ExtremeRavens Posted December 2 Posted December 2 Here’s what The Baltimore Sun sports staff had to say immediately after the Ravens’ 24-19 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Sunday’s Week 13 game at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore: Brian Wacker, reporter: The Ravens’ special teams continues to be a problem, and by that I mean Justin Tucker. Two missed field goal attempts and a missed extra point attempt were brutal. Baltimore (8-5) could ill afford to have those sorts of shortcomings against an Eagles team that is considered a Super Bowl contender. Philadelphia’s defense also lived up to its billing. Once it settled in after the opening quarter, Lamar Jackson was held mostly in check, as was running back Derrick Henry. The Eagles (10-2) exposed the Ravens’ problems on special teams and on defense, moving the ball when they had to, especially in the middle of the field with receiver A.J. Brown, and then mixing in runs with quarterback Jalen Hurts and running back Saquon Barkley, who continues to look like the leader in the clubhouse for NFL Most Valuable Player. Childs Walker, reporter: The Ravens cracked in the fourth quarter, undone by too many empty drives and special teams misfires. Their defense, led by Roquan Smith and Marlon Humphrey, delivered a valiant effort against one of the league’s best teams but could not smother Saquon Barkley forever. This time, it was really the offense that wasn’t good enough. The Ravens struggled to keep Lamar Jackson’s pocket clean, and he couldn’t find the downfield connections that have made them so efficient all season. Justin Tucker missed an extra point and two field goal attempts. What’s left to say about that issue? The Ravens can no longer count on their perennial Pro Bowl kicker, and it fundamentally weakens them in a close game against a tough opponent. The Eagles lived down to their reputation as sluggish starters with six penalties for 45 yards and three failed drives in the first quarter. The Ravens didn’t do as much with that charity as they would have liked, going up 9-0 but quickly ceding the momentum to Philadelphia’s offense in the second quarter. Once the Eagles started sending Pro Bowl receiver A.J. Brown over the middle and mixing in runs from quarterback Jalen Hurts, they had the Baltimore defense on its heels. The Ravens buckled down again after halftime, but without any points from their offense, they never regained control. This and the loss in Pittsburgh two weeks earlier have taught us they’re simply not at their best in close, punishing contests. Mike Preston, columnist: Well, the Ravens can no longer blame the defense. This group played well enough to win and held one of the league’s better quarterbacks, Jalen Hurts, and running backs in check for most of the game until Saquon Barkley started taking control midway in the fourth quarter, including a 25-yard touchdown run. In the second half, the Ravens’ offense never got in sync. When it did, kicker Justin Tucker missed two field goal attempts. He also missed an extra point attempt. Not only did he damage the team’s psyche, but the Ravens failed to overcome Philadelphia’s slight lead. Physically, the Ravens played well enough to win, but their offense was far from dominant and their special teams were a total mess. Fortunately, the Ravens still have four games remaining, but it’s hard to find a kicker to replace Tucker this late in the season. While the defense seems to have found it’s rhythm, the offense appears out of whack. Worse yet, the AFC North-leading Steelers beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 44-38, to give Pittsburgh a 1 1/2-game lead in the division. C.J. Doon, editor: It felt like only a matter of time before Saquon Barkley was going to break free. The Ravens did an admirable job bottling up the MVP candidate, but not long enough. The star running back’s 25-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter put the finishing touches on a statement victory by the Eagles, who have now won eight straight and might be the best team in football. For the first time in a long, long time, it felt like Lamar Jackson wasn’t the best player on the field. Barkley was the closer Sunday, not Jackson nor fellow running back Derrick Henry. That’s a strange feeling for a Baltimore team that has often been the team dictating terms at the end of the game for most of this season — and most of the Jackson era, for that matter. And we have to address the elephant in the room that is Justin Tucker. The Ravens’ special teams edge has long been a given under coach John Harbaugh, but now it’s a legitimate weakness. The margin for error in these elite matchups is small, and the Ravens are struggling to overcome their mistakes. The good news is the bye week and a matchup against the lowly Giants should get this team back on track before the postseason push really begins. Tim Schwartz, editor: Yikes. That was a disaster for the Ravens, who took a 9-0 lead and then melted away. Justin Tucker is a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but how can he be trusted in a big spot after all this? His confidence has to be shot, and he doesn’t have the leg to make the long ones he made look so routine for so many years. Maybe a bye week spent on a hot Caribbean beach will solve his woes, but that’s probably wishful thinking. The Eagles are a good team but Baltimore laid an egg, and Lamar Jackson never quite found a rhythm. Those missed kicks will do that. A bye week and the lowly Giants after that will make life easier for the Ravens, who are certainly headed to the playoffs but almost certainly to be playing in the wild-card round on the road somewhere. The Super Bowl feels like a long way away right now. Bennett Conlin, editor: Special teams cost the Ravens this game. Justin Tucker missed two field goal attempts and an extra point attempt, and the Eagles continuously pinned the Ravens deep in their own territory with stellar punts from Braden Mann. In a game between two evenly matched teams, those problems stuck out. Two games ago, Tucker missed a pair of field goal attempts in an 18-16 loss to the Steelers. His misses have cost the Ravens dearly in two recent losses to likely playoff participants. Can John Harbaugh and the Ravens trust Tucker the rest of the season or in the playoffs? Should they bring in another kicker for a tryout? Is it possible they cut a franchise legend midway through the season? If the Ravens are serious about winning a Super Bowl this season, they need to figure out the problems in the kicking game. They don’t have a large enough margin for error to give away points on special teams. Have a news tip? Contact sports editor C.J. Doon at cdoon@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/CJDoon. View the full article Quote
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