Ravens' Alarming Trend Must Get Fixed Before Bengals Showdown

Baltimore Ravens fans are trying to forget the nightmare of losing to division rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers, 27-22, in Week 14, a game they couldn't afford to lose.

At the beginning of November, the Baltimore offense struggled, but the defense carried the load and helped them win games. Now, it appears as if the defense has started to stumble over the last two games.

ESPN Ravens beat reporter Jamison Hensley recently shared his thoughts on a trend fans should keep an eye on. Hensley is concerned about the secondary, noting that they are now starting to give up big plays when they weren't doing so as much at the beginning of the season.

"Giving up big pass plays. The Ravens allowed Aaron Rodgers to go 4-of-4 on throws that went at least 20 yards in the air. Baltimore entered Sunday's division matchup by holding teams to a 26.9% completion rate on such throws, which ranked sixth in the NFL. Now the Ravens face strong-armed quarterbacks Joe Burrow, Drake Maye and Jordan Love over the next three weeks."

Ravens' Defense Might be in Trouble

Baltimore Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey | Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images

The Ravens have firsthand experience with Burrow bombing deep touchdowns on them, using Tee Higgins and Ja'Marr Chase in the passing game, so that is already a problem. Maye has made significant strides to be in the MVP conversation, and Love is coming off a game where all three of his touchdown passes in Week 14 against the Chicago Bears went for 23, 45, and 41 yards.

During the loss to the Steelers, it was the veteran cornerback Marlon Humphrey and Nate Wiggins who struggled in coverage, while DK Metcalf recorded seven receptions for 148 yards. Metcalf was constantly burning both corners on pass routes and picking up big yardage.

Without any consistency in the secondary for Baltimore, the Ravens are going to have some big questions coming as to who will step up. Humphrey has struggled for most of the season, but Wiggins has shown himself to be the better shutdown corner on the team. Chidobe Awuzie has had a great season himself, but is seen as more of a slot cornerback.

Baltimore might be leaning more on the front seven to deliver on more quarterback pressures and sacks to take some of the burden off the secondary. The last four games are going to determine how much work needs to be done at cornerback in the offseason.

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