The Baltimore Ravens saw their path to the playoffs get slightly easier with the Houston Texas’ loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Monday Night Football in Week 7. However, in the same game, Ravens fans were reminded of what could possibly end up being a franchise-altering mistake.
Just a couple of seasons ago, Seahawks Head Coach Mike Macdonald was the Ravens’ defensive coordinator. He held that role for two years from 2022 to 2023, and led a top defense in football. He had a breakout season in 2023, where his unit led the league in sacks and turnover differential. That excellent campaign made him a leading head coaching candidate for many vacant positions, and he eventually landed in Seattle.
Many believed Macdonald should have been the next head coach of the Ravens. After another year of coming up short in the playoffs, this time in a horribly coached loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship game, fans were calling for Head Coach John Harbaugh to be fired. Instead, they kept Harbaugh, and let Macdonald earn his much-deserved promotion with another franchise.
Baltimore is quickly learning that the move was likely a mistake. On primetime television, Macdonald showed the world exactly what the Ravens missed out when they let him depart in the 2024 offseason.
Mike Macdonald’s primetime statement is making Ravens regret their decision
In Week 5, Baltimore was dismantled by the Texans. A struggling Houston offense hung 44 points on the Ravens’ defense in a blowout win. Two weeks later, Macdonald showed what a competitive team should look like against the third-worst scoring team in the league.
The Seahawks held Houston to 254 total yards and maintained a bend don’t break mentality, holding their offense to just one touchdown in three red zone opportunities. They especially feasted on their rushing attack, holding the Texans to 56 yards on 17 carries and 3.3 yards per carry.
In comparison, Baltimore Defensive Coordinator Zach Orr’s unit allowed 417 total yards to Houston, including 250 passing yards and 167 rushing yards.
Orr has been extremely disappointing for much of his Ravens’ tenure, but he has still shown flashes of dominance. A Ravens’ coached team under Macdonald paired with a young mind like Orr would have done damage to the rest of the league. With Jackson under center on the offensive side, there is no telling how far Baltimore could have gone with Macdonald.
There is still time for Baltimore to turn their season around, but in what seems like a lost season, it is becoming more clear that they likely made a regrettable mistake.