The Baltimore Ravens entered Week 3 with a tremendous win over the divisional rival Cincinnati Bengals. It was a win that saw the defense be ferocious with pressure and the offense be sharp. Offensively, it was a complete 180 to their performance in Week 1, and quarterback Lamar Jackson played his best football since last September. It’s the kind of win that can catapult a team early in a campaign, and many were expecting them to continue that this week. Against an Indianapolis Colts team missing their starting quarterback and center, as well as their star running back, the Ravens looked for a 3-0 start to the year. Unfortunately, as is the reality of the NFL, it’s a week-to-week league as the Ravens put up an ugly performance in a 22-19 loss at home to Indianapolis in overtime.
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Ravens Sloppy All Around In Loss To Colts
Offense Is Still A Work In Progress
As excited as Ravens fans were about the offense after their Week 2 outing in Cincinnati, reality hit them in the face in Week 3. This offense is still a work in progress and needs to be in sync. It doesn’t help that Odell Beckham Jr., Ronnie Stanley, and Tyler Linderbaum are injured. Not to mention, J.K. Dobbins is done for the year. Nevertheless, the offense returned to its week 1 form against Houston. Although, it did look like a well-oiled engine on their first drive of the game. The offense drove down the field for an 80-yard drive, culminating in an 8-yard touchdown run from Jackon.
With the Colts starting Gardner Minshew at quarterback, who prior to Sunday had never beaten a team above .500, you would’ve thought Baltimore would be off to the races. However, from there the Ravens offense completely went off the rails. This was the Ravens offense after that great first drive.
- Fumble
- Punt
- Fumble
- Punt
- End Of Half
- Punt
- Punt
- Touchdown
- Field Goal
- Punt
- Punt
- Missed Field Goal
- Punt
- Downs
Uneven Day For Jackon & Bad Fumble From Drake
While the overall numbers for Jackson were good, 22/31 for 202 yards passing and rushing for 101 yards on 14 attempts, it was an uneven day. Jackson fumbled the ball twice (one recovered by Baltimore) and mishandled a snap that Indianapolis recovered. At the end of the 4th quarter, he took a bad sack. In Overtime, he missed an open Zay Flowers that would’ve put them in field goal range to win the game. Kenyan Drake, brought back to the team for an injured Justice Hill, had a massive fumble on the team’s second drive. Completely turning this game around. If he didn’t fumble, the Ravens would’ve been up by 10 or 14 early.
Defense Couldn’t Hold A Late Lead Again
It’s hard to put much on the defense when the offense was that sloppy, but the unit holds its fair share of blame. The Ravens gave up a couple of big plays to the Minshew-led Colts offense, primarily through the air. Once again, as has been the case for this defense since 2013, they struggled to hold the lead. They blew another lead in the 4th quarter at home. Yes, they have injuries in the secondary, but the same problems on the unit popping up year in and year out expands to more than just injuries. They have to figure this out.
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What’s Next
It’ll be 2-1 vs. 2-1 for an early advantage in the AFC North as Baltimore will travel to Cleveland next week to take on the Browns. Cleveland is coming off a 27-3 win over the Tennessee Titans. The Ravens will look to have a bounce-back performance all around to take over sole possession of first place in the division this early in the year. Head Coach John Harbaugh owns a 24-6 record against the Browns, and the two teams split last year.
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Main Photo Credit: Brent Skeen-USA TODAY Sports
