The Baltimore Ravens let yet another double-digit second-half lead slip away in Sunday’s 13-10 loss to the Cleveland Browns with Andre Szmyt kicking a game-winning field goal as time expired. Here are Baltimore Beatdown’s instant reactions:
Nikhil Mehta
Last week, the Ravens got the best of the Tyler Huntley experience. He had his usual limitations, but he flipped the ‘gamer’ switch in the fourth quarter to secure the comeback win. But in Cleveland, Snoop just could not get the job done. He was lucky to finish this game without multiple interceptions on an underwhelming stat sheet that features just 165 yards on 31 passing attempts. Despite an encouraging start, the offensive operation was a mess all afternoon, heightening the importance of getting Lamar Jackson and Cam Jurgens on the field. Baltimore’s defense will be hard on themselves for giving up another double-digit second-half lead, but the offense consistently put them in tough positions. Kyle Hamilton and Nnamdi Madubuike nearly carried the Ravens to a win on their own today, but none of their teammates could dig deep and come up with a play when they needed it most. However, I’m not coming out of this game with any sweeping conclusions. The alarm bells aren’t going off. The coaching and talent is there; the Ravens just need to get (and stay) healthy to let it shine.
Zach Canter
Weird things happen in Cleveland, every year, every time. It’s hard to overcome them like the Ravens tend to do when you don’t have Lamar Jackson. Derrick Henry fumble, a Tyler Loop miss, an awful DPI that was picked up, a penalty on Cleveland that was picked up after being announced. Defense did its job for the most part. All the score came from close range but the third down defense was still highly disappointing in the fourth quarter. The offense is the real issue. They had two fantastic drives and then decided to clock out for the day. The offensive line was moved for most of the day, pass catchers dropped the ball a ton, Derrick Henry didn’t do much, and Tyler Huntley was highly inaccurate multiple times. Simply not good enough.
Stephen Bopst
Very ugly game all around. The Ravens were in control early but made enough mistakes to give the Browns the game. Derrick Henry’s fumble and Tyler Loops missed field goal proved to be their undoing along with some typical questionable calls from the refs down the stretch. Somehow replay assist was used to overturn a Browns penalty but was not for a terrible DPI on Keyon Martin. After the first two drives, the offense was truly terrible and badly need their starting QB back. With even a below average performance from them, the Ravens probably win this. The Ravens have now lost possession of first place in the division and head into the most pivotal part of their schedule.
Kevin McNelis
No one to blame but themselves. We say this over and over and over again, and here we are.
In the first quarter, the Ravens took a 10-0 lead and had a lot of good things going for them. The defense was providing shutdown coverage through the air, and while it was a slog to get things going, it had the potential to be a low-scoring win if they could just gut it out. In order to gut out a win, though, you need the guts to do it. This version of this team sorely lacked guts today.
As soon as the Loop kick sailed wide, I knew they were in trouble. We’ve seen the trends in games with the missed kicks, inability to adjust away from a struggling run game leading to a Henry fumble, Charmin Ultra-Soft coverage in the secondary, all aided by atrocious officiating favoring the home team, and the Ravens drop a game that they had every opportunity to win.
Anthony Weaver and that secondary have a lot of soul searching to do after this one. The O-line desperately needs help and if LJ isn’t ready to go, the coaching staff should have a serious conversation about Joe Fagnano starting in favor of Snoop next week.
My parting shot: RUN PLAY ACTION. If eight defenders are stacked in the box to slow down your future HOF running back, someone is open downfield. It’s not rocket science and I feel like we never see it unless LJ is in.
Mark Myers
A brutal ending that unfortunately everyone could see coming from the moment Tyler Loop missed wide left. The Ravens of old showed up today, putting up zero points in the final three quarters while mixing in crucial errors. As tough as it is, the solutions are simple. Lamar Jackson will need to return next week to get the team back on track as they begin a stretch of tough