OWINGS MILLS, Md. – A day after the Ravens hobbled through a lopsided 37-20 loss to Kansas City that ended with more than half the starting defense sidelined by injury, head coach John Harbaugh made clear that he was displeased with just about every aspect of the Ravens’ offense in the game.
Speaking at his Monday news conference Sept. 29, Harbaugh’s frustration was palpable as he recounted ill-timed penalties, poor execution, and questionable play calls for an offense that rolled down the field on a game-opening touchdown drive but then came undone over the next 30 minutes as the game got out of hand.
Compounding the injury problems, two-time MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson left the game with a hamstring injury late in the third quarter and did not return.
Harbaugh did not offer any update on Jackson or others injured in the loss to the Chiefs, saying, “We have a pretty good feel on all the injuries with the different guys right now. … I am really not commenting on those things today. We’ll comment on them later in the week a little bit more.”
But Harbaugh had plenty of comment about an offense that, after that opening touchdown drive, botched four straight possessions as the Chiefs opened up a 20-7 lead.
“We don’t have a rhythm on offense right now,” Harbaugh said.
In that pivotal first-half sequence, one drive ended in Lamar Jackson’s first interception of the season, one ended in a punt after two delay-of-game penalties in a span of three plays, another ended with an incompletion on fourth-and-1 and another ended with a fumble.
Harbaugh gave credit to Chiefs linebacker Leo Chenal for making a nice play for the interception, which came with the Ravens driving and holding a 7-3 lead. Harbaugh explained that the Chiefs blitzed on the play, and the Ravens struggled to counter it and had no checkdown options for Jackson.
“It wasn’t a good play for us,” Harbaugh said. “It wasn’t a good play call. It wasn’t a play where we put our guys in the right position in that situation. I’m not happy with it at all. None of us are.”
In fact, the Ravens’ struggle against the blitz was a recurring problem. Jackson was sacked three times, and he and Cooper Rush, who replaced Jackson after he left with the hamstring injury, were under duress much of the game.
“I don’t think our approach was good,” Harbaugh said. “I think we didn’t stick to the plan that we had. We had an idea of how we wanted to approach their defense, and we didn’t stick to it. I’m not happy about it, and neither is anybody. None of our coaches are happy about it.”
The Ravens were also frustrated by several missed chances in third- or fourth-and-short situations, and the fact that Derrick Henry was not on the field in most of those situations drew considerable scrutiny.
“We didn’t do a good job at all,” Harbaugh said. “We all know it. We all agree with it. We came up short. We didn’t put our players in the position we needed to put them in to execute and convert on third-and-short and fourth-and-short in first half and throughout the course of the game. Those are just like turnovers. … We just have to own all that and understand it. That was bad ball.”
Harbaugh never mentioned offensive coordinator Todd Monken by name, but it’s rare to see him publicly upbraid the coaching approach to a game as he did after this one. And to be sure, the buck stops with him and any coaching shortcomings ultimately fall on him.
The defense under coordinator Zach Orr has struggled most of the year, and the short-handed unit was picked apart by Patrick Mahomes, who threw four touchdown passes as the Chiefs rolled to a 37-13 lead.
Through four games, the Ravens rank 31st in total defense and have given up the most points in the league.
The pressure is on everyone in the team’s Under Armour Performance Center to account for how a team that was a Vegas darling as a Super Bowl pick is sitting at 1-3 with way more questions than answers a month into a season that feels on the brink.
The biggest question is whether Jackson will play when the Ravens host Houston this coming Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium. The availability of several other Pro Bowl players, including tackle Ronnie Stanley, cornerback Marlon Humphrey and linebacker Roquan Smith — all of whom left the Chiefs game with injuries — is also unknown.
NFL Network reported that Smith and Humphrey are both expected to be out for a couple of weeks, which would also knock them out of the game against the Los Angeles Rams on Oct. 12. The Ravens have their bye on Oct. 19, which cannot come soon enough.
NOTEBOOK
MADUBUIKE OUT FOR THE SEASON: The only definitive injury update Harbaugh did provide was that defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike will miss the remainder of the season with a neck injury. He has not played since Week 2 against Cleveland.
Asked whether the injury could potentially end Madubuike’s career, Harbaugh said, “Those are questions that would be best answered by him going forward, and he may be still getting some information on that as well. … I will leave that for him to answer.”
Harbaugh said that defensive lineman Broderick Washington, who was placed on injured reserve last week with an ankle injury, is expected to return later in the season. After being placed on IR, he is required to miss a minimum of four weeks.
HARBAUGH GIVES VOTE OF CONFIDENCE TO RUSH: If Lamar Jackson can’t play in Week 5 against Houston, the Ravens will turn to backup Cooper Rush, who replaced Jackson against the Chiefs and finished 9-for-13 for 52 yards.
Rush, 31, was signed this offseason to be the Ravens’ backup quarterback and viewed as an upgrade over last year’s backup, Josh Johnson. Rush started eight games for Dallas last season, going 4-4, and is 9-5 in 14 career starts across eight seasons. Practice squad quarterback Tyler Huntley would become the backup.
“If [Rush is] out there, it’ll be geared toward him and the guys around him,” Harbaugh said. “We’ve got a good group around him. We’ve got a lot of playmakers around him if he’s playing. And the same thing for Tyler Huntley. … We can win. We have a really good team, and we can win games with our guys.”
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