11 October 2023
There’s no other way to put it: The Ravens have a hands problem.
In Sunday’s collapse against the Pittsburgh Steelers, they had seven dropped passes, the third-most by a team since 2013 and the most since Week 6 of the 2021 season, according to TruMedia. Usually sure-handed tight end Mark Andrews led the way with three, rookie wide receiver Zay Flowers had two and Rashod Bateman and Nelson Agholor had one apiece.
The Ravens had just three total through their first four games, and, according to Pro Football Focus, entered Sunday as one of only two teams whose wide receivers didn’t drop any passes.
“I’m not surprised by anything in the NFL, in football,” coach John Harbaugh said when asked if he was surprised by all 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 first four weeks of the season, that’s mostly true, but the Ravens’ lack of ball security extends well beyond a week of butterfingers by their pass catchers.
The Ravens have the third-most fumbles in the NFL with 12, just one behind the Jacksonville Jaguars. Quarterback Lamar Jackson leads all players with seven fumbles, including a league-high four lost. Running backs Kenyan Drake and Justice Hill each had what proved to be pivotal fumbles against the Indianapolis Colts and Steelers, respectively.
Asked two weeks ago about Jackson’s ball security issues in particular, Harbaugh said the quarterback is “all over it.”
“Each one of those issues is a different issue,” Harbaugh said. “They’re not connected in a sense [that] you can say there’s one theme to what’s causing fumbles. The fact that they’re fumbles is a theme, and they’re not good. We just can’t put the ball on the ground.
“It’s something we work very, very hard not to do. It’s a main priority for us. It has to be.”
Then with just over a minute to go against the Steelers and the Ravens trailing by four, Jackson dropped back to pass on first down from his own 44-yard line and was strip-sacked by linebacker Alex Highsmith from behind, with T.J. Watt scooping up the loose ball and returning it to the 18. Left tackle Ronnie Stanley, who was playing his first game since Week 1 because of a knee injury and had logged just two full practices and four total since, got beat badly on the outside by Highsmith.
More concerning were all the dropped balls before that.
On the Ravens’ first possession of the game, Jackson hit Flowers on an in route over the middle that would have put the ball on at least the Steelers’ 20, but it went through Flowers’ hands as he looked to make a move before he secured the catch.
On second-and-goal from the 5 early in the second quarter, Andrews ran straight into the end zone and made a juke to his right with linebacker Cole Holcomb in relatively close proximity. Jackson’s pass was a touch high but Andrews got both hands on it and it went through them. One play later, Bateman cut inside with cornerback Levi Wallace trailing him and jumped to secure an easy catch, only for the ball to hit his hands and fall to the turf.
And with just over four minutes to play in the third quarter and the Ravens leading by seven and facing second-and-6 on the Steelers’ 44, Agholor had a step on Steelers rookie Joey Porter Jr. down the right sideline. Jackson, who was under pressure after Stanley got beat again, dropped a pass into the gloved hands of his streaking receiver at the 15, only to see it go right through them. If Agholor catches the pass, it’s likely a touchdown.
There were other drops and missed opportunities, too, including incomplete deep balls to Bateman and Flowers that could have been difference-makers. An uncovered Flowers stumbled before he could even make a play on Jackson’s play-action deep ball down the middle midway through the fourth quarter.
“We need to be better,” Andrews said. “Lamar is putting the ball right where it needs to be.”
Judging by his 69.9% completion rate, which ranks fifth in the NFL behind Josh Allen, Brock Purdy, Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert, that has been mostly true.
But Jackson at times has contributed to the missed opportunities. While he has only thrown two interceptions, one of those came late in the fourth quarter against Pittsburgh when, from the shotgun, he threw a fade to Odell Beckham Jr. in the back corner of the end zone before Beckham even got a chance to get past Porter. The ball was also underthrown to the inside and Beckham never had a chance to get over the top of Porter, who is 3 inches taller.
“I believe so,” Jackson said when asked if he felt the Ravens gave Sunday’s game away. “We didn’t want to, but [we had] little mishaps. We’re right 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 would be a good place to start.
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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