The Ravens’ home opener on Sept. 20 did not go well, as they blew an 11‑point lead and lost, 24-17, to the New Orleans Saints.
Quarterback Lamar Jackson’s late first-half touchdown to wide receiver Rashod Bateman made it 14-3, but Baltimore’s offense stalled in the second half, producing only a field goal. One of the most glaring issues that the Ravens had in this game was their inability to sustain the running game, as Derrick Henry had just five carries for 17 yards after halftime.
With the game tied at 17 in the fourth quarter, a deep pass to wide receiver Chris Moore on third-and-1 fell incomplete, forcing a punt. The Saints capitalized on this by scoring the go-ahead touchdown. It marked the Ravens’ 15th blown lead of double-digit points since 2019.
Former NFL safety and current CBS analyst Adam Archuleta, who called the game in Baltimore, provided his thoughts on the matchup on Glenn Clark Radio Sept. 22. Archuleta was asked why the Ravens keep on struggling to close out games and maintain double-digit leads.
“When you’re leading, when you have an opportunity to really step on somebody and put them out, you have to take your shot,” Archuleta said. “If you let teams hang around, they make one or two more plays and all of a sudden it’s a different ballgame.”
Archuleta then discussed the third-and-1 play and explained why it happened.
“If you look at it, it was the right play,” Archuleta said. “The Saints brought a zone pressure. They were able to move the safety and get inside position on the post. They got everything that they wanted, right? It’s just the context of the situation.”
Archuleta then emphasized the importance of maintaining drives. The offense becoming stale in the second half was another key element that went wrong for the Ravens, who were dominated in time of possession in the second half.
“If you just sustain one more drive, right? You keep their offense off the field, you just keep going,” Archuleta said. “They had one drive that was 14 plays or so and then they went three-and-out, three-and-out [in the second half]. And really that offense wasn’t on the field, so you really couldn’t feed Derrick Henry.”
Archuleta also gave credit to New Orleans. He was impressed by the performance of Saints quarterback Tyler Shough, who completed 27 of 34 passes for 252 passing yards and had 23 rushing yards on nine carries. Archuleta was asked specifically about how good Shough was under pressure.
“I’ve seen enough young quarterbacks to know that I think they’ve got their guy,” Archuleta said. “… I enjoyed watching him this year in some real pressure-packed moments on the road, tough circumstances, overcoming adversity and really making key throws and being unflappable.”
Archuleta was asked about the Ravens’ secondary and its role in Saints wide receiver Chris Olave’s 21-yard reception touchdown with 9:42 remaining in the fourth quarter that cut the Baltimore lead to 17-15 before the ensuing two‑point conversion tied the game at 17.
The analyst explained that defensive backs could still be adjusting to a first-year coaching staff.
“It can be very challenging when, OK, you’ve been thrown into the fire and you’ve kind of learned it one way with one style of coaches,” Archuleta said. “If somebody comes in with different teaching, it could cause you to not play fast and really trust what you see yet. … If you’re not really playing fast or confident or believe in what you see, you’re going to be a step behind, and that’s all it takes in the NFL.”
Archuleta did not get the feeling that the Ravens were thinking about their history of blown leads. Instead, he believed Baltimore may have been too comfortable with its position after building an 11-point lead.
“I think it was more a little bit of maybe a nonchalance or complacency more so than it’s like, ‘Oh, here we go again,’ type of feeling,” Archuleta said.
Looking ahead, the Ravens will seek to correct those defensive breakdowns and sustain offensive drives as they travel to Rio de Janeiro to face the Dallas Cowboys (1-1) this coming Sunday, Sept. 27. Archuleta was asked about whether a new Ravens coaching staff should be given more time to develop considering head coach Jesse Minter is only entering his third game as the head coach in Baltimore.
“What this thing is going to look like in Year 3 isn’t what it’s going to look like this year,” Archuleta said.
For more from Archuleta, watch the full interview here:
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