Ravens’ Missed Opportunities: Key Takeaways from Their Narrow Loss to the Eagles
Entering Week 13 as one of six remaining teams that hadn’t yet had their bye week, the Baltimore Ravens were looking forward to their much-needed break to heal up and address team weaknesses. With four games remaining in the regular season after this week, the Ravens first had to welcome the scorching-hot Philadelphia Eagles into town for a highly anticipated matchup. The Eagles, riding a seven-game win streak, were largely carried by MVP candidate running back Saquon Barkley. Meanwhile, the Ravens, led by quarterback Lamar Jackson, were aiming to continue their dominance over the NFC, with Jackson boasting a 23-1 record against NFC opponents. Despite a quick start by the Ravens’ offense that put the Eagles on their heels, the Eagles' defense turned the tide and became only the second NFC team in Jackson’s career to come out on top, securing a 24-19 win at M&T Bank Stadium to extend their streak to eight games. The Ravens dropped to 8-5, with some key takeaways from their performance against the Eagles that left much to be desired.
Justin Tucker’s Struggles Continue
In his 13th season, Ravens kicker Justin Tucker has arguably been the most reliable piece on their roster since entering the league, holding the NFL’s best field goal percentage, 90.2%, prior to this season. However, through 13 weeks this season, Tucker’s reliability and consistency have suddenly disappeared in dramatic fashion, resulting in the seven-time Pro Bowler having his worst season yet. After missing two field goals and an extra point against the Eagles, Tucker’s struggles seem to have reached a boiling point. Head coach John Harbaugh and general manager Eric DeCosta are now faced with the question of whether it’s time to bring in competition at the kicker position during the team’s upcoming bye week. If the Ravens can’t rely on Tucker to turn around his career-worst season, having missed a career-high eight field goals, they may be forced into more situations of going for it on fourth down instead of attempting field goals.
Ravens’ Offense Sputters After Strong Start
Entering the game, the Ravens' offense focused on returning to the fast starts they had excelled at earlier in the season. These quick starts had come to a screeching halt over their past three games, though the Ravens still managed to win two of them despite struggling in the opening quarter. Against Philadelphia, the Ravens accomplished their goal in the first quarter, scoring a field goal on their opening drive and a touchdown on their next, jumping out to a 9-0 lead against the Eagles' top-ranked defense. However, from that point on, the Ravens' offense faltered, aside from a garbage-time touchdown late in the game. They went on to end seven of their next eight drives either with a punt or a turnover on downs. The key factors in the Ravens' offensive struggles were dropped passes from wide receivers, poor performance on third downs, converting just six of 15 attempts, and the Eagles' dominant defense limiting Derrick Henry. Henry, the NFL’s second-leading rusher, was held to 82 yards on 19 carries, while Saquon Barkley outshined him in the battle between the league's top two running backs. For the Ravens to become the complete team they aspire to be as the season progresses and into the playoffs, offensive coordinator Todd Monken must address their mid-season offensive inconsistencies and rediscover the success that helped the Ravens overcome their 0-2 start.
Defense Continues to Improve
Following a well-documented rough start to the season, the Ravens defense has notably turned the tide, putting together three straight strong performances, with significant improvements in pass defense compared to the first 10 weeks. After not allowing a touchdown in Week 11 against the division-rival Pittsburgh Steelers, fans and experts were eager to see if the Ravens' pass defense could replicate that performance against more pass-heavy offenses, like the Chargers and Eagles. Last week, the Ravens gave up only two touchdowns to the Chargers, and they followed that up against the Eagles by largely containing their explosive offense, which includes quarterback Jalen Hurts, running back Saquon Barkley, receiver A.J. Brown, and tight end Dallas Goedert. The defense held strong until the late stages of the game when they became gassed as the Ravens' offense struggled to sustain drives. Much criticism had been directed toward first-year defensive coordinator Zach Orr, whose pass defense ranked worst in the league prior to this three-game stretch. However, the Ravens' recent defensive performances indicate that their early-season struggles may not define them for the rest of the season, as they hope to continue building on this success in the remaining games.
