The Baltimore Ravens have no one to blame but themselves for not leaving Acrisure Stadium with a victory in Week 5. They went on the road to face their AFC North rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers, with a chance to take control of the division but let it slip out of their hands.
They lost 17-10, dropping their record to 3-2 while the Steelers improved to 3-2, taking over first place because of tiebreakers. With a chance to go to 4-1 and be the only team in the AFC North with a winning record, the Ravens dropped the ball, literally.
The Ravens did everything right to pick up a victory on the road except catch the football. They were credited with seven drops on the afternoon, each one more backbreaking than the last. Multiple drives were stalled out because of drops that would have gone for first downs and points were left off the board from the inability to convert in the end zone.
It would be easy to place the blame for the loss on the pass catchers on the team, as they cost the Ravens dearly. But, that is not what quarterback Lamar Jackson did. As the leader of the team, he took some of the blame on himself and expressed confidence in his teammates.
“I believe our guys are locked in right now. They are going to be better. So will I,” per ESPN’s Jamison Hensley. When asked if he talked to his receivers about the drops, Jackson said, “I don’t need to say anything. Those guys feel how I feel. They want to make a play.”
Not taking advantage of opportunities is unfortunately nothing new to the Ravens. Hensley also shared that the seven end zone drops Baltimore has since 2020 is the third most in the NFL. Multiple must have come against Pittsburgh, as this was the fourth time under John Harbaugh they held the Steelers to three points in the first three-quarters of the game only to lose all four games.
Whatever the reason may be for their level of play, the Ravens need to clean things up. There could still be some adjusting to new offensive coordinator Todd Monken occurring, as he took over for Greg Roman. But, that doesn’t excuse the drops, as the players know they need to be better.
