Lamar Jackson spent Sunday on the sideline in Cleveland. Without him, the Baltimore Ravens’ offense lasted exactly one quarter.
The Cleveland Browns beat the Ravens 13-10 on Andre Szmyt’s 37-yard field goal as time expired. Jackson missed a second straight game with an ankle injury, so Tyler Huntley started. Baltimore raced to a 10-0 lead on its first two possessions and then failed to score on its last nine.
The loss gave Todd Monken a win over his old team in his first year as Cleveland’s head coach. Monken spent the previous three seasons as Baltimore’s offensive coordinator.
The result also left the Ravens, Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers tied at 4-2 atop the AFC North. Several Ravens fans said Baltimore needs Jackson back.
Lamar Jackson Looks on as a 10-Point Lead Disappears
Rookie tight end Josh Cuevas said Jackson was trying to keep the team’s morale up. Kevin Oestreicher, host of the “Locked On Ravens” podcast, posted a clip of the two-time MVP’s reaction at the finish.
The finish capped a long fade. On fourth down on the opening drive, Huntley found Cuevas for a 2-yard touchdown, the rookie’s first career score. Tyler Loop added a 34-yard field goal.
Then the offense flatlined. After the first quarter, the Ravens punted on five straight possessions. Over the final 30 minutes, Baltimore gained 72 yards to Cleveland’s 191.
Ravens coach Jesse Minter pointed to Cleveland’s defense. “That’s a really aggressive front. We weren’t able to really sustain anything in the run game.”
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Huntley credited the Browns with switching up their looks throughout the game. He finished 19-of-31 for 165 yards and a touchdown, and he was sacked three times.
The fourth quarter turned a slog into a loss. Early in the period, Loop missed a 49-yard attempt that would have made it 13-3.
On the Ravens’ next possession, Browns linebacker Carson Schwesinger pried the ball loose from Derrick Henry, and Tyson Campbell recovered, giving Cleveland the ball at the Baltimore 35. Seven plays later, Audric Estime’s 2-yard run tied the game with 8:33 left.
Baltimore went three-and-out on both of its remaining possessions. With under a minute left, Deshaun Watson hit Jerry Jeudy for a 33-yard catch-and-run on third-and-5 from the Cleveland 38, and that set up Szmyt’s winner.
Henry, held to a season-low 58 yards on 17 carries, put the loss on himself.
“I told the team, ‘Put this one on me.’ I’ve just got to do better. Can’t put the team in this position.”
It’s an old wound. Since the start of 2019, Baltimore has blown 17 leads of at least 10 points, the most in the NFL over that span.
Fans Say the Offense Can’t Function Without Jackson
The loss dropped the Ravens to 1-1 without Jackson this season. Pro Football Network’s NFL QB Impact Grade has him at 88.4 for the season through Week 6, 2nd of 34 graded quarterbacks.
A week earlier, Huntley led an overtime win over the Atlanta Falcons, and Sunday’s defeat ended his three-game winning streak as a starter. For several fans, the problem started with who wasn’t under center.
One fan was blunt. “We need Lamar back NOW. If he’s in we easily win this game.”
Another zeroed in on the passing game. “Tyler Huntley is a good backup, but still a backup. The offense offered no real threat to push the ball downfield all day.”
A third linked the stalled run game to the same issue. “Ravens offense is a shell of itself without Lamar Jackson, can’t expect to lean on Derrick Henry either when Huntley can’t consistently push the ball downfield.”
Not everyone put it all on the quarterback. WNST Ravens reporter Luke Jones wasn’t letting the offense off the hook. “Even without Lamar Jackson, that’s an ugly one.”
Charlie Goldsmith covers the Cincinnati Bengals for FOX19, and he called Baltimore a top-heavy team. He wrote that a healthy Jackson can win the Ravens any game. B
ut he argued that Cleveland’s defensive line controlled the line of scrimmage, that Baltimore’s offensive line hasn’t set the tone nearly enough this season and that the receiver room doesn’t have enough players who get open when the Ravens have to play a traditional shotgun game.
“The way they need to win is under center early down, and when Cleveland shut that down there was no counter today with Jackson injured and Huntley at QB,” Goldsmith wrote.
The Associated Press described Jackson as nearing a return, and the Ravens’ official team website wrote that next week would be an especially good time for him to come back, with the Bengals, 3-2 and coming off a bye, visiting M&T Bank Stadium on Oct. 25.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.