John Elway joins us to talk about the Broncos and his experience with Dupuytren’s contracture, a progressive condition that affects the health of his hand.
- The Baltimore Ravens fell to 1-5 after a 17-3 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, leading to fan frustration.
- Baltimore’s offense struggled and failed to score a touchdown despite running three straight plays from the one-yard line at one point.
- Injuries have plagued the team, including quarterback Lamar Jackson, although he is expected to return after the bye week.
In the history of bye weeks, this is perhaps the most necessary for a preseason Super Bowl contender.
Zay Flowers can’t hold on to the ball. Cooper Rush cannot command the offense. The defense has reservations playing due to injuries (but played admirably against a rested and powerful Rams offense). Fans called for head coach John Harbaugh’s job with chants of “Fire Harbaugh!” when the Ravens fell to the Los Angeles Rams, 17-3, on Sunday, October 12.
These people are delusional, of course. Not even a healthy Lamar Jackson hamstring could make the Ravens, a popular pick of pundits and “insiders” to hoist the Lombardi Trophy in Santa Clara in February, complete, or a team worthy of (or close to) contending.
But that doesn’t change how low everything feels around the team right now.
“The only thing worse is 0-6, so yeah, it’s a big hole,” center Tyler Linderbaum told reporters in the locker room. “We’re going to have to recover, take some time to reflect on this bye week, figure out where we need to improve, and we have 11 games left to try to top the table.”
Running back Derrick Henry can’t do much. Credit the offensive line for a good push on the opening drive, which opened enough holes for Henry to go 45 yards. He finished with 122, the first time he rushed for over 100 yards since his Week 1 outburst against the Buffalo Bills. But the Ravens never found the end zone, not on that successful opening possession or when they ran three straight plays from the one-yard line late in the second quarter.
The Ravens called tight end Mark Andrews two pushes in what was an insult to the Philadelphia Eagles’ much-maligned operation. Andrews was stood up both times. They tested Henry on fourth down and he was stopped for a loss of two.
“As an offense, we pride ourselves on having a lot of playmakers and being able to score points, which we didn’t do today when we got there,” Henry said, referring to himself and the Ravens’ receiving contingent of DeAndre Hopkins, Rashod Bateman and Flowers. “They kept us out of the end zone on those three plays, and we all know we have to be better and get the ball at the one-yard line. That’s unacceptable.”
The boos only got louder, whether it was one of the three turnovers or the three actual turnovers.
Flowers was at the center of two fumbles, the second of which was credited to quarterback Cooper Rush. The former Dallas Cowboy has proven not to be Jackson’s backup in Todd Monken’s offense, and head coach John Harbaugh replaced him with Tyler “Snoop” Huntley in the fourth quarter.
Flowers did not stay after the game to speak to reporters.
“We worked really hard,” running back Justice Hill said. “This is not a great reflection of the work we do.”
Finding an empty seat at M&T Bank Stadium in recent seasons has been a difficult proposition. Not during Sunday’s game. At the start of the quarter, about a third of the seats were available.
Harbaugh has gotten “tired” of having the same conversation every week. He tried to be optimistic after the fourth consecutive loss and anticipates Jackson’s return in Week 8 after the bye against the Chicago Bears.
“You can’t replace it,” Hill said. “Obviously getting him back is going to be hugely important to our offense.”
The Ravens defense held the Rams to lows in total yards (241) and net passing yards (167). Los Angeles entered the game averaging 401.8 total yards per game and 289.6 net passing yards per game, ranking second in the NFL in both categories. The defense could also get Roquan Smith back soon. Safety Alohi Gilman (seven tackles), acquired from the Los Angeles Chargers in exchange for running back Odafe Oweh last week, did well.
“I thought our defense played pretty well against a powerful offense,” Harbaugh said. “It was good to see. We needed to see that.”
DeAndre Hopkins said the team simply needs to get better in “certain situations” like the red zone. The responsibility is shared between the players and the coaches, he said.
“I’ve been on a lot of teams,” the 13-year veteran said, “but I think in critical situations we have to be better, like in the red zone down there. In certain situations, we have to be better. I think that doesn’t just depend on the coaches, but also on the players.”
The bye week is a time to heal, physically, yes. Baltimore needs some emotional and spiritual healing to end this third-season nightmare.
At 1-5, the opening in the AFC North, although the season is only 33.3% over, is slim (even with the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns struggling) due to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 4-1 start. Only four teams in NFL history have made the postseason after starting 1-5.
Or it could be a year like the one the San Francisco 49ers experienced last season: an expected contender whose injuries simply sunk them. (Speaking of which, the Niners could face a similar reality after the loss of Fred Warner on Sunday.)
“When we come back, it’s going to be a whole new season,” Hill said, “a whole new game.”