Ravens Recap: Coaching Kills Ravens in Kansas City
The Chiefs topped the Ravens 33-28 in Kansas City on Sunday.
It was pretty obvious early on the mentality we entered this game with, and it was pretty obvious early on how that would affect us. We were trying too hard offensively to make a big play, and make a big statement.
The Ravens bought into the hype, and it cost us the game.
OFFENSE
Offensively, there is a lot to love from this game. I know what the scoreboard says, and I’ll get to the weird coaching decisions later on.
Mark Ingram’s 2-yard touchdown was the cherry on top of a 14-play, 84-yard opening drive for the Ravens. After a week of hype, kicking things off with a lengthy touchdown drive is exactly what Ravens fans wanted to see.
For the next 19 minutes and 49 seconds, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs unleashed hell with a 23-point 2nd quarter. The Ravens looked almost as over-hyped as the Browns.
Mark Ingram brought us to within 10 with his second touchdown on the afternoon to break the 20 minutes of inept play by the Ravens.
After yet another Chiefs touchdown, we battled back. Kind of.
The Ravens did make big plays when needed, which is refreshing and assuring early on in the season.
Lamar Jackson threw an improbable 25-yard pass to Seth Roberts on 4th down. This set Mark Ingram up for his 3rd touchdown on the afternoon.
Speaking of improbable catches, how about the best catch Willie Snead has made in his entire career.
This drive would net us the only Justin Tucker field goal of the afternoon.
Lamar brought us to within striking distance with a 9-play, 70-yard drive late in the game. He showed he’s capable of running the 2 minute drill, and performing under pressure. And he also showed you should never try to tackle him. Ever.
It’s tough to look at 452 total offensive yards and 28 points and know that we lost the game. Especially when we had more: total plays run, first downs, rushing yards, red zone scoring %, and time of possession. But that is the reality of the situation.
DEFENSE
The only thing that makes this defensive performance acceptable is that it was against Patrick Mahomes.
In all honesty, I don’t believe I saw a man within 5 yards of ANY Chiefs pass catcher.
I think we forgot about Travis Kelce. He was wide open on all 7 of his catches. I started looking for my cleats at one point so I could go out and shadow him.
Mecole Hardman, who lined up offsides, burned everyone on an 83-yard touchdown. (evidence in ref section below)
Evidently, we have never defended a screen pass. And we made Lesean McCoy relevant again.
I could give an in depth breakdown of the defense, and tell you what I saw, but I don’t want to reopen those wounds or make myself sick. What you need to know is that Patrick Mahomes is too good, and we won’t be facing him anytime soon. And I hate him.
As I pointed out last week, the secondary would be the main concern. Moving forward it is absolutely priority #1. Maybe trading for Jalen Ramsey isn’t such a bad idea.
COACHING
Let’s talk numbers.
The Ravens score their first touchdown to go up 6-0. A penalty wipes out Tucker’s XP, so we go for 2. Not a terrible decision, but a bad play call causes us to come up empty.
That’s 2 points.
Fast forward to the 4th quarter. It’s 4th-and-5 from the 27, 13:31 on the clock, Ravens are down 30-13. 2 touchdowns and 1 field goal ties the game. We elect to go for it, which gives us the amazing Seth Roberts catch. But why not kick it there? Was Tucker hurt?
Jump ahead just one play, Mark Ingram scores his 3rd touchdown. It’s 30-19. An extra point makes it a 10-point game, 2-point conversion makes it a 9-point game. BOTH ARE 2 SCORE GAMES. We go for 2 and don’t get it.
2 more points.
Skip ahead to Lamar’s touchdown run which brings us to within 5. We now get the first—in my opinion—smart decision to go for 2 as it would bring us to within a field goal. We miss, yet again.
That brings our total to 6 points left on the field from 2 point conversions alone. We lost by 5.
THE REFS
This is something I hate doing. I told myself I wouldn’t do it, but I have to. I promise I’ll be quick about it.
These refs SUCKED. Here’s why:
- Matthew Judon got flagged late on a horse collar after Patrick Mahomes undoubtedly offers to pay off the ref. This leads to a Chiefs touchdown.
- Willie Snead got flagged on the weakest holding I’ve ever seen, erases a 45-yard run by Gus Edwards.
- Tony Jefferson flagged on a questionable pass interference. Wipes out a crucial Brandon Carr interception down 30-13.
- Tavon Young (who’s on injured reserve) flagged for a holding call. There were offsetting penalties on this play, 2 on the Chiefs, 1 on the Ravens. I still don’t know how that works.
- Miles Boykin was flagged for offensive pass interference. Lamar’s pass was behind him, this was technically a run play.
- And then there’s this. I could be wrong, but I believe this is from the screen play that sealed the deal:
- Mecole Hardman offsides:
LOOKING AHEAD
Looking at the big picture, the Ravens lost on the road to the best team in the NFL that isn’t the Patriots. Might not be a notch in the actual win column, but definitely a good sign from a young Ravens team.
This Browns match up may be more important than this last game, however. This is the first of 3 straight division match ups for the Ravens, and will likely be their toughest.
The good news is that we get to play an over-hyped and over-rated Baker Mayfield led Browns team, and they’re coming to us.
OTHER THOUGHTS
- Lamar Jackson through 3: 63-100, 863, 7 TD, 0 interceptions, 172 rush yards and 1 TD.
- Mark Ingram’s hot, hot, hot. 103 yards and 3 TDs yesterday. 257 and 5 TDs on the year so far.
- Daniel Jones off to a hot start. Tampa Bay needs a new kicker.
- Good Day for backups: Kyle Allen officially put Cam Newton on notice. Teddy Bridgewater grabs a win in Seattle.
- The Browns are overrated.
- The Steelers are 0-3. Thats zero wins and three losses, folks.
