Ebony Bird
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3 Ravens whose performance cost them the AFC Championship Game

It was supposed to be the Ravens' year. What happened?

By Cameron Ellis

AFC Championship - Kansas City Chiefs v Baltimore Ravens
AFC Championship - Kansas City Chiefs v Baltimore Ravens / Patrick Smith/GettyImages
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2. OC Todd Monken

Monken was noticeably out-coached by Kansas City defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo on Sunday afternoon. The Ravens came into the Championship Game as one of the best running offenses in the NFL, leading the league in total yards (2661), and yards per game (156.5); only Miami, San Francisco, and Detroit had more rushing touchdowns (27) this year than the Ravens (26). On top of that, the Chiefs had a pedestrian run defense this year (18th in yards allowed, 24th in yards per attempt) and allowed over 180 yards on the ground to the Bills in last week's Divisional Round. After averaging over 30 rushes a game during the regular season, the Ravens only ran the ball 16 times – for 81 yards – on Sunday. It was a curious decision considering Baltimore was always within two scores, and not one he'll live down any time soon. The offense felt disjointed and mistake-prone all afternoon, and that falls on Monken.