ExtremeRavens Posted yesterday at 04:47 AM Posted yesterday at 04:47 AM Here’s what The Baltimore Sun sports staff had to say immediately after the Ravens’ 32-14 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Thanksgiving night in Week 13 of the NFL season at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. Brian Wacker, reporter The Ravens’ offense has been in a funk all year, but Thursday it made the kind of self-inflicted mistakes it couldn’t afford to. Not against a licking-his-chops Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase, both of whom shredded Baltimore’s secondary on a Thursday night in Baltimore last season. Most troubling is that Cincinnati came in with the NFL’s worst defense in yards and points allowed and without injured All-Pro edge rusher Trey Hendrickson and this was all the Ravens could muster? At one point, they went six straight drives without scoring. At the center of it all is Lamar Jackson, who has looked like anything but a two-time NFL Most Valuable Player all year. He wasn’t alone, though. Isaiah Likely’s fumble and Zay Flowers’ offensive pass interference were contributors and the Ravens’ defense, though valiant in effort, could only bend so long before breaking. Mike Preston, columnist The Ravens have no reason losing to the Bengals. Absolutely none. Does this hurt their playoff chances? No, because the Pittsburgh Steelers are just as inept as Baltimore and they will continue to falter Sunday in a matchup with the Buffalo Bills. The AFC North has become a travesty, a division once built on strong running games and defense. Now, no team in the division plays strong defense. Worse yet for the Ravens, quarterback Lamar Jackson is having an off season and was way off the mark against the Bengals. It was glaring, and the Ravens don’t have an alternative plan. Right now, it all comes down to the Steelers and how much they lose over the rest of the regular season. Josh Tolentino, columnist The Ravens revived their season by rattling off five straight wins ahead of their Week 13 showdown with the Bengals, but all along, Baltimore’s offense looked mighty suspect. The team’s many issues, between another underwhelming outing from Lamar Jackson, multiple turnovers and penalties, and a negligent performance from coordinator Todd Monken, all were on display in the Thanksgiving night loss at M&T Bank Stadium. In addition to seeing its win streak come to a halt in embarrassing fashion, Cincinnati also handed Baltimore its first division loss. The Ravens’ playoff hopes are still alive, but do those hopes and dreams really matter if Jackson and the offense look like this? Jackson concludes four November games with five turnovers (three interceptions, two fumbles lost) and just one passing touchdown with zero rushing touchdowns, marking one of the worst multi-game stretches of Jackson’s decorated career. Michael Howes, reporter Baltimore won’t win a Super Bowl if the offense doesn’t improve. That’s the words of both Lamar Jackson and Ronnie Stanley ahead of the Ravens’ Thanksgiving game against Cincinnati. And still, with the added urgency, recognition of its recent struggles and need to stay in the lead of the AFC North, the offense looked … un-championship-like. Lamar Jackson turned in one of the worst efforts of the season — three total turnovers while overthrowing and missing multiple receivers. Touchdowns were left on the board: Isaiah Likely fumbled a would-be 44-yard touchdown, Zay Flowers was called for pass interference on a 36-yard score. Flowers then added a fourth-quarter fumble to seal the loss in front of an already emptied crowd. It’s hard to fault the defense in the Thanksgiving disappointment. Baltimore surrendered only three field goals off five turnovers. More damage could have been done. For the offense, improvements are still desperately needed. Quickly. Sam Cohn, reporter Early in the fourth quarter, the M&T Bank Stadium big screen called for fans to cause of a bit of third-down commotion out a timeout. The place was dead silent. Ravens fans looked stunned. Their turnover-averse quarterback fumbled twice and threw an interception — part of a five turnover evening. After not letting an opposing offense score 20 points in any of their last six games, the Bengals moseyed in and hung 29. There were signs along the five-game win streak that something was amiss. The Ravens, particularly on offense, weren’t quite their dominant selves. It was bound to come crashing down. Their playoff hopes aren’t out of reach (the Steelers play the Bills this weekend) but it’s fair to be concerned if this team, playing this way, has what it takes. C.J. Doon, editor This might be the night the Ravens’ Super Bowl dreams died. Yes, the AFC North title is still within reach. Baltimore can sweep Pittsburgh and host a playoff game in January. Just getting into the postseason means a team has a chance. Remember 2012? But how can the team we saw tonight win a playoff game? It feels impossible given how dreadful Lamar Jackson and the Ravens’ defense looked. Committing four turnovers is extremely unlucky, especially when one of them erases a sure touchdown, but it’s not as if Baltimore was marching the ball down the field all night. Seeing Jackson miss open receivers and hesitate in the pocket gets stranger every week. This is somebody we’re used to seeing have total command on the field, making defenders look foolish. Now, it’s more of a surprise when a pass lands in his receiver’s hands or he takes off and picks up a first down. His vintage moments are far too rare for a team with Super Bowl aspirations. That’s just the cold reality right now. And did the Ravens forget that Derrick Henry exists? He’s only been climbing the all-time rushing list each week as he builds his Hall of Fame resume. Maybe give that guy the ball a little bit more often against one of the worst defenses in league history? Just a thought. Tim Schwartz, editor I picked the Bengals to win this one in a close battle. Turned out I was way wrong. The Ravens could hardly do anything right on Thanksgiving. At least they gave the fans a good reason to leave early and digest their turkey because that was about as bad a performance these Ravens have had during Lamar Jackson’s tenure. They need to spend the long week figuring out what their offensive identity should be with Jackson playing far below his standard. It won’t be easy. Bennett Conlin, editor Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy. It sure feels like when the Ravens take a loss in the past few years, it’s because they do a bunch of inexplicably stupid things. Add Isaiah Likely fumbling at the goal line to your running list of Baltimore’s bone-headed mistakes. That didn’t help, and neither did any of the other turnovers. The Ravens faced the NFL’s worst defense and could barely score? It was a disastrous night for Todd Monken’s unit. If the group can’t return to respectable form, it’s hard to view this team’s ceiling as anything other than winning a subpar AFC North. This was a jarring performance from an offense with at least three future Hall of Famers. Lamar Jackson looks like a shell of himself, as he deals with a series of injuries. 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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