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Jamison Hensley, ESPN Staff WriterNov 11, 2024, 06:00 AM ET
- Jamison Hensley is a reporter covering the Baltimore Ravens for ESPN. Jamison joined ESPN in 2011, covering the AFC North before focusing exclusively on the Ravens beginning in 2013. Jamison won the National Sports Media Association Maryland Sportswriter of the Year award in 2018, and he authored a book titled: Flying High: Stories of the Baltimore Ravens. He was the Ravens beat writer for the Baltimore Sun from 2000-2011.
BALTIMORE — Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh talked about how he looked for Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase after Baltimore’s 35-34 win on Thursday night when the irony hit him.
“I couldn’t find him. Maybe that was appropriate,” Harbaugh said with a smile. “There you go. I couldn’t find him either.”
Winning for the seventh time in eight weeks allowed Harbaugh to enjoy some brief levity, but the Ravens have a serious problem. Chase repeatedly eluded Ravens defenders to produce 264 yards receiving and three touchdowns to become the latest to shred this once-proud secondary. Baltimore’s pass defense ranks last in the NFL, giving up 294.9 yards per game.
Here’s the challenge for quarterback Lamar Jackson and the Ravens: No team has ever won the Super Bowl with the league’s worst pass defense.
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The frustration of being the team’s weak link has ratcheted up over the past week for the defense. Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey called the defense “the little bros” to Jackson because he’s carrying the team.
“Wins are getting harder to enjoy based off what we’re doing in the pass defense,” Humphrey said. “You know, I feel like when I was a rookie, first-year guy, second-year guy, that’s how I looked up to the standard that was there. In the pass defense, we’ve really lost that standard.”
This marks the most passing yards allowed by the Ravens through the first 10 weeks of a season since 2000. It’s unlike a Baltimore defense that had allowed the fourth-fewest passing yards (221.2) from Harbaugh’s first season in 2008 to the 2023 season.
On Thursday night, Baltimore allowed Joe Burrow to throw for 428 yards and four touchdowns even though the Bengals were without their No. 2 wide receiver — Tee Higgins — and their top pass blocker, left tackle Orlando Brown Jr.
Chase scored touchdowns of 67 and 70 yards, both of which occurred when All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton was sidelined. Hamilton isn’t expected to miss a significant amount of time with an ankle sprain, according to Harbaugh. But giving up big plays has been a season-long issue. The Ravens have allowed an NFL-worst 47 completions of 20 or more yards.
“We have to be much better,” Harbaugh said. “We have to take pressure off our offense, too. We’re required to do that on the defensive side.”
The pressure has been building for Jackson and the Baltimore offense to score on every drive. When the Ravens score 25 or more points, they are 7-0. When held under 25 points, Baltimore is 0-3.
The Ravens pass defense has given up 294.9 yards per game through the air — the most in the NFL. AP Photo/Nick Wass
The problem for Baltimore is it’s one of the NFL’s most lopsided teams. Through Thursday night’s game, the Ravens rank No. 1 on offense (440.2 yards per game) and No. 27 on defense (367.9). The only other team that ranks in the top 10 in offense and the bottom 10 in defense is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“Something has got to change,” Humphrey said. “We’ve just got to play better. I’ve got to play better; we’ve all got to play better. We’ve got to play as a unit, and we’re just not doing that. [There’s] really nothing really more to say. We’ve got to keep working. We’ve got to take the practice to the game.
“[We had] a great practice week … What is missing there from how we’re practicing to how we’re playing in the game? It’s become clear that it’s something. I think each guy has got to look at themselves in the mirror and figure out, ‘Why are you not playing how you practice something?'”
Despite their struggles in pass defense, Baltimore has allowed the league’s fewest rushing yards per game (73). The biggest change on defense this offseason was Zach Orr taking over for Mike Macdonald as defensive coordinator. Macdonald left to become the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks, which led to Orr becoming a first-year playcaller.
But, last week, Humphrey defended Orr, saying the blame falls on the players. This is essentially the same secondary — Humphrey and Brandon Stephens at cornerback and Hamilton and Marcus Williams at safety — that finished No. 6 in pass defense last season.
Stephens and Williams have both struggled mightily in coverage. This season, teams have averaged 19.8 yards per completion against Williams and 14.4 per completion against Stephens.
“The frustration really comes from the lack of just doing your job,” Humphrey said. “It’d be different if we didn’t have the guys. It’d be different if we were confused. It’s just simple. We’re just not playing how we’re practicing. … We’ve got to get it fixed. It’s Week 10.”
