There’s no different method to put it: The Ravens have a palms drawback.
In Sunday’s collapse towards the Pittsburgh Steelers, they’d seven dropped passes, the third-most by a crew since 2013 and probably the most since Week 6 of the 2021 season, in keeping with TruMedia. Usually sure-handed tight finish Mark Andrews led the best way with three, rookie broad receiver Zay Flowers had two and Rashod Bateman and Nelson Agholor had one apiece.
The Ravens had simply three whole by means of their first 4 video games, and, in keeping with Pro Football Focus, entered Sunday as certainly one of solely two groups whose broad receivers didn’t drop any passes.
“I’m not surprised by anything in the NFL, in football,” coach John Harbaugh stated when requested if he was stunned by all of the drops. “It’s just the way it goes, and we keep working on that. I know we’ll make those plays going forward. Those are balls that our guys are going to catch; they catch them all the time.”
Judging by the primary 4 weeks of the season, that’s largely true, however the Ravens’ lack of ball safety extends nicely past per week of butterfingers by their cross catchers.
The Ravens have the third-most fumbles within the NFL with 12, only one behind the Jacksonville Jaguars. Quarterback Lamar Jackson leads all gamers with seven fumbles, together with a league-high 4 misplaced. Running backs Kenyan Drake and Justice Hill every had what proved to be pivotal fumbles towards the Indianapolis Colts and Steelers, respectively.
Asked two weeks in the past about Jackson’s ball safety points particularly, Harbaugh stated the quarterback is “all over it.”
“Each one of those issues is a different issue,” Harbaugh stated. “They’re not linked in a way [that] you possibly can say there’s one theme to what’s inflicting fumbles. The incontrovertible fact that they’re fumbles is a theme, and so they’re not good. We simply can’t put the ball on the bottom.
“It’s something we work very, very hard not to do. It’s a main priority for us. It has to be.”
Then with simply over a minute to go towards the Steelers and the Ravens trailing by 4, Jackson dropped again to cross on first down from his personal 44-yard line and was strip-sacked by linebacker Alex Highsmith from behind, with T.J. Watt scooping up the free ball and returning it to the 18. Left sort out Ronnie Stanley, who was enjoying his first recreation since Week 1 due to a knee harm and had logged simply two full practices and 4 whole since, obtained beat badly on the surface by Highsmith.
More regarding have been all of the dropped balls earlier than that.
On the Ravens’ first possession of the sport, Jackson hit Flowers on an in route over the center that will have put the ball on at the very least the Steelers’ 20, but it surely went by means of Flowers’ palms as he appeared to make a transfer earlier than he secured the catch.
On second-and-goal from the 5 early within the second quarter, Andrews ran straight into the tip zone and made a juke to his proper with linebacker Cole Holcomb in comparatively shut proximity. Jackson’s cross was a contact excessive however Andrews obtained each palms on it and it went by means of them. One play later, Bateman minimize inside with cornerback Levi Wallace trailing him and jumped to safe a simple catch, just for the ball to hit his palms and fall to the turf.
And with simply over 4 minutes to play within the third quarter and the Ravens main by seven and dealing with second-and-6 on the Steelers’ 44, Agholor had a step on Steelers rookie Joey Porter Jr. down the precise sideline. Jackson, who was underneath stress after Stanley obtained beat once more, dropped a cross into the gloved palms of his streaking receiver on the 15, solely to see it go proper by means of them. If Agholor catches the cross, it’s seemingly a landing.
There have been different drops and missed alternatives, too, together with incomplete deep balls to Bateman and Flowers that would have been difference-makers. An uncovered Flowers stumbled earlier than he may even make a play on Jackson’s play-action deep ball down the center halfway by means of the fourth quarter.
“We need to be better,” Andrews stated. “Lamar is putting the ball right where it needs to be.”
Judging by his 69.9% completion price, which ranks fifth within the NFL behind Josh Allen, Brock Purdy, Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert, that has been largely true.
But Jackson at instances has contributed to the missed alternatives. While he has solely thrown two interceptions, a kind of got here late within the fourth quarter towards Pittsburgh when, from the shotgun, he threw a fade to Odell Beckham Jr. within the again nook of the tip zone earlier than Beckham even obtained an opportunity to get previous Porter. The ball was additionally underthrown to the within and Beckham by no means had an opportunity to get excessive of Porter, who’s 3 inches taller.
“I believe so,” Jackson stated when requested if he felt the Ravens gave Sunday’s recreation away. “We didn’t wish to, however [we had] little mishaps. We’re proper there. We had [the Steelers] beat.
“The defense played a great game — kept stopping, kept giving us opportunities. We’ve just got to do what we do [and] finish drives.”
Hanging onto the ball could be an excellent place to start out.
Week 6
Ravens vs. Titans
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London
Sunday, 9:30 a.m.
TV: Chs. 11, 4, NFL Network
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
Line: Ravens by 4
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Source: www.bostonherald.com