The 3 Biggest Mistakes Declan Doyle Made With Ravens Offense Sunday

Ravens rookie offensive coordinator Declan Doyle has faced no shortage of challenges this season. And he has risen to the occasion more than anyone could have reasonably expected.

Sunday, however, was not a masterclass for him, even considering the fact he was without two-time MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson (ankle) and working with another suspect offensive line (there is a very real chance the team was simply constructed that way and a desperate trade for a veteran who may have been about to be benched by the Eagles wont fix it). And the Browns adjusted by run blitzing and attacking holes where they believed running back Derrick Henry would be going and blew up Doyle’s rushing attack, making the challenge even tougher.

Doyle flashed some positives in a 13-10 loss, getting rookie receiver Ja’Kobi Lane fed early and productive in the slot in his first full NFL game. And he adroitly shifted out of a Wild Cat look for Henry and into a pass play that resulted in the only touchdown of the day. But after scoring on the first two drives Doyle’s offense sputtered for no points on nine drives with seven punts, a missed field goal and Henry's fumble for a turnover. All against a Browns team missing two of hits best defensive tackles and dealing with injuries at multiple levels and that entered the game ranked 30th in run defense Expected Points Added and 30th in Success Rate vs the run.

It wasn’t nearly good enough.

“We just didn't execute well enough,” Henry said. “We couldn't get any momentum, and [the Browns] played better [on defense] than we did [offensively] for us not to be able to move the ball like we did on that first drive. We just couldn't get anything going. Hats off to them; they played a hell of a game.”

Henry had eight rushes for 41 yards in the first quarter, and then 9 for 17 the rest of the day. With Snoop Huntley an incredibly limited passer (5.3 yards/attempt), that quickly became a toxic combination for Doyle’s offense and he didn’t have the answers and contributed to the downfall, even considering the hand he was dealt. These were the biggest mistakes:

No Multiplicity In Run Game

Oct 18, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Tyler Huntley (5) hands the ball off to running back Derrick Henry (22) in the second quarter against the Cleveland Browns at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Browns figured out pretty quickly that Henry behind the tackles and Henry on pitch plays was what the Ravens had going with this game plan and this allotment of players (the loss of “Joker” blocking tight end Durham Smythe for the season will loom large) faltered after the hot start. The adjustments never came.

This game as screaming out for some shotgun runs for Justice Hill – more speed and sprint plays to the outside – be he never got the ball handed off to him. The pony package that produced a huge run against the Falcons (Henry and Hill in the backfield together) never showed up.

Some option football, and option football with someone other than Henry, trying to get the perimeter stuff going in that regard, just didn’t happen. The under center stuff wasn’t happening and the interior of the offensive line was struggling even without Mason Graham playing for the Browns, but Doyle rode it anyway:

Ravens Shotgun Runs: 8-37 (4.1), 5.0/carry on 1st Down, -.36 EPA

Ravens Under Center Runs: 14-50 (3.6), 3.1/carry on 1st Down, -50 EPA

If he wanted that ratio of under center runs, then he should have had a tackle eligible on the field for more than just three snaps. Get heavy a different way without Smythe. A lot of worked vs the Falcons had a chance to work Sunday but that's not where Doyle was.

Where Were Snoop’s Legs?

Oct 18, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Tyler Huntley (5) scrambles with the ball in the second quarter against the Cleveland Browns at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Maybe Doyle was leaning into option stuff and the back-up QB was killing it all over the place, but something needed to be said and done to get Huntley’s legs into the game plan. The Browns play far and way the most man coverage in the NFL and though they cut back on that Sunday it was still nearly a third of Huntley’s dropbacks.; those are ripe for QB runs.

Mostly they sat in Cover-3 and Doyle didn’t utilize the RPO game at all to attack it, though I thought he would. At least make the Browns think that Huntley had to be defended some in the run game might have opened things up. Creative looks with Huntley and Zay Flowers in the backfield?

He didn’t do nearly enough to sell this proposition, let alone actually see if it could have helped unlock something for an offense that was miserable for three quarters – 123 yards in those 45 minutes for a disgusting 3.2 yards/play. Henry leads the NFL with 130 carries already, and is on a record pace for age 32 running backs, so when it's not there best to try something else.

"They were doing a good job of switching it up all throughout the game," Huntley offered about the Browns defense. "I don't know how many times I can say they changed it up, but they did a great job of switching it up every drive that we came out."

Suspect Screen Game

Oct 11, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Baltimore Ravens running back Justice Hill (43) runs during the first quarter against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Doyle was in his bag with the screens against the Falcons and there was every reason to believe Hill catching five balls in this game could have sustained things. Cleveland played a base nickel defense the entire game and sat in Cover-3 60% of the time and I kept waiting for a delayed screen for Hill or even just more of Hill in the backfield.

Bubble screens for Flowers, getting the ball in Devontez Walker’s hands around the line of scrimmage, considering he is almost always a deep threat, might have been an interesting curveball. Doyle utilized his best tricks – the killed Wild Cat look and lining up Cuevas at guard – on the opening drive and then the offensive was suffocated from there on out. Not much creative after that.

Henry has been better in the screen game this season than ever before in Baltimore but he and Hill combined for 11 receiving yards and Hill saw a few checkdowns in two-minute situations but they needed to bring some of those looks into their base offense.

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