Loss Magnifies Ravens Weaknesses, But They Still Control Playoff Destiny
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OWINGS MILLS, Md. — A four-game winning streak masked a lot of problems with the Ravens.
However, all of those issues were magnified in a 28-27 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 12.
The most glaring issue was the Ravens' struggles inside the red zone. Baltimore had to settle for field goals on their first three trips inside the 20, and that proved to be costly.
This was nothing new.
Entering the game, the Ravens were ranked 20th in red zone offense, scoring 52.6 percent of the time.
"You try to call your best plays," coach John Harbaugh said. "Sometimes you think you can run it in – you run it in [and] it doesn’t work – sometimes you try to pass it in. We just didn’t do a good job in the red zone is the bottom line. You go down there and kick – what – four field goals? That’s tough. Those are big trips down there, and obviously touchdowns are what you’re looking for. It’s something we have to improve on going forward. That’s really important for us.”
In addition to the red-zone troubles, running back Gus Edwards an uncharacteristic fumble in the fourth quarter that opened the door for Jacksonville's comeback.
On defense, the Ravens allowed 18 points in the fourth quarter. They have squandered fourth-quarter leads in all four of their losses this season.
This time, the Jagaurs drove the length of the field with just over two minutes remainng and one time out.
Jacksonville pulled to within a point on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Trevor Lawrence to Marvin Jones with 36 seconds left.
Jaguars coach Doug Pederson made the ultimate gamble and went for the 2-point conversion.
Lawrence threw a short pass to Zay Jones for the victory.
These late-game collapses are a problem that need to be corrected.
"We didn't finish," linebacker Justin Houston said. "We got lackadaisical out there, lack of communication. The little things, I think that's what you've got to do. You've got do it for four quarters, not three. We didn't."
Defensive end Calais Campbell added: ""As a defense we expect to win that every time. We didn't get it done. We knew they were talented and had a lot of playmakers. That coach (Doug Pederson) is a winning coach, you see it all the time on film, he's aggressive, they go for it on fourth down. We need to find a way to make that play."
The Ravens are 7-4 and still control their playoff fate.
However, they will have to play better in Week 13 against the Broncos and their stout defense.
