The Ravens did it again.
The choke gene may have gone dormant for a couple of weeks, but it remains. The hiring of Jesse Minter as head coach certainly didn’t eliminate it, and all the hallmarks of all the collapses of the past played out again Sunday in Cleveland. Minter’s defense once again was far worse in the second half that it’s been in the first half, they got crushed on third down when it mattered most, young kicker Tyler Loop missed a critical field goal and running back Derrick Henry, who rarely fumbles but when he does it tends to come in these collapses, gave the ball away late, too.
And so, for the 16th time since 2019 the Baltimore Ravens lost a game in which they led by double digits, this time, 13-10, to the Browns and rookie head coach Todd Monken, Baltimore’s former offensive coordinator who was fired along with John Harbaugh, because of all those blown leads and blown games. Minter now has blown three leads of 10 points or more himself, and he’s lost two of them, and his second-half adjustments remain quite questionable.
The Browns lead the AFC North, while the Ravens fell to 3-2. The Ravens hope to get two-time MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson back from his ankle injury next week. Backup Snoop Huntley, who was great for two drives in Week 5 but is a very limited passer and a player the Ravens quit on after the 2024 season for myriad reasons, could generate almost nothing, the Ravens had 235 net yards and they will face more probing questions about their inability to manage leads and beat teams they should beat when getting up that big.
A week ago Minter opined how the overtime win at Atlanta could be the start of a new identity for the team. Welp. Baltimore scored on its first two drives then not again and Minter's defense gets worse as games go on.
Here’s what you need to know about how it went down:
Thrown For A Loop
The Ravens had a great chance to make it a two-score game in the fourth quarter when young kicker Tyler Loop, who continues to struggle for consistency but did hit a game-winning kick in Brazil last month, pushed a 48-yard attempt that could have made it a 13-3 game, and the Ravens fell into a funk.
It’s a kick he has to make and looked like some key misses in the past. The next time the Ravens got the ball running back Derrick Henry, who was bottled up after a hot start, broke free for a strong first-down run but was stripped of the ball, setting up the Browns in Baltimore territory. And, after controversial pass interference call on third own, Cleveland capped the drive with a TD run to tie it at 10.
On the ensuing kickoff, Rasheen Ali muffed the ball, putting the Ravans back at their own 15 to start the drive, and the tenor of the game has shifted entirely from the point of the missed field goal on.
Dethroned
This was a rough day for Henry. The Ravens got the perimeter run game going, tearing off first-down runs off left tackle and right tackle. But the Browns started to run blitz more and crowd the line of scrimmage and dominated the final three quarters with their defensive line against the Ravens makeshift offensive line.
Henry had eight rushes for 41 yards in the first quarter .. and then nine for 17 the rest of the day. He repeatedly got bottled up and tackled in the in backfield in short yardage situations again and could not make an impact in the second half and his fumble was devastating and, while he does it rarely, when he it does happen it tends to be part of Baltimore’s overall collapse. It conjures too many images of past choke jobs.
The line could get no push, rookie guard-turned-center, Vega Ioane, had a few bad snaps in the second half as well, the A Gap became an issue again on sacks and pressures and it just wasn’t good enough up front.
Rookie offensive coordinator Declan Doyle called a great play for rookie Josh Cuevas early in the game where he was lined up at guard before catching a pass, but he did not get enough players involved in the run game, including Justice Hill.
Huntley Is Hurried
The Ravens cannot push the ball downfield at all with this backup quarterback, which has always been my biggest issue with him. This was a tough assignment with him on the road in a divisional game with the Ravens compromised from a personnel standpoint, but he was shaky.
Huntley refused to use his legs as much as he should have against a defense that plays so much man coverage, especially when the Browns began selling out to eliminate running back Derrick Henry. His mobility provided no relief, his decision making suffered as the game went on and he was very lucky some lob passes in the middle of the field were not picked off, including a pass right at a Browns defender late in the fourth quarter.
Huntley averaged 5.3 yards per attempt, the Ravens screen game was highly lacking, $13M tight end Mark Andrews made absolutely no impact in the passing game whatsoever, and the combination of this quarterback and these targets was problematic.
Hamilton Is A Handful
Kyle Hamilton was a menacing figure around the line of scrimmage and seemed to have a great feel what former Monken was doing with the offense at all times.
Hamilton delivered a thumping tackle on running back Jaleel McLaughlin on a screen pass with the Browns backed up deep in the first half. He negated a Browns first down on an inside run with the game tight in the second half while engaged with a guard – yeah, a guard. And he blew up Browns talented rookie KC Concepcion on a designed screen in the third quarter for a loss at a time when the Browns were starting to gain a modicum of offensive momentum.
Hamilton was a factor stuffing the run and serving as a deterrent all day. On a second-and-short run blitz in the fourth quarter he had another stuff for a loss. It’s too bad more teammates could not come up with individual moments at critical times, but this defense has earned the chocking reputation in large part because of that.
Lane Delivers
Rookie receiver Ja’Kobi Lane has barely played this season, suffering a wrist injury in the first half of Week 1 that required a surgical procedure and landed him in Injured Reserve. Lane was an immediate sensation this summer at training camp and in the preseason, quickly establishing himself as a starter but it remained to be seen how quickly he could find his way in this offense after staccato start to his career.
No worries, as it turns out.
Lane caught his first four targets and all were critical plays; all produced first downs and he helped out Huntley on third-and-10 and was a problem working the middle of the field, where it became apparent in camp he was most comfortable. Lane came through on third-and-six on two occasions as well and also had an 11 yard gain on first down.
On a day in which the scope of the passing game was going to be limited and Andrews a shell of what he used to be and with starting receiver Rashod Bateman limited in practice all week and barely playing in this game before departing with injury, Lane being a chain mover was a big deal in an ugly, field position divisional ball game.
First Half Dominance ... Then
The Ravens have been one of the league’s premier defensive teams in the first half all season. The problems have come, consistently, after halftime.
Sunday was more of the same, and the most comprehensive first-half domination we have seen to this point under Minter. The Browns had 46 net yards in the first half. Yeah, 46 yards. They averaged a ridiculous 2.1 yards per play. Their two rookie receiver who were going so much damage – KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston – combined for three targets and no catches.
Quarterback Deshaun Watson had 24 yards passing at the half, he looked rattled and uncertain and wasn’t leaning into getting rid of the ball ASAP and nothing was developing downfield. Minter was leaning heavily into playing nickel defense as his base – he used it 70% of the time on first and second down in the opening half – and saving dime for third-and-forever and this group was simply winning up front.
Baltimore had three sacks in the first half alone, taking advantage of a bad Browns offensive line. But Watson began to make plays when he needed to in the second half and yet another game got away
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