A Disturbing Trend

At around the midway point of the 1999 season, the Baltimore Ravens began forging an identity; intimidating defense. The seeds sown in 1999 were reaped the following year by the record setting, world championship defense in 2000. Ever since the turn of the century, the Baltimore Ravens have been synonymous with defense. Even through years of uneven, scattershot offense, the Ravens remained competitive due their strong defense, which had become ingrained in the organization’s DNA. Sadly, it appears the times are changing, and not for the better.

When making an observation about any NFL team, you have to be careful not hold steadfast to your perception of that team because you may be mistaken in that perception. Particularly, when you’re a fan of a team, you may be overly critical (like Randy Quaid’s character in Major League 2) or you may see things through the rose colored glasses of a homer.

With that said, while things were unfolding in the Ravens-Bills game on Sunday afternoon at M&T Bank Stadium, I couldn’t escape the feeling that I’d seen this movie before. We all know by now, the Bills left Baltimore with 23-20 victory, despite being down by 20-3 with just under 2 minutes to go in the first half. In an effort to either confirm or deny my feelings, I decided to look back at the last 21 games, with a particular focus on defensive performance at critical junctures; the end of the half and the end of the game.

Here goes nothing:

9/13/21 @ Las Vegas….leading 14-7, the Ravens offense failed on 4th and 1 at the Raiders 36 yard line, giving the ball back to Vegas with 1:12 left in the half. The defense allowed the Raiders to go on a 10 play drive and covert a field goal to end the half.

Later, with 42 seconds remaining in the game, Justin Tucker hit a 47 yard field goal to give the Ravens a 27-24 lead. The Raiders responded with a 20 yard completion, clock play, 18 yard completion, clock play and then a 55 yard field goal to send the game to overtime. The Raiders would eventually win in OT.

9/19/21 vs Kansas City….the Ravens had tied the game at 14 with 3:21 to go in the half. On the ensuing possession, the Chiefs went 65 yards in about 2 and a half minutes to put a TD on the board with 51 seconds left in the half.

To the Ravens credit, they fought back in this game, which they eventually won 36-35 but not without a scare. When Baltimore took the lead with 3:14 remaining, the Chiefs quickly moved into field goal position on 3 straight completions. Only an Odafe Oweh strip and fumble recovery saved the Ravens from another late game implosion.

9/26/21 @ Detroit….the defense had allowed the Lions drive for the go ahead field goal at the 1:08 mark of the 4th quarter. Luckily, the Ravens were bailed out by Justin Tucker’s, NFL record 66 yard field goal as time expired.

10/11/21 vs Indy….the Ravens put their first points on the board via a Tucker field goal at the 1:39 mark of the 2nd quarter. The defense responded by allowing Carson Wentz to drive 66 yards and set up a Rodrigo Blankenship field goal to make it 10-3.

After battling back to the tie the game at 25 all with around 40 seconds to go, the defense proceeded to allow the Colts to move 46 yards and be in position for a game winning field, which an injured Blankenship missed. The Ravens would triumph in overtime.

10/24/21 vs Cincy….what ended up as a lopsided loss didn’t look that way for a half of football. The Ravens had tied the game at 10 apiece with 1:51 to go in the first half. The defense subsequently allowed Joe Burrow to march the Bengals to the Baltimore 12 yard line and finish the half with a field goal to make it 13-10.

11/7/21 vs Minnesota….the Ravens battled back to take 31-24 lead at the 3:29 mark of the 4th quarter. The defense then allowed the Vikings to go 75 yards in a little over 2 minutes to the tie game at 31 with just over a minute remaining. The Ravens would eventually win in overtime.

11/11/21 @ Miami….in a game where the Ravens struggled mightily on offense, they had scored a touchdown with 4:16 remaining in the 4th quarter to make it a one score game, 15-10. If the defense could produce a stop, the offense would have an opportunity to win the game. Instead, the Ravens gave up a 75 yard touchdown drive (the majority of which came on a 64 completion) and Miami iced the game.

