The Baltimore Banner’s Giana Han: “But it seems as though there’s an identity crisis. Are the Ravens the team that shows out in the biggest challenges, or are they the one that struggles against lesser defenses? And then, of course, the Ravens pulled off an impressive play to put the game away — where was that the rest of the night?”
Pressbox’s Bo Smolka believes this was a game where the offense missed tight end Mark Andrews.
“Jackson spread the ball among receivers Odell Beckham Jr., Rashod Bateman and Zay Flowers in the first half, relying on a lot of quick slants to negate the Chargers’ pass rush. Tight end Isaiah Likely, who took over for Andrews as the starting tight end, had a team-high six targets in the first half, with four catches for 40 yards,” Smolka wrote. “In the second half, though, Likely didn’t have a catch. Neither did Beckham. Neither did Bateman. Jackson in the second half went 6-for-14 for 62 yards.”
More specifically, Smolka sees Jackson missing Andrews on third downs, or when protection breaks down and it becomes a scramble drill.
“The Ravens finished 4-for-13 on third-down conversions, and it’s not hard to see that’s a spot where Jackson sorely misses his favorite target,” Smolka wrote. “Ever since they came into the league together, Jackson and Andrews have had a kind of telepathy. When all else fails, when the pocket collapses and Jackson has to freelance, Andrews has shown the uncanny ability to freelance along with him, and countless times the duo has produced something out of nothing in a style that Jackson has dubbed ‘streetball.'”
Expectations Are High; Not a Single Team Is Perfect
The Ravens are the lone nine-win team in the conference. They’ve taken care of business, even with their misgivings. For each blemish on their record, they’ve delivered three wins.
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