The Baltimore Ravens' defense embarrassed themselves by giving up 35 unanswered points in the second half during Sunday's loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. It's unacceptable for any defense to perform that poorly, even against an elite Bengals offense. This is especially true for a Ravens team that is spending $128 million on their defense, a number that ranks second in the league.
Unfortunately, the Ravens' late-game collapses are nothing new, and they have come down to defensive breakdowns. These collapses have happened countless times in the past few years, and they also happened in Week 2 against the New Orleans Saints.
The Baltimore Ravens' awful late-game defense isn't a talent issue
Baltimore transformed its defense in the offseason. The Ravens signed Trey Hendrickson as the high-end pass rusher they desperately lacked; they further bolstered their front seven by reuniting with Calais Campbell and drafting Zion Young. Nnamdi Madubuike's return further bolstered their defense. They hired Jesse Minter, who is a widely considered a defensive guru.
While they disappointed last year, this defense already had talent with Kyle Hamilton, Nate Wiggins, Roquan Smith, and Travis Jones, among others. Simply put, the Ravens have more than enough talent on all levels of defense to avoid these constant collapses.
There's a loud portion of the Ravens fanbase that isn't fond of general manager Eric DeCosta. In fairness, some of his moves haven't worked out; the Jaylin Hawkins signing in particular has been disastrous. Regardless, he's invested a lot in this defense. The talent is there, and they've shown some flashes of brilliance. As we've established, this hasn't shown up in late games enough. Is that really on DeCosta? I don't think so.
The Ravens can't find a way to get timely stops. It's tough to watch, especially because they should be able to. They have done a solid job of generating pressure, but haven't been able to finish sacks. Missed tackles have become commonplace for the Ravens. Botched coverage in the secondary is also a common theme for the Ravens. All of these were issues in the collapse against the Bengals.
Part of this is Minter's fault, as he leaves space open with soft zones. But how many times can the coach be blamed? And as noted, many of these problems come down to the Ravens failing to make plays.
I typically don't like to question players' mentality, but in this case it's fair on some level. The Ravens seemingly unravel after one bad drive, and it spirals into a plethora of mental mistakes. Furthermore, this team lacks the typical toughness and energy that we are used to seeing from great Ravens teams of the past.
I'm not just making stuff up here. Minter all but admitted the Ravens have a leadership problem, and Ronnie Stanley admitted that the team loses focus when things go bad.
“We have guys that care and want to do it right, but there are also moments in the game where it’s like, ‘Who’s the guy that’s going to grab everybody and get them together on the sideline?’” Minter said. “As a team, we’re working through who that is. Who is that person? Who are those players? … I think there are moments where we need a little bit more.”
You can see these problems even watching on TV. When the game matters the most, the defense gets uneasy and gives up big plays, and there's nobody to rally the group and set the tone. Given the talent on the roster, this is a baffling issue.
For the Ravens to reach their Super Bowl aspirations or even be a competitive playoff team, their late-game defense must improve. The good news is they have the talent to do so. The bad news is there haven't been any signs of this problem getting better despite an upgraded roster.
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