Ravens cede division lead to Browns: Take-home points

More questions than answers for Ravens after loss

The Baltimore Ravens lost control of the AFC North and are in some unchartered territory with their proud standard of defense following a disastrous 40-25 home loss to the Cleveland Browns.

Make no mistake about it, the Ravens defense is not too good right now. They are having coverage issues, tackling horribly and not getting home to the quarterback. But there some concerns with the offense, as well, despite some gaudy numbers.

A few thoughts from this game:

• Yes, there are communication issues in the secondary, and that’s a significant problem. But guys are flat-out getting beat, too. Getting Jimmy Smith back will help, but Tavon Young is not coming back, and the other guys need to cover better than they are.

• Marlon Humphrey was everything the Ravens want him to be in this game. He did a remarkable job against Odell Beckham, and never gave an inch to the bombastic receiver. He was an Alpha today, and that is the Marlon Humphrey this team needs as a foundational piece for the future.

• The pass rush is not cutting it, and teams are taking advantage of the Ravens need to blitz by floating screens and flat passes to counter their aggression, before carving up an open center of the field. On the bright side, they’re also missing tackles. Actually, there’s no bright side to this. They need to be better.

• Another crippling aspect of the Ravens defense was that they couldn’t get off the field, limiting the offense’s ability to get anything going. The formula that carried this team to a division crown last year involved controlling the ball. It can’t happen if opposing teams never have to give it back.

• Lamar Jackson was not at his best today, but he made some things happen and again refused to just roll over when faced with adversity. He could have been better with his passing, but he was not why they lost. Not by a long shot.

• John Harbaugh, Don Martindale and the rest of the Ravens decision-makers need to, you know, make some decisions. Can they afford to blitz as often if nobody can cover behind it, outside of Humphrey? Does a trade need to be made? If a trade won’t do enough to fix the problem, should they just keep rolling and look to make changes in the offseason? Are they contenders this season?

• Mark Ingram is very good. Fumbles happen. Let’s just hope they don’t happen a lot.

• I believe the Jackson connections with Mark Andrews, Miles Boykin and Marquise Brown will only improve with time, but you can see the minuses of their relative inexperience pop up each game. The future is bright with them. Heck, the present is bright. There’s just room for huge improvement, and that’s a bright spot.

• Boykin and Hayden Hurst had nice flashes today. Justice Hill showed off a little of his explosion, too, but blocking is not what I’d consider a strength for him at this point. It appears to be more of a vague concept at this juncture.

• Say it with me: The Cleveland Browns are the class of this division at this point of the season. There is absolutely zero reason to argue that at this point. Luckily, there is still 75 percent of the season left. The Ravens will need to be better than they are right now if they believe they can retain their crown.