OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Exhausted from nearly a full week in London, the Ravens arrived home at roughly 4 a.m. Monday after their 24-16 win over Tennessee at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
After much discussion and debate about best practices preparing to play a game across the Atlantic Ocean, the question now becomes how quickly Baltimore can readjust and recover, especially with the upstart Detroit Lions coming to town Sunday. We all remember how poorly the Ravens played in their embarrassing 44-7 loss to Jacksonville in London six years ago, but they weren’t much better the following week when rival Pittsburgh flattened them at home in a 26-9 final, a game in which the Steelers jumped out to a 19-0 lead at halftime.
Over the years, the majority of teams have enjoyed their bye week after playing in London, but the Ravens will once again play a game seven days later, preferring to have their bye later in the season. After successfully changing up their approach for their second trip to London by traveling six days early rather than arriving Friday morning like they did in 2017, are the Ravens changing up their routine upon coming home this time around?
“That’s a great question. I don’t really know that we have any definitive science on that, but we’re just going to get back to business as usual,” said head coach John Harbaugh. “We’re going to try and get back on our schedule. I think coming this way is a good thing. You’re used to getting up because you’re ahead of time there [in London].
“We’ll be back at it [Tuesday] afternoon with our guys doing what we do. They’re going to get a chance to sleep all day [Monday] if they want. They’ll get a good night’s rest. They don’t have to come in until 12:15 on Tuesday, and then we’ll be pointed toward the Lions.”
The Ravens will need to be at their best with Dan Campbell’s team arguably providing their toughest test of the season to date. Long considered one of the NFL’s doormats, the Lions are 5-1, an impressive continuation of last year when they won eight of their final 10 games to transform a 1-6 start into a respectable 9-8 finish. Detroit enters Week 7 with the fifth-best point differential in the NFL, a 3-0 road record, and an abundance of confidence.
For what it’s worth, the three other teams to return home to play the week after a London game this season all won with Atlanta prevailing in Week 5 and both Buffalo and Jacksonville scoring victories this past Sunday. According to NFL Network, those wins pushed the record of teams returning from London and playing a game without a bye to 9-4.
Harbaugh and the Ravens hope that trend continues.
Red-zone woes
Baltimore was never likely to continue scoring touchdowns on a league-leading 80% of its trips inside the red zone entering Week 5, but the regression has been harsh.
Drops and turnovers contributed to a 1-for-3 finish in the red area in the ugly 17-10 loss to the Steelers, and the Ravens were even worse inside the 20 against the Titans, finishing an official 1-for-6 with one of those being Justin Tucker’s 29-yard field goal after a fumble recovery with one second remaining in the first half.
Tennessee entered Week 6 ranked fourth in red-zone defense, but the Ravens know they need to finish more drives with touchdowns, especially with one of the most difficult remaining schedules in the NFL, according to multiple outlets.
“We just didn’t get it done. I say coaches and players together, we have to do a better job at game planning, a better job of executing, and we can do it,” said Harbaugh about the red-zone woes against the Titans. “We’ve had great success in the red zone, and then we’ve kind of had a drought here, so it’s a long season.
“We’re capable of being great in the red zone, and I’m sure we’re going to have a lot of success going forward. But we have to find it, and we have to make it happen.”
Home sweet home
How long has it been since the Ravens played at home?
The Orioles — who were eliminated from the postseason a week ago — were still four days away from clinching the AL East championship and the No. 1 seed when the Ravens fell to Indianapolis in overtime on Sept. 24.
“Our fans will be excited for us to be at home,” Harbaugh said. “They’ll be in the stadium going crazy. I know the Lions [fans] have been traveling really well. I think they’ve been filling up stadiums, so I’m hopeful they don’t fill up our stadium. But it really doesn’t matter. Our fans are going to be loud, and they’re going to be into it, and they’re going to be enthusiastic. And our guys are going to be excited to play in front of our fans — I can tell you that.”
