[Baltimore Sun] Instant analysis from Ravens’ 29-24 loss to Cleveland Browns
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Here’s what The Baltimore Sun sports staff had to say immediately after the Ravens’ 29-24 loss to the Cleveland Browns in Sunday’s Week 8 game at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland.
Brian Wacker, reporter: The story of this game was missed opportunities, defensive mistakes and curious coaching decisions. Put another way, issues that have plagued the Ravens all season.
On defense, the secondary continues to give up wide-open catches and not generate a pass rush. On offense, the Ravens never got the running game going and Lamar Jackson never got in a rhythm. Baltimore also committed drive-killing penalties and had too many self inflicted wounds to overcome.
Childs Walker, reporter: We’re seeing too much confusion and not enough playmaking from a Ravens’ defense that allowed the league’s least efficient offense to move freely on Sunday afternoon in Cleveland. There’s no reason to have faith they’ll come up with clutch stops. Their best defender, Kyle Hamilton, dropped the easiest interception possible. Eddie Jackson was dusted for a go-ahead touchdown touchdown on the next play. That about sums up where they stand eight games into the season.
Could Lamar Jackson’s offense pick up the slack as it had over the previous five games? They came up with too little too late this time. The Ravens dropped too many passes (Nelson Agholor one and Rashod Bateman two) on third down, squandered too many points with poor execution and strange plays calls in the red zone. They wasted a 77-yard opening drive when they inexplicably called a direct snap to Derrick Henry on fourth-and-1, taking the threat of Jackson out of the equation. The Ravens reached the red zone again on their second drive, but Jackson overshot a wide-open Zay Flowers streaking toward the goal line. They gave the hapless Browns an opening to build a lead and build confidence.
The Ravens started the day without cornerbacks Marlon Humphrey and Nate Wiggins, and injuries to Brent Urban and Michael Pierce quickly thinned out their defensive line. We saw the flaws that have haunted them all season — no pressure from the four-man rush, too many receivers open between the hash marks, a failure to convert interception chances. The worst offense in the league moved the ball up and down the field on them. Hamilton saved their bacon early, blowing up a screen in the red zone to force a field goal in the first quarter and stripping Jameis Winston to set up Jackson’s touchdown strike to Agholor just before halftime. But Winston had their number in the second half.
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Mike Preston, columnist: There were two things that were going to happen in this game. Because the Browns were starting a new quarterback in Jameis Winston, the Ravens were either going to get a great effort from Cleveland or a pitiful performance from a team that had been demoralized and had recently been threatened by its owner to move its stadium to the suburbs outside the city. Well, Cleveland gave a strong effort.
The Ravens have a lot of holes on defense, particularly with coverage in the middle of the field. Quarterback Lamar Jackson had an average day and at times tried too hard to be a too much of a hero, but he was good enough to rally the Ravens with one fourth-quarter scoring drive. In the end, he couldn’t lead another, as his final pass fell incomplete in the end zone. But this game wasn’t about the success of the Ravens’ offense, rather their glaring weaknesses on defense.
Sam Cohn, reporter: Missed chance after missed chance after missed chance to close out a sixth consecutive win. The secondary had three clear drops, most consequentially from All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton that would have iced the game. Jameis Winston uncorked a 38-yard long ball for a go-ahead touchdown on the next play that put him over 300 yards on the day — that said it all.
Baltimore has one of the NFL’s most lucrative offenses and the past four weeks it’s masked how troubling the defense has been. In fairness, this Ravens’ defense was depleted but it shows how near-perfect the offense needs to be if they’re going to make a playoff run. Lamar Jackson kept countless plays alive, threw for nearly 300 yards with two touchdowns but was left spiking his helmet after the final play.
C.J. Doon, editor: Stunning. Despite all the mistakes and dropped passes on both offense and defense, it didn’t feel like the Ravens would lose until the clock finally expired.
That 38-yard touchdown pass from Jameis Winston to Cedric Tillman with 59 seconds left was reminiscent of that Tyler Boyd catch that ended the Ravens’ playoff hopes at the end of the 2017 season. Just an unbelievable turn of events for a defense that couldn’t get out of its own way all afternoon.
Lamar Jackson played heroically, carrying the Ravens with his usual flair and uncanny elusiveness. Without him, this game is not even close, and yet they had a shot to win on the final play. But you can tell by Jackson’s reaction at the end of the game, slamming his helmet to the turf in frustration, that this is not a game the Ravens should ever lose. After such a promising five-game winning streak, old fears about a disappointing defense, untrustworthy receivers and a lack of commitment to the running game (11 carries for Derrick Henry???) reared their ugly heads.
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Tim Schwartz, editor: After five straight wins, the Ravens were due to lay an egg. It’s simply become a twisted routine for one of the best teams in the NFL to lose to one of the worst.
Lamar Jackson led a masterful six-play, 91-yard go-ahead drive late in the fourth quarter only for the defense to miss yet another opportunity to change the game by allowing Jameis Winston to lead a late scoring drive. Kyle Hamilton will have nightmares about dropping that would-be game-ending interception on the play before Winston’s game-winning touchdown pass.
All of Baltimore’s early-season woes shined in this one, but the four dropped picks by the secondary was the difference for me. Winston tried his best to give this one away and the Ravens politely declined. Awful, awful loss to a lowly division foe that could come back to haunt them. Or maybe they will win five in a row again. It’s truly anybody’s guess which Ravens team shows up each week.
Bennett Conlin, editor: There aren’t words that do this loss justice. I can’t remember seeing an NFL team drop so many catchable passes and interceptions. Kyle Hamilton and Eddie Jackson had their hands on game-changing interceptions, only to let them fall through their hands. Rashod Bateman dropped a chunk play, with the ball bouncing off his facemask.
That’s an ugly and avoidable loss for Baltimore, with just about every season-long concern about the team showing back up. Justin Tucker looked shaky on longer kicks, the defense struggled to contain a backup quarterback, the offensive line let up too much pressure and the receivers dropped catchable passes. Baltimore somehow dropped several easy interceptions, any of which could’ve been the difference. Even Lamar Jackson missed a few throws that would’ve led to chunk plays, putting a dent in his MVP candidacy. It was not a clean performance from the Ravens, who had looked much sharper the last five weeks.
The Ravens have no need to panic sitting at 5-3 overall, but losing to previously 1-6 Cleveland could’ve been avoided and will sting. There were so many missed opportunities by the Ravens, and losing to both Las Vegas and Cleveland will damage playoff seeding — should Baltimore stay on track and make the postseason. If the Ravens want to win the AFC North and make a deep postseason push, they need to fix their weaknesses in a hurry.
Improved defensive health would be a good start. Baltimore played without cornerbacks Marlon Humphrey and Nate Wiggins. Defensive tackles Michael Pierce and Brent Urban left with injuries, too. Baltimore’s defense, which is questionable when fully healthy, can’t afford to be without so many of its top players. The Ravens should’ve won Sunday, though, and injuries can’t be an excuse for losing to a bad Cleveland team.
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