OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The sting of Sunday’s loss to Philadelphia will linger during the bye week, but the Ravens are a good team that remains in good shape.
Though securing the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage in the postseason for the second straight year isn’t happening, an 8-5 record still gives Baltimore a strong grip on a playoff spot and a legitimate chance of winning the AFC North despite falling 1 1/2 games behind Pittsburgh on Sunday. Taking the division will require a home win over the Steelers on Dec. 21 as well as a Pittsburgh loss against Cleveland, Philadelphia, Kansas City, or Cincinnati, and that’s assuming the Ravens don’t drop one to the New York Giants, Houston, or the Browns.
That’s far from a lock, of course, but it’s hardly impossible, especially for a team that’s stayed mostly healthy through the first three months of the season.
After Sunday’s 24-19 loss, Lamar Jackson was the first to admit he didn’t play particularly well against the Eagles, but we’re talking about a two-time NFL MVP who remains firmly in the mix to win the award a third time this season. And with him playing some of the best football of his career, this offense remains No. 1 in yards per play, third in scoring, and elite in most other categories of importance.
Despite losing two of the last three games, the Ravens seem to have solved their pass defense woes, which was perceived to be the biggest threat to their championship aspirations as recently as a few weeks ago. Since benching Marcus Williams and beginning to use Kyle Hamilton and Ar’Darius Washington as the primary deep safeties, Baltimore has surrendered just one touchdown pass and three completions of 20 or more yards over the last three games combined. At its worst, this pass defense was allowing that much on a single drive.
So, what’s holding the Ravens back from truly becoming a great team?
Unfortunately, two of their biggest concerns came to the forefront on Sunday, but it’s unclear whether either can truly be fixed in time for the playoffs, which is all that matters for a team that’s enjoyed no shortage of regular-season success and accolades in recent years.
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The Justin Tucker problem isn’t getting better any better after the seven-time Pro Bowl kicker missed two field goals and an extra point, costing his team dearly in a close game. His eight missed field goals are already a career high, and his two missed extra points reiterate that the problem isn’t just kicking from beyond 50 yards anymore. You don’t have to be an expert to note the theme of Tucker missing wide left, which is why his 53-yard miss to the right against the Eagles was even more unsettling in terms of trying to remedy this.
Practically speaking, the Ravens aren’t finding anyone on the open market right now that’s going to inspire more confidence than Tucker’s Hall of Fame track record, which is why Baltimore will continue trying to get the 35-year-old back on track. Head coach John Harbaugh reiterated after Sunday’s loss that they’re not moving on from their longtime kicker — at least for now.
“We’re racking our brains, talking to Justin, looking at what we’re doing,” said Harbaugh, noting how well Tucker has kicked during practices and pregame workouts. “I’m very confident that it’s going to get fixed. I believe it will. It has to, and he’s the guy to get it fixed. Sometimes you respect the player, and you respect his ability to get it worked out with help from the coaching.”
Regardless of what happens with the kicker position, the Ravens have little choice but to alter how they operate on offense in the meantime. That could mean being more aggressive on third and fourth downs inside field-goal range or needing to be more mindful of field position such as when Jackson took the sack that turned what would have been a 33-yard attempt into a 47-yarder Tucker missed in the third quarter of Sunday’s loss.
That’s a difficult way for any offense to have to play, mind you, but it’s the Ravens’ reality, regardless of whether it’s Tucker or someone else kicking. The typical trust isn’t going to be there.
The other concern headlining Sunday’s loss was the immense struggles of the offensive line against the Eagles’ dynamic defensive line, which came on the heels of similar problems facing Pittsburgh’s front a couple weeks ago. Having replaced three starters from last season and enduring the death of position coach Joe D’Alessandris over the summer, the offensive line has held up better than expected against most opponents this season, but it’s the dramatic difficulties against the Steelers and Eagles as well as the Chiefs in Week 1 — three defensive lines with elite interior players — and their impact on the entire offensive operation that make one take pause, especially considering the likelihood of seeing Pittsburgh and Kansas City again in January. Baltimore’s three lowest point totals of the season have come against those opponents.
Of course, the entire offensive line isn’t to blame as center Tyler Linderbaum is having another Pro Bowl-caliber season and left tackle Ronnie Stanley has played his best football since the horrific ankle injury he suffered in 2020. Rookie right tackle Roger Rosengarten has endured some growing pains, but he’s shown plenty of promise along the way.
8The biggest questions remain at the guard spots as Patrick Mekari and Daniel Faalele fared particularly poorly against the Eagles. Leading the team in penalties — an overall issue that’s plagued all three phases for Baltimore — this season, Mekari was charged with surrendering nine pressures on Sunday, according to Pro Football Focus. Meanwhile, Faalele still isn’t showing the effectiveness or physicality as a run blocker that you’d expect from someone with a 6-foot-8, 380-pound frame. For what it’s worth, PFF has graded Mekari 37th and Faalele 58th out of 73 qualified guards this season.
If Monday provided any indication, we shouldn’t expect the Ravens to pivot to alternatives such as Ben Cleveland or Andrew Vorhees, who started the first three games of the season before injuring his ankle against Dallas and being replaced by Mekari at left guard.
“I think we’re pretty well set there. I think those guys could come in … and help us, but I’m not down on anybody on the offensive line,” Harbaugh said. “That’s a really good front we played against [on Sunday]. I think we could have played better, especially in pass protection. Those guys would tell you that it could have been better even in the run blocking sometimes, but I don’t think it merits any drastic changes right now.”
Maybe not, but it begs the question whether this offensive line possesses enough upside to get over the hump facing the toughest defenses in the postseason. Only time will tell.
Tucker and the offensive line aren’t the only concerns for the Ravens, who will still need to show their pass defense woes are behind them for good. In addition to Tucker, the rest of the special teams have been woeful with Baltimore ranking 24th in special teams DVOA. And the Ravens continue to lead the league in penalties despite registering just four for 20 yards in Sunday’s loss, which were season lows.
Still, most teams would sign up in blood for an 8-5 record through Week 13 and an elite franchise quarterback without knowing any other details. Every current contender has its flaws that aren’t easily fixed on paper, and the Ravens are no different in that way.
For a team that’s Super Bowl or bust, however, we’ll see if the aforementioned concerns spell doom in January.
