Quarterback Lamar Jackson is not used to losing, and the Baltimore Ravens are not used to losing with him under center, either. The third-year professional just recently tied Dan Marino for the best 30-game start in NFL history with a 25-5 record, only to proceed to lose his next game (though to be fair, so did Marino).
The Ravens are, of course, coming off of a loss after struggling in the elements against the New England Patriots, who came into the contest with a 3-5 record. For his part, Jackson completed 24 of 34 pass attempts for 249 yards. He threw for two touchdowns, but he also had an interception, the lone turnover in the game. He also ran for 55 yards on 11 attempts.
“We’re ticked off” about the result, he told reporters following Sunday night’s loss. “Don’t nobody like losing…especially when we have a lot of talent on our team. We’ve just got to regroup”.
With the loss, the Ravens have now fallen to 6-3 on the season, and are three games behind the Pittsburgh Steelers, who are 9-0, in the race for the AFC North. Although they share the same record with the Cleveland Browns, Baltimore does currently own the head-to-head tiebreaker.
The Ravens are entering a rough stretch in which they must face the Tennessee Titans, who are in a bit of a slide of their own, losers of three of their last four, and then have a rematch, this time in Pittsburgh, against the Steelers, which will take place just four days later on Thanksgiving.
Prior to the first meeting between the two teams, the Ravens not only had the opportunity to host the game, but also had a bye week ahead of it to prepare. They only were given that bye week because the league rearranged the schedule after the Titans experienced a Covid-19 outbreak and their week four game against the Steelers had to be postponed.
Since then, Baltimore has lost two starters, including All-Pro left tackle Ronnie Stanley. On Sunday, they also lost Nick Boyle, their blocking tight end. While they still have Mark Andrews, the loss of these two players greatly affects their blocking schemes, which is at the heart of their run-first offense.
Baltimore has just 250 pass attempts on the season, which ranks 31st in the NFL. they have 294 rushing attempts, which ranks second. They have slipped all the way to 13th in scoring in recent weeks—though we have to remember that this is a historically high-scoring season as well, and they are averaging 27.1 points per game.