11/21/21 @ Chicago….Tyler Huntley was under center for Baltimore in this contest and the offense scuffled. However, the Ravens were able to take a 9-7 lead with 3:48 to play. The defense’s answer? Allowing Andy Dalton to drive 75 yards for a go ahead score, featuring a 49 yard touchdown pass on 4th and 11. Fortunately for the Ravens, Huntley and the offense were able to answer and win the game.

12/5/21 vs Pittsburgh….holding a 7-0 lead, the Ravens punted to the Steelers and they took over at the 13 yard line with 1:48 to go. Pittsburgh was able to drive 52 yards and put a field goal on the board shortly before halftime.

With the Ravens clinging to a 13-12 lead, the Steelers got the ball at their own 31 yard line. The defense allowed a 4 and a half minute, 13 play touchdown drive and subsequent 2 point conversion to surrender the lead. The offense would answer with a late TD but a failed 2 point attempt cost them the game. (Marlon Humphrey was injured in this game)

12/26/21 @ Cincy….even though this game ended up a lot like the game with the Bengals at Baltimore, there was a point where it wasn’t completely out of reach. The Ravens had put together a touchdown drive to cut the score to 24-14 with 1:38 remaining in the half. How did the defense respond? By promptly giving up a 75 yard touchdown drive in a little over a minute. Game, set, match.

1/2/22 vs LAR….Justin Tucker hit a field goal at the 4:35 mark to stretch the Ravens’ lead to 19-14. The Rams took possession at their own 25 yard line and went 75 yards for the game winning TD in about three and a half minutes.

1/9/22 @ Pittsburgh….with the game tied at 13 in overtime, Pittsburgh got the ball at their own 17 yard line. The defense allowed a 15 play drive, which culminated in a walk off field goal for Chris Boswell.

9/18/22 vs Miami…in the midst of the epic meltdown, the Ravens were able to piece a drive together and take the lead back with a field goal at the 2:23 mark of the 4th quarter. Needing the defense to make just one stop to steal a victory, the opposite happened. The Dolphins marched 68 yards in 6 plays to score the game winning TD.

9/25/22 @ NE….the Ravens scored a touchdown with 0:36 seconds remaining in the half. New England got the ball at their own 25 yard line. Three completions later, the Patriots added a field goal to end the half and cut the Ravens lead to one, 14-13. The Ravens would go on to win.

10/2/22 vs Buffalo….Baltimore was dominating this game in the early going and held a 20-3 lead when the punted the ball to the Bills, who took possession at their own 24 yard line with 1:47 to go in the half. The defense relinquished a 76 yard drive that ended in a touchdown just before the end of the half.

After Lamar Jackson threw a 4th down interception in the end zone, Buffalo got the ball at their own 20 yard line with 4:09 to play. The Bills were able to methodically drive down the field (only facing one 3rd down) and kick a game winning field goal as time expired.

I will cut the Ravens defense some slack for some of the letdowns experienced in the back half of last season, due to injuries depleting the roster. Either way, those defensive lapses certainly lead to defensive coordinator Wink Martindale getting wished the best of luck in his future endeavors and the hiring of Mike Macdonald. In spite of a healthier roster and new coordinator to start the 2022 season, the early evidence seems to suggest the same problems continue to plague the Ravens defense. Simply put, the defense wilts in critical moments and falters when a stop is needed. This is such a far departure from what fans have come to expect from the Baltimore Ravens defense. For the better part of a generation, a lead was almost always safe and a double digit lead was a virtual lock.

I’m not going to pretend that I have any solutions to break this pattern. We can only hope that some players that are currently injured can return to health and reshape the defense. Tyus Bowser will begin practicing this week but there’s no way to pinpoint his return. Justin Houston is nursing a groin injury and we’re still awaiting/hoping 2nd round pick David Ojabo can contribute at one point this season. Meanwhile, defensive lineman Travis Jones returned from a pre-season knee injury and cornerback Marcus Peters looks like he’s pretty close to 100%.

Whether it’s a lack of personnel, learning and getting comfortable in a new scheme, lacking the proverbial killer instinct, or some combination thereof, the Baltimore Ravens defense of late is not the defense that we’ve come to know and lean on for the majority of the franchise’s history. If the lapses don’t improve, any hopes of a return to the postseason could be dashed.