Sometimes, you have to give things a day or two to take effect. That was truly the plan here. The idea was that if we gave ourselves a couple of days after the Baltimore Ravens‘ loss, we might feel better.
As it turns out, it didn’t work. This one still stings because, in truth, no one feels any better about the Week 1 loss vs. the Buffalo Bills, nor have they gotten over the home loss vs. the Detroit Lions two weeks later.
Three times, golden opportunities were missed. Each loss seemed more depressing than the one that came before it.
Pro Football Focus offered an interesting take recently on why every NFL team won or lost in Week 4. Naturally, the Ravens–Chiefs game was where our attention landed. Here’s what Thomas Valentine, the writer of this one, had to say.
“In the brief moments the Ravens utilized play action, Lamar Jackson and the passing game flowed well, but in regular passing situations, things fell apart. Jackson completed 11-of-16 pass attempts for 91 yards and an interception in pure dropback situations, and also totaled three turnover-worthy plays while getting sacked three times. Jackson later left the game with a hamstring injury, but posted a 37.1 overall PFF grade in non-play-action dropbacks.”
That seems interesting enough. Here’s what was mentioned as the biggest reason for the Chiefs’ victory.
“Patrick Mahomes was excellent against the Ravens, in part thanks to the tremendous protection up front. Mahomes was pressured on just 19.0% of his dropbacks and completed 23-of-31 pass attempts for 250 yards and four touchdowns when kept clean, adding two big-time throws. Mahomes received a 77.6 overall PFF grade in the win and averaged 8.1 yards per attempt.”
Here’s a translation (and some of what PFF left out). The Ravens let the Chiefs team get their swagger back, and that was the worst thing they could do for a team that, two weeks ago, seemed like a shell of itself.
Kansas City is in Baltimore’s head to some degree. There isn’t any real reason to assume otherwise. There’s a chance that the Ravens are beginning to believe what is being written about them. They may not think they are capable of winning big games on big stages.
There’s also something else that has troubled us. Todd Monken’s play-calling left much to be desired, especially during a couple of short-yardage situations where Derrick Henry was seen on the sideline.
Sure, injuries must be factored in, but for whatever reason, the Ravens are now shying away from doing things we believed they do well. Is it possible that Monken is more concerned about Derick Henry’s fumbling issues than he let on?
This article originally appeared on Ravens Wire: PFF perfectly breaks down Ravens’ loss to the Chiefs
