With the Ravens suffering their first AFC North defeat of the season in an ugly 13-3 loss at Cleveland on Saturday, I’ve offered a dozen thoughts, each in 50 words or less:
1. Surrendering just 13 points should be more than good enough to win, but Baltimore did allow Cleveland to control the second half to the tune of 100 yards on 23 carries, the worst a strong run defense has fared since Week 7. Calais Campbell missing time would be a concern.
2. Saturday reminded how challenging it can be to play pass defense with only two cornerbacks you trust. Kyle Hamilton was targeted often at the nickel, and the Ravens now face the possibility of being without Marcus Peters, who remains their second-best corner by a wide margin.
3. Justin Houston’s critical face mask penalty turned a sack and three-and-out into a first down and eventual 91-yard touchdown drive for Deshaun Watson and the Browns. Cleveland gained first downs on each of its next three plays after that. Unfortunately, this defense has a tiny margin for error these days.
4. Ravens wide receivers combined to make eight catches for 58 yards on 14 targets and haven’t caught a touchdown pass since Week 3, a factoid that made the rounds over the weekend. Is it really all that surprising though? You get what you pay for.
5. Tyler Huntley really struggled and must learn to throw the ball away and take fewer hits if he wants to develop into an NFL starter, but it’s not as though his teammates were making many plays for him. You’ve got to help your backup quarterback.
6. Throwing a third-and-10 slant to a 36-year-old DeSean Jackson inside the red zone and targeting James Proche on back-to-back fourth downs illustrated how feeble this passing attack is. The Ravens rank 30th in the NFL in passing efficiency since the first three weeks of the season, per Football Outsiders.
7. J.K. Dobbins again impressed with 125 yards on 13 carries, and I’m more amazed watching him try to kick into a higher gear that isn’t there right now. It’s a credit to his talent and desire to be out there, but how will he hold up down the stretch?
8. When was the last time Justin Tucker missed two field goals in a game? You have to go back to the 2020 postseason loss to Buffalo in a windy Orchard Park. The Ravens only managed to score three points in that contest too.
9. Taking a delay of game after calling a timeout summed up that two-minute drive at the end of the first half appropriately. John Harbaugh acknowledged “some headset issues” after the game, but that just can’t happen. Such clock problems continue, however.
10. Devin Duvernay hasn’t looked right as a return specialist in recent weeks. You wonder if a bigger-than-expected offensive workload is taking a toll. The same could probably be said for Demarcus Robinson, who fumbled twice in Saturday’s game. These should be No. 3 and No. 4 wide receivers.
11. David Ojabo made his NFL debut, seeing one defensive snap and four plays on special teams in Cleveland. The game didn’t unfold for Baltimore to have a ton of use for a fifth edge defender, but it was still disappointing not to see him play a little more.
12. Sandwiched between the greatest comeback in NFL history and a fun snow game on Saturday, Ravens-Browns was a joyless outlier in a Week 15 that included 12 one-score games, three overtimes, and whatever the Patriots did at the end of regulation in Las Vegas. It could always be worse, right?
