Ravens OC Takes Accountability for Questionable Play-Calling

Coming off his unit's worst game of the season thus far in a Week 4 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on the road, Baltimore Ravens third-year offensive coordinator Todd Monken has been the subject of some heavy and harsh critiques of his play-calling and sequencing in the deflating defeat.

The loudest criticism that made headlines came from inside the building from head coach John Harbaugh who didn't hold his tongue or mince words when expressing his displeasure about his veteran play-caller's performance when asked about it.

"I am not going to sit here and say I'm happy about it, at all," Harbaugh said after the game. "I am sure that Todd is not happy about it either. None of us are. You have to look at that and decide what you want to run there, in some of those circumstances and situations. If they work, they look good."

While Harbaugh's blunt assessment of his play-calling against the Chiefs took many in the media by surprise, it wasn't anything Monken hadn't already heard and agrees with.

"Well, first off, there's not one thing John said that we didn't already talk about," Monken said. "Not one thing. So, there was nothing about it that I hadn't already heard or that he didn't already feel. One thing I've done throughout my career is that you've got to look at what you do, and that's what I've done my whole career is, 'OK, how did we scheme it? How did we coach it? How did we execute it? How was our plan?' [I look at] all of those things when you go into it. When it's below the line, you have to own it and fix it, and that's what you do."

Being able to identify and overcome one's mistakes and shortcomings is innately part of the human experience and a core character trait that he has embraced throughout his coaching career.

"It's how I got to where I'm here now," Monken said. "There wasn't anything he said that we hadn't already talked about; so that's what you do. You look at it, and you say, 'OK, was that good enough?' The expectation here is to be elite, and we've been elite. We're going to continue to be elite, but I have to do it better. We have to do it better, and we'll continue to do it better."

One of the biggest areas of improvement the Ravens need to address moving forward is establishing and staying committed to running the football. Despite being one of the best offenses in the league at running the ball on early downs, according to ESPN stats and analytics, they rank dead last in the number of first and second-down plays in which they hand the ball off to their running backs.

Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry rushes the ball against the Detroit Lions in Week 3 on Monday Night Football. — Sep 22, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry (22) rushes the ball against the Detroit Lions during the first half at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images | Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images

The disparity between those two metrics is stark and inexcusable, especially when they have a five-time Pro Bowl and future Hall of Fame running back, Derrick Henry, spearheading their rushing attack that ranks first in the league yards per carry at 6.2, but barely cracks the top 10 in yards with the ninth-most through 10 games. Monken acknowledged that the process of becoming the most potent and productive running offense in the NFL again as they were last year, and at the start of this season, begins with him, and he vowed to make it more of a priority.

"Well, it can start by calling it more often and stacking plays; I'm going to start with calling it more often," Monken said. "We're either getting to the point where we're scoring pretty fast, or we're getting off the field fast, and that's not a great recipe, because you can't stack plays. The idea of being able to run the ball, stay ahead of the chains, that's a part of it."

The Ravens have had no problem generating explosive plays through the air or on the ground. They are tied for the fourth-most passing plays of over 20 yards with 14, and are tied for the second-most runs of over 20 yards with 5 through four games. As nice as it has been to be able to pick up yards on the ground in chunks, they haven't been able to dominate time of possession with sustained drives.

"Bottom line is, we've had games where we've had some explosive runs, but not nearly up to the level that we expect," Monken said. "It's early, and I expect us to really get back on track."

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