Baltimore Ravens: Breaking Down Nightmare 1st Quarter Vs. Browns

It’s hard to imagine that Baltimore Ravens fans will see anything uglier than the nightmarish first quarter against the Browns this season. How did 20-2 even happen?

The Baltimore Ravens got off to a start so bad, that it was even worse than anyone could have imagined. The Browns rolled to a 20-2 lead in the first quarter. Brent Urban’s blocked extra point earned him the title of AFC Special Teams player of the week. It also led to two points and the only positive for the Ravens in the opening quarter.

There was a lot that went wrong schematically. More than anything however, was the Ravens lack of sharp play and focus. I mean dropped passes, missed assignments and bone headed mistakes were so prevalent in this game. It seemed like the Ravens were in a fog. It was almost like a fugue state; they were there but they weren’t conscious of what they were doing. Something was messing with the psyche of this team because that kind of play is something that cannot be explained from an NFL team.

With the poor execution in mind, let’s talk about the X’s and the O’s. Today we’re going to take a look at the anatomy of the plays that made Ravens fans cringe. To move on from something as poor as the Ravens first quarter, the Ravens had to learn from it. The first quarter shaped the Ravens game plan moving forward. Here is a look at the Browns 20-2 onslaught.