ExtremeRavens Posted September 23 Posted September 23 The Ravens don’t get beat, they say. When they lose, it’s because they beat themselves. Such self-infliction has been both a point of pride and contention for teams under coach John Harbaugh and led by superstar quarterback Lamar Jackson. Monday night didn’t seem that way. So much so that Jackson made a rare concession after a 38-30 loss to the Lions: “We got beat tonight.” Here are five stats that help tell the story of a prime-time blunder that dropped Baltimore to 1-2 heading into an all-important Week 4 game against Kansas City: 7 What makes Lamar Jackson such a magnetic watch is his ability to peel out of a collapsed pocket and turn a play dead in the water into some forward gain. Monday night, on such plays that he tends to impress, Jackson found himself repeatedly pinned to the ground. The Lions defense sacked him seven times, tying a 2021 game against Pittsburgh for the most in Jackson’s career. Baltimore’s offensive line certainly deserves a share of the blame. But there were times when Jackson held onto the ball too long or failed to escape a bullish Detroit front, which logged 30 pressures. With the loss, Jackson became the first quarterback in NFL history with nine-plus passing touchdowns, zero interceptions and a losing record through three games, according to NFL senior researcher Dante Koplowitz-Fleming. Jackson can only do so much by himself. 95-plus That hasn’t happened in — checks notes — nearly a quarter-century. Baltimore hasn’t allowed a 95-plus-yard drive at home since 2001. The Lions did it twice on Monday night. “That’s not easy to do when you’re backed up like that,” coach Dan Campbell said. “Normally, the goal is three first downs … that was impressive.” Two picturesque Jordan Stout punts pinned the Lions inside their own 5-yard line. On one possession, Detroit milked nearly 11 minutes off the clock for an 18-play marathon that wore the defense down and trudged 98 yards for a touchdown. The other, a 96-yard sprint, needed only seven plays. In both instances, the game was tied before Detroit cruised upfield. 224 If there was one thing the Ravens defense wanted to feel good about after Monday night, it was how they tackled. “I can definitely say that we do not,” safety Kyle Hamilton said. He called Detroit’s 224 rushing yards — the third most against Baltimore in the Harbaugh era — “really disheartening.” David Montgomery led the way with two touchdowns thanks to 151 yards on 12 carries — an average of 12.6 yards per touch. According to NextGenStats, his 72-yard rush had an expected gain of six yards, the second-longest rush yards over expected this season. Montgomery’s backfield mate, Jahmyr Gibbs, added 67 yards on 22 carries. A Ravens defensive front down Nnamdi Madubuike (neck) and Kyle Van Noy (hamstring) looked helpless containing runs between the tackles. “That’s bad run defense, and that’s not who we are,” Harbaugh said. “It cannot be who we are. It’s just, it’s not going to be good enough. It’s not going to be acceptable. And it has to be better.” Ravens coach John Harbaugh, center, watches the fourth quarter of Monday's loss to the Lions. Harbaugh's team allowed 224 rushing yards in the 38-30 defeat. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff) 3 Three games, three fumbles. Derrick Henry, a future Hall of Famer considered the best running back of his generation, has never been so careless with the football. He coughed one up in the fourth quarter at Buffalo Week 1, dropped it against Cleveland and sounded the alarm bells when Lions star Aidan Hutchinson punched it loose in a crucial spot. Henry could barely muster the words to defend himself, apologizing for his struggles and vowing to be better. Henry began the season swinging for the fences. He rushed for 169 yards on 18 carries in Buffalo — a Most Valuable Player-caliber performance wiped by the turnover. In two games since, he’s averaging a dismal 3.2 yards per attempt with more fumbles (two) than touchdowns (one). “I was talking to everybody, trying to figure out what they saw or if I had the ball loose,” Henry said. “[Hutchinson] just retraced and hammered at the ball, and it came loose. It’s the guy you don’t see, so I just have to be better and go back to work. Like I said, I apologize to my teammates, coaches and Flock Nation. It’s just playing through a little adversity, but adversity is a terrible thing to waste, so I’m just going to keep going.” For good measure, three is also the number of times the Lions converted on fourth down in as many tries and the number of times this season the Ravens have run plays from opponents’ 1-yard line, none of which have resulted in touchdowns. Three is not Baltimore’s magic number. Top 2 After Monday night’s loss, the Ravens are in rare air. They’re the top-scoring offense in the NFL, blistering some of the league’s toughest defenses for a total of 111 points. That’s a touchdown and a 2-point conversion better than the next best team, the Lions. Baltimore, Detroit, Indianapolis and Buffalo are the only four teams that have eclipsed the century mark three weeks into the season. Pretty good company. And yet, the Ravens have also allowed the second-most points of any team in the NFL (96). Only the downtrodden Miami Dolphins have let up more (97). The top of that leaderboard includes Miami, Tennessee, Chicago and the New York Jets — less impressive company. “We just can’t expect our offense – I know we got Lamar Jackson – we can’t expect them to score 30 points every game,” Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey said. “It’s putting unfair expectations on the offense. We gotta do our part. We gotta get some stops, get some turnovers. … I think if there’s a week we can turn things around, it’ll be this week against a really good team in KC.” Have a news tip? Contact Sam Cohn at scohn@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/samdcohn. View the full article Quote
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