ExtremeRavens Posted 4 hours ago Posted 4 hours ago Ravens coach John Harbaugh said it postgame from the altar at Arrowhead Stadium. And he needled the point even further Monday afternoon, accusing his offense, which remains one of the highest scoring groups in the NFL, of lacking enough “rhythm.” “This game,” he said, of Baltimore’s 37-20 loss to the Chiefs, dropping them to 1-3 and putting the season on life support, “I think, exposed us.” There were defensive issues that lived under a microscope the first three weekends of the season. Piling injuries didn’t help. But in this one more than any other, onus belongs to the offense. Harbaugh was candid in his assessment. Lamar Jackson orchestrated an opening drive that cruised 70 yards on nine plays in 5:25. They looked unstoppable. What followed, “dictated the game,” Harbaugh said. The Ravens couldn’t execute, made uncharacteristic gaffes and head-scratching play calls that dug them into a well. That’s quite a heel turn for a group that ranked No. 1 in offensive DVOA a year ago and led the league in scoring before Week 4, doing so with an unpredictable cast of playmakers. Comparatively, the group that fell in Kansas City looked unrecognizable — even before Jackson limped off the field because of a tweaked hamstring. “Just go back and break the game down,” Harbaugh said, spending the next three minutes reliving how the game slipped through their fingertips before halftime. On Baltimore’s second drive, already deep into enemy territory, Jackson threw a rare interception, misfiring a throw up the right sideline to tight end Mark Andrews. The Chiefs stormed the backfield, forcing a bad decision and under thrown ball. Harbaugh laid down a hammer of criticism: “I don’t like that play call at all.” There were hands in Jackson’s face on a heavy inside blitz while all his options were 10-plus yards upfield and no check-down plan B. The Ravens didn’t inspire any more confidence their next time out. Two delay of game penalties in a three-play sequence held Baltimore back from catching any sort of redeeming groove. Second-and-10 back at their own 26-yard line “invited a blitz,” Harbaugh said. Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo called in the strike. He rushed six. Jackson fled, spun back and flicked the ball into the dirt — an intentional grounding penalty that left them in a near-impossible down and distance. “That was a bad series for us,” Harbaugh said. “We just got to look at it honestly and say, ‘That was not good. We put ourselves in that situation.'” The longtime coach reluctantly turned to the third drive. By then, Kansas City held a 6-point lead. Baltimore’s defense still looked respectable. One right hook and maybe the Ravens could have given themselves a chance. They walked into Arrowhead, Harbaugh said, planning to play aggressively and go for it. Things continued to spiral when it became clear the Ravens and offensive coordinator Todd Monken, “didn’t have a good plan” for such situations. The Ravens started with the ball at their own 32-yard line, under 3 minutes before halftime. Jackson threw two incompletions then scrambled for nine yards on his own. Like the two drives before, Spagnuolo licked his chops, calling a blitz positive a pass was coming. Why? Pass-catching running back Justice Hill was in the backfield – rather than Derrick Henry, who took only four carries for 31 yards in the first half – and Hill motioned out wide pre-snap. Jackson had no time to think and flung the ball out of bounds, a play blown dead before ever taking a breath. Last night, John Harbaugh was asked about how imposing Kansas City's blitz package was. Here's the All-22 of "the big one," Lamar Jackson's intentional grounding on 2nd-down. Harbaugh: "It was just a bad play for us. That was a tough one. That was the worst one." pic.twitter.com/wtfPBJXSun — Sam Cohn (@samdcohn) September 29, 2025 “Those are just like turnovers, they’re no different,” Harbaugh said, “because you put your defense on a short field. We got to own all that, understand it. That was bad ball. It can be fixed. We got to fix it going forward.” To make matters worse, Jackson coughed up his second fumble in as many games when he bumped into the back of center Tyler Linderbaum as the pocket closed behind him. The quarterback jogged off the field and promptly unleashed his helmet into the ground, devoid of answers for such a demoralizing half. Issues of a stalling offense and inability to convert in short-yardage situations aren’t completely new this season. There were goal-line lapses and failed third-and-shorts in losses to Buffalo and Detroit. Sunday, particularly the three-drive stretch that Harbaugh recounted, exposed the floor of Baltimore’s offense. Sandwiching Baltimore’s initial scoring drive and a Tyler Loop field goal before halftime, the Chiefs scored 20 straight points. Both sides of the ball were bereft of answers. But as has been the case dating back to early last year, when the defense doesn’t have it, Jackson and company can will a win. That wasn’t the case Sunday. As Harbaugh said, they got exposed. Have a news tip? Contact Sam Cohn at scohn@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/samdcohn. Chiefs defensive end Ashton Gillotte, right, rushes against Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum in a 37-20 Chiefs win. The Ravens struggled to find cohesion offensively in the defeat, even before Lamar Jackson tweaked his hamstring. (Reed Hoffmann/AP) View the full article Quote
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