OWINGS MILLS, Md. — By many metrics, the Ravens’ offense led by reigning league Most Valuable Player Lamar Jackson is humming along two games into the season. The Ravens lead the league in total offense, rank seventh in rushing and fourth in passing. Jackson ranks fifth in the league in passing yardage.
Yet the team sits 0-2 for the first time since 2015, and echoing head coach John Harbaugh, second-year offensive coordinator Todd Monken lamented inconsistency and lack of execution in key moments.
The Ravens lost at Kansas City (27-20) and then at home to the Las Vegas Raiders (26-23), who came to Baltimore as a touchdown-plus underdog. The Ravens visit Dallas (1-1) this week hoping to avoid just the second 0-3 start in franchise history.
“We’re close. We really are,” Monken said at his weekly news conference after practice Sept. 19. “We’re a couple of plays away from being 2-0. We’re not. That’s the nature of this league. How do we find those little percentage points to get better? That’s our job.”
The Ravens’ defense and special teams drew their share of criticism after the team blew a pair of 10-point leads in a 26-23 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders this past week, but offensive issues also played a large factor.
The Ravens outgained the Raiders in total offense 383-260, but a key penalty here, a missed block there, and a key turnover all factored in the loss.
The Ravens’ running game, led by All-Pro Derrick Henry, was essentially nonexistent in the first half, when the team totaled 19 yards on 11 carries and failed to reach the end zone on six possessions.
Jackson missed a wide-open tight end Mark Andrews on third down in the second quarter, and in the second half he threw an interception that glanced off Rashod Bateman’s hands. On third-and-1 in the fourth quarter with the Ravens leading 23-16, Henry was whistled for a false start. Jackson threw incomplete on the next play, and the Ravens had to punt.
Then after the Raiders rallied to tie the game at 23, the Ravens took over with 3:54 to play. A breakdown up front led to Jackson being buried by Raiders All-Pro edge rusher Maxx Crosby for a first-down sack. The Ravens had to punt three plays later, and the Raiders drove for the winning field goal.
“We just have to put it all together,” Monken said, “because like I said, we’re moving the football. We have opportunities out there, but we have to collectively execute at a high level.”
The offensive line, which features three new starters this year in left guard Andrew Vorhees, right guard Daniel Faalele and right tackle Patrick Mekari, has drawn its share of the criticism, and while Monken acknowledged the group has been far from perfect, he said, “I’ve liked what I’ve seen.”
“I do think they’re getting better,” Monken said. “… Nothing of what we’ve done so far has been perfect. That starts with me, and then every position. We have a long ways to go … but I’ve liked what I’ve seen. Now we’ve just got to put it together consistently in everything that we do, those guys as well. I’ve seen them come along, and we’re going to continue to play those guys.”
Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum said he and his linemates try to block out any outside noise or criticism and hold themselves to a high standard.
“The offense goes as the offensive line goes,” Linderbaum said, “so obviously we need to step our game up and play better.”
NOTEBOOK
STANLEY, HAMILTON, VAN NOY, WIGGINS RETURN TO PRACTICE: Tackle Ronnie Stanley (ankle), safety Kyle Hamilton (back), outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy (eye, groin) and cornerback Nate Wiggins (neck/concussion) all practiced Sept. 19 after sitting out a day earlier.
Stanley and Van Noy were full practice participants. Hamilton was limited, and Wiggins, who had not practiced in more than a week after being in a car accident, was also limited and wore a red non-contact jersey.
Outside linebacker David Ojabo, who was not on the injury report on Wednesday, was added as limited with a quad injury. Wide receiver and kick returner Deonte Hardy (calf) was also limited.
The only absence from practice was offensive lineman Sala Aumavae-Laulu, who missed his second straight practice for personal reasons.
HORTON: NO CONCERNS ABOUT TUCKER: Special teams coordinator Chris Horton said he has “full confidence” in kicker Justin Tucker despite the All-Pro’s recent struggles on long-distance kicks. Tucker missed a 53-yard field-goal attempt at Kansas City in Week 1, and then missed from 56 against Las Vegas, with both kicks drifting just left of the left upright.
Tucker remains the most accurate kicker in NFL history, with a field-goal success rate of 89.9 percent (400-445, but since the beginning of the 2023 season, he is 1-for-7 from 50 yards or longer.
“The distance is there. I think the confidence is there,” said Horton, attributing the misses to possibly “how (Tucker) strikes the ball and football placement on the ball and things like that.”
Horton added that if they send Tucker out for a long field-goal attempt, “We’ve got full confidence in him making that kick.”
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