The Baltimore Ravens were disappointing in far too many metrics in 2025. The offense was shaky, and the defense put together outings that put the team in unwinnable situations. As a result, a coaching overhaul took place, and much-needed changes should follow this season.
The most intriguing arrival might be new offensive coordinator Declan Doyle. He’s one of the NFL’s biggest mysteries, as it’s his first year taking full control of play-calling duties. However, when you learned under Sean Payton and Ben Johnson, you’re going to have people excited.
Hopefully results soon for Doyle. On offense, the Ravens need a lot of help, but one area that was incredibly disappointing last year was their issues in the red zone. They ranked 27th in that department, scoring touchdowns just 47.46% of the time.
With Baltimore’s talented offense, Doyle needs to bring them back to life.
Declan Doyle needs to turn around Baltimore Ravens’ red zone woes
It’s truly shocking that the Ravens were that bad with their red zone offense in 2025. The year prior, they had one of the best red zone offenses in NFL history. Obviously, an injury-riddled year for Lamar Jackson played a role in that regression, but he still played 13 games and the team had perhaps one of the most important cogs in any red zone machine in Derrick Henry.
Doyle could very well unlock another level in Henry that makes the Ravens’ red zone offense unstoppable again.
Henry is undoubtedly a top-three back in the league, but what makes him different is his dominance when the field gets short. He has the type of physicality that you don’t see from many running backs these days. The 32-year-old will run through you at any chance he gets, and once the offense gets close to the goal line, he is pretty close to a guaranteed touchdown.
After another 16-touchdown campaign from Henry in 2025, the red zone inconsistency that followed is inexcusable. However, the big issue was very clearly the lack of creativity from Monken last year. It felt like the offense got way too predictable, whether that be them making it very obvious they were giving Henry the ball, or getting away from their physical identity by almost completely shying away from the run game at times.
How could Doyle fix that? Play actions.
To his credit, Monken used the play action to his advantage, but not to the level that one really should when he has Jackson and Henry at his disposal. They’re both elite threats on the ground, and Jackson has grown into one of the best passers in the NFL. When space gets cramped inside the 20-yard line, Doyle should lean on the play action to spread the defense out and force them to take an extra moment to react.
In turn, that may also unleash the best version of Jackson. Fans are already going to see a healthy Jackson return to the field, but one that works within a play action-heavy offense could simply torment opposing defenses. With his prowess as both a passer and runner, he’d be extremely dangerous.
Doyle will also be lucky to see a couple of jump ball threats touch down in Charm City in 2026. The Ravens haven’t had many of those guys, but they did have DeAndre Hopkins last season, who did flash, but Monken used him sparingly. Now, the team swaps out experience for youth with rookie wideouts Ja’Kobi Lane and Elijah Sarratt.
Those guys could quickly break out in red-zone roles in their debut campaigns. They both thrived in college as contested catch artists, and with Jesse Minter going on record saying at least one of them could see major opportunities, the rookie duo could play a factor in Doyle bringing Baltimore’s offense back to life in the red area.
Ravens fans can also breathe easy knowing the Chicago Bears’ offense did fairly well in the red zone last year. They were 14th-best, scoring touchdowns on 57.14% of their red zone trips. Of course, Doyle didn’t call the plays then, but he certainly played a part in that success.
With more superstars by his side in Baltimore, Doyle is primed to take his new offense to new heights.
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