Ravens implode on the big stage and now questions arise heading into the offseason | Sunday Night Blitz
Yahoo Sports’ Jason Fitz and Frank Schwab discuss Baltimore’s failures in their 17-10 loss to Kansas City and question the Ravens' game plan in not running the ball. Hear the full conversation on “Sunday Night Blitz” - part of the “Zero Blitz” podcast - and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen.
Video Transcript
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JASON FITZ: It's not the refs' fault that the Ravens never tried to run the football.
FRANK SCHWAB: Right. That's what I was just about ready to say. The refs didn't have anything to do with the Ravens' completely blowing this game. They didn't have anything to do with Lamar Jackson throwing an interception into the end zone, in triple coverage, to Isaiah Likely. They didn't have anything to do with Zay Flowers' trying to make up for this boneheaded penalty, diving into the end zone and fumbling. That's nothing to do with the refs. That's nothing to Roger Goodell calling in something.
The Ravens got outplayed in this game 'cause they panicked and they choked. That stinks for them. It stinks for Ravens fans. They did not play their best game. They were, in my mind, the best team in the NFL this year, and they just laid an absolute egg today, which is a different type of disappointment than the Lions' loss, but still crushing for all those Ravens fans out there.
Zay Flowers, CBS reported-- he goes to the bench. He slams his hand on a bench and cuts himself. He's got to get trainers over there to tape him up. This is a team that completely lost its composure and did so early. This game was there for the taking. It was 14-7 until the final seconds of the first half, 17-7 for just about the entire second half.
I think they really just panicked. And if you're an AFC team, if you're Stroud, if you're Burrow, if you're Tua, if you're Allen, if you're Lamar, you just gotta look and say, this is what all those quarterbacks who were in Tom Brady's era felt like, because it's the same thing. You have to be just crestfallen if you're an AFC team, AFC contender, AFC quarterback, thinking, we couldn't knock Patrick Mahomes out this year? Is it gonna get better next year? The Chiefs aren't gonna be this bad again, I don't think.
JASON FITZ: If you take Lamar Jackson's running out, do you take Lamar off of this? In fact, let's take Lamar and Zay out, because he's a wide receiver. Running backs for the Baltimore Ravens totaled six carries. Six carries, total.
FRANK SCHWAB: Wow, wow.
JASON FITZ: How? How can you--
FRANK SCHWAB: How may did Gus have? Gus couldn't have had more than two.
JASON FITZ: Gus had three carries for 20 yards.
FRANK SCHWAB: Three. Unbelievable.
JASON FITZ: The long was 15. And Justice Hill had three carries for 3 yards. They didn't even try to run the football. They were one-dimensional from the outset. They couldn't maintain any possession in the process of being one-dimensional. It felt like Lamar, when he dropped back-- several times, he had time, but whether it was because of the coverage or because he didn't trust what he was seeing, wasn't doing anything with it. He didn't really run the ball at all until the second half, and there was no adjustment. The Ravens offense-- I felt like they were lost from the outset.
FRANK SCHWAB: That is true.
JASON FITZ: They felt confused. So kudos to the Chiefs defense for confusing Lamar, but also, the hell was your game plan if your running backs aren't even attempting to get the football? You have to at least attempt, in January football, to run it sometimes.