The Baltimore Ravens blew a lead. Are you shocked? That was a theme of the John Harbaugh era, but even with Jesse Minter at the helm, this team can’t escape their late-game woes.
After going up 17-9 in the third quarter, they allowed 15 unanswered in the fourth, losing to the New Orleans Saints 24-17. It was just an ugly loss all around.
Everyone in Charm City was hoping Baltimore could escape that ghost when Minter and company joined the coaching staff. It’s become abundantly clear that it may have been a player problem just as much as it was a coaching problem.
Baltimore Ravens blown lead keep agonizing late-game trend alive
The Ravens need to close out games better. They have to. Talent-wise, this team should be capable of contending for a Super Bowl. However, once the fourth quarter hits, they fall apart.
Most assumed that problem was fixed when John Harbaugh’s old, stale message was pushed out of the building. His 18 double-digit blown fourth-quarter leads were gone, right? Nope.
On Sunday, both sides of the football were at fault.
The defense allowed two 68-yard touchdown drives in the fourth quarter to tie, and eventually win the game. The pass rush went from intense to cold as ice, and the coverage seemed lackadaisical.
Tyler Shough wasn’t sacked a single time in the final quarter of play, and he had just enough time on each snap to pick the Ravens’ secondary apart. The coverage could’ve been more aggressive, too. The corners were allowing chunk plays, and safeties Malaki Starks and Jaylinn Hawkins didn’t look good at all.
Sure, the Saints have a good offense, but on paper, Baltimore had the better team, and once left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. left with an injury, the edge rushers should’ve looked like a bunch of sharks in a feeding frenzy. They didn’t.
On offense, there was no rhythm past the first half. The fire from the explosive plays died out, pass protection was once again an issue, and the penalties were the straw that broke the camel’s back.
The Ravens had four offensive drives in the second half. One ended in a field goal, and it seemed like the offense was doing everything in its power to not put points on the board—it really should’ve been a touchdown drive. Two others ended in three-and-outs, and the last one obviously ended in a desperate interception.
And at the heart of it all, they really didn’t run Derrick Henry enough. That was the story of this team’s life last year. The five-time Pro Bowler toted the rock a grand total of five times in the second half. Between the two three-and-outs, Henry saw one carry.
The biggest problem was that offensive coordinator Declan Doyle turned away from Henry on a 3rd-and-1 with 8 minutes left in the fourth quarter. You know the Saints' defense was expecting the run, and Baltimore loves explosive plays, but feed Henry. Let him move the chains and help the offense live another set of downs.
This one hurts a little more, too. The Ravens have a favorable opening stretch, but late in the season, things could get tricky with several former playoff teams in their way, and four straight AFC North battles to end the year. They need every win they can get early, and in this one, they had every opportunity to take it.
Hopefully, this is just a one-time thing for the Jesse Minter-led squad. The young coaching staff is still learning in their new roles, so these moments might be expected. Still, sometimes it's on the players to finish games like this. Unfortunately, they fumbled it every turn.
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