’s pass defense. Williams is a team leader and a defensive playmaker when he’s right. He wants to be on the field. That’s commendable. But Harbaugh and the coaching staff need to decide whether that’s the best thing for the team. It didn’t appear to be Sunday. On Monday, Harbaugh backed Williams and said he expects him to get more and more comfortable.
3. It’s hard to point fingers when you don’t know the exact defensive play call and the responsibilities of each player on said call. Sunday’s defensive meltdown was odd because the Ravens had been good in the middle of the field all year. Harbaugh blamed the team’s struggles on “specific zone coverages (and) split safety coverages” that were not played correctly. The Browns had receivers and tight ends open all afternoon. The question is: Why was it suddenly a problem on Sunday? Browns again display grittiness in comeback win over Ravens: ‘They’re about that fight’
4. Another surprise about Baltimore’s defensive effort is how easily it allowed Deshaun Watson to get out of the pocket and pick up yards with his legs or by throwing on the run. The players said it was a defensive focus in practice last week, and yet, it repeatedly was a problem. The Ravens’ defensive front has been unselfish and disciplined with how they’ve rushed and stayed in their lanes. It was anything but those things on Sunday.
5. Two biggest plays of the game: On the first one, the Ravens had a 31-17 lead following Gus Edwards’ touchdown. Justin Madubuike sacked Watson on the next play from scrimmage, setting up a second-and-15. Watson then found Amari Cooper for 25 yards. Five plays and two minutes later, the Browns scored. The second one: The Ravens had a 31-30 lead and Odafe Oweh sacked Watson to create a second-and-19 on Cleveland’s 22. Watson then hit Cooper for 17 yards. Five plays and one kneeldown earlier, Hopkins kicked the game-winning field goal. Baltimore’s defense has to get off the field in both spots.
6. You can’t pin the Browns’ blocked field goal on Justin Tucker. You can chalk it up as another costly special teams miscue in a season where there have already been too many. Not only did the block of the 55-yard attempt take away three points for the Ravens, but Browns linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. returned the block to the Baltimore 38, ultimately setting up a field goal for Cleveland. That’s a notable swing in a close game. The Ravens getting kicks or punts blocked had been relatively rare. They’ve already had a field goal, extra point and a punt blocked with seven games to go. That can’t happen. As for Tucker, he’s missed four field goals, all from 50-plus yards. He’s only missed four or more field goals in four of his previous 11 seasons.
7. I don’t know what to make about that delay of game penalty on the Ravens’ last offensive drive that turned a third-and-9 into third-and-14. Jackson clearly thought the play clock would be reset because it took a while to spot the ball after both the Ravens’ Kevin Zeitler and the Browns’ Za’Darius Smith were shaken up. Jackson pleaded his case to head referee Land Clark. Who knows whether the Ravens would have converted without the penalty, but third-and-14 made it much more difficult.
8. Whether he felt Cedric Tillman should have been flagged for a blind-side block or taunting by standing over him, Ravens outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy has been around the league long enough to know you’re not going to get away with retaliating with a referee standing nearby.
9. Harbaugh didn’t give a definitive timeline for the returns of left tackle Ronnie Stanley (knee sprain) and cornerback Marlon Humphrey (calf strain). For now, both players are said to be week to week, which is certainly more encouraging than what it appeared on Sunday. Humphrey went down with a non-contact injury and Stanley was rolled up on and repeatedly punched the ground in pain. This is where the Ravens’ schedule works in their favor. After Thursday, they have just one game (Nov. 26 at the Los Angeles Chargers) in 23 days. As tough as it would be to lose Humphrey and Stanley for matchups against the Cincinnati Bengals and Chargers, potentially getting them back for the final four or five regular-season games would be a nice boost.
10. A return of right tackle Morgan Moses could be significant this week. The Ravens’ offensive line struggled against the Browns, and with Stanley potentially out Thursday, offensive tackle depth could quickly become a problem.