Passing Attacks on Both Sides of the Ball Are Plaguing Ravens
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OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Ravens have been solid running the football and defending their opponent's ground attack.
Conversely, the Ravens have not been able to make deep plays downfield and struggle to defend opposing quarterbacks.
Enter their Week 13 game against the Denver Broncos, here are the Ravens' rankings among all NFL teams.
Offense
Run: 2nd; Pass: 26th
Defense
Run: 2nd; Pass: 27th
It's a big discrepancy.
Quarterback Lamar Jackson has thrown for 2,231 with 17 touchdowns and seven interceptions for a 91.3 rating.
Jackson's stats are deceiving because he has been plagued with dropped passes by his wide receivers all season.
Baltimore (7-4) is tied for fifth in the NFL with 17 dropped passes.
Tight end Mark Andrews is the Ravens' top pass catcher but he ranks 27th in the NFL with 601 yards receiving with five touchdowns.
“[We] just have to score more points, try to score more points early, if anything," Jackson said. "Try not to miss the opportunities. We missed a few opportunities out there. That's it.”
Defensively, the Ravens' secondary struggles late in games. They've blown a fourth-quarter lead in all four of their losses this season.
In those setbacks, they've allowed 28 points (Miami Dolphins), 3 points (Buffalo Bills), 14 points (New York Giants), and 18 points (Jacksonville Jaguars) in the final quarter.
It's become increasingly frustrating among the players.
“We got lackadaisical out there," outside linebacker Justin Houston said after the Jaguars game where Baltimore blew a 9-point lead. "[There was a] lack of communication. The little things – I think that’s what you've got to do to play a complete game. You've got to do it for four quarters, not three, and we didn’t do it for four quarters.”
If the Ravens make the postseason, throwing the deep ball and defending the pass are going to be two vital areas where they need to improve to have any chance of advancing.
Entering Week 13, those results have been not been up to par.
