Inexcusable play-calling leads to Baltimore Ravens loss vs. KC

In an incredibly important game, the Baltimore Ravens fall short vs. the Kansas City Chiefs thanks to awful coaching and play-calling.

There will be no mercy in this article for anyone on the Baltimore Ravens coaching staff. Head Coach John Harbaugh isn’t safe. Offensive Coordinator Greg Roman isn’t safe. Defensive Coordinator isn’t safe. No, we’re gonna go all-in on the porous coaching that was presented to Ravens Flock vs. the Kansas City Chiefs.

Let’s start with the offensive play-calling by Roman. The inconsistency of the weather no doubt played a factor into his scheming, however the lack of commitment to any form of offense is unacceptable. The run-game was dominant for 60 minutes no matter who was running the ball. Mark Ingram was unstoppable, as was Gus Edwards in relief.

Unfortunately, it’s doesn’t matter when you ask Lamar Jackson to stretch the field and play uncomfortably. Jackson never got settled in with his top targets in Mark Andrews and Marquise Brown. The only big pass plays came on all-or-nothing passes that thankfully were reeled in by the Ravens. All-in-all, the week three version of the Baltimore Ravens offense was bad.

Defensively, “Wink” Martindale seemed lost. The Chiefs backfield was beat up with injuries, yet they ran the ball at will against Baltimore’s defense. In the secondary, the Ravens gave up too many big-plays. While some were remarkable plays, others were entirely avoidable.

When Baltimore needed its defense most, the unit folded. In a similar fate to last season, the Ravens defense simply didn’t show up when it matter most. The decisions by Martindae and his players were poor execution across the board.

Finally, the coaching by John Harbaugh had us scratching our heads. The decision to go for two in the first quarter was understandable and hindsight is 20/20. After that, Baltimore had no business going for two after the second touchdown and their third attempt was badly called.

This game was simply one that didn’t seem like one that we usually see from Harbaugh and co. Baltimore played almost too aggressively and out-coached themselves. The game was almost always within reach and the team was too focused on being flashy rather than smart.

This is a bad loss for the Baltimore Ravens, even in a young 2019 season. The coaching staff needs to reevaluate their play-calling and strategies in order to avoid another train wreck like this.