BALTIMORE — You wanted to believe the Ravens had turned the page.
It was easy — not to mention convenient — to write off all that plagued Baltimore in recent years as leaving town with longtime head coach John Harbaugh, especially after watching that convincing Week 1 victory in Indianapolis to kick off the Jesse Minter era. But as we noted ahead of Sunday’s home opener against New Orleans, this was “the kind of sneaky early-season game” that would have had you on alert in recent years.
The Ravens — along with the rest of us — fell for the trap once again.
The biggest takeaway from the 24-17 upset loss to the Saints was that old habits die hard, regardless of how much you believe in your new coaching staff. Between critical breakdowns from all three phases and some questionable decisions from a rookie head coach and first-time offensive play-caller in Declan Doyle, the Ravens apparently still have a ways to go before erasing that longstanding reputation of not being able to finish. Getting back Pro Bowl talents Zay Flowers and Nnamdi Madubuike in the coming weeks will help, of course, but we also know injuries are a brutal part of the game.
Counting on being at full strength to cure every trouble just isn’t realistic.
After the game, Minter regretted that the Ravens “never extended the [lead] where we probably could have and then let them keep kind of hanging around.” Led by impressive second-year quarterback Tyler Shough and talented wide receiver Chris Olave, the Saints deserve plenty of credit for making the big plays that Baltimore didn’t, especially in the fourth quarter.
But the turning point to which Minter alluded came late in the third quarter when the Baltimore defense had just sacked Shough twice, which led to a three-and-out and punt out of bounds that gave the ball to the Ravens at the New Orleans 49. Leading 17-9, Lamar Jackson and the offense had their chance to seize full control after a mostly successful afternoon to that moment. Instead, a poor sequence of events followed, beginning with left tackle Ronnie Stanley leaving the game before the drive started.
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Wide receiver Chris Moore committed a false start.
Jackson was pressured into a short throw to Derrick Henry for a 3-yard loss and was sacked on second down.
A long throw out of bounds on third-and-26 finished the drive and breathed new life into New Orleans.
Instead of stepping on their opponent’s neck, the Ravens stumbled backward and fumbled all momentum.
From that point, a Baltimore defense that struggled to get off the field on third down for much of the afternoon allowed touchdowns on the Saints’ final two possessions. Between those long scoring drives that consisted of poor tackling and a couple backbreaking penalties, the Ravens elected to take a deep shot to the journeyman Moore on third-and-1 instead of handing the ball to Henry, which resulted in an incompletion and a three-and-out from their own 37.
In the midst of that first New Orleans touchdown drive, Minter unsuccessfully challenged a 3-yard completion that cost Baltimore a timeout and gave the Saints plenty of time to think about a key third-down play. Before even taking into account how inconclusive the initial replay angles were, you had to wonder whether the upside was worth that challenge anyway. Minter sure would have preferred having that timeout at the end of the game.
8Ultimately, the Ravens couldn’t even be all that upset about a very questionable touchdown ruling on fourth-and-goal from the 1 after seeing a blatant facemask committed by Roquan Smith that should have given New Orleans a fresh set of downs anyway. Blame the officiating if it makes you feel better, but this team had no one to blame but itself for being in such a position — again.
While the offense and defense shared in the fourth-quarter collapse, the special teams did their part earlier in the day by having a field goal blocked in the second quarter and surrendering a 53-yard kick return that led to a cheap Saints field goal to conclude the first half.
“Everyone is kind of tired of doing what we just did,” said 10th-year cornerback Marlon Humphrey about Baltimore’s 15th loss after holding a double-digit lead since Jackson became the full-time starter in 2019. “I think it’s a lot of older guys, a lot of guys that it just feels like it’s time. Hopefully, we’ll make this a hiccup and not [let] this be a bridge that’s final and cannot be repaired. There will definitely be some things getting right, and we just cannot let this linger too long.”
Words we’ve heard over and over and over in so many postgame locker rooms.
From the moment he was introduced as the fourth head coach in team history in January, Minter vowed that his Ravens would “be at our best when our best is needed.” That’s not to say they won’t get there — maybe even sooner than later — but this talented core of players carries plenty of scar tissue and doubts from such situations. They have to own that even more now as winning ultimately comes down to your best players making plays.
When it truly mattered Sunday, nobody — players or coaches — got the job done.
