Why blame Zach Orr when Ravens OC Todd Monken needs more scores?

Baltimore Ravens DC Zach Orr held the Philadelphia Eagles as long as he could Sunday hoping OC Todd Monken would scheme more touchdowns.

Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Zach Orr has worked to rebuild tenacity on defense, and he is finally showing results. Sunday, Orr’s defense forced Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore into six punts, yielding four out of 12 on third downs, and allowed just 17 first downs on 54 plays.

Thanks to the work of Orr Sunday, offensive coordinator Todd Monken was afforded 71 total plays, yet he produced just 19 points. Monken’s game plan amounted to a six-for-15 ratio on third down, three sacks allowed, and four punts. Four other times, Monken settled for field goal attempts.

While fans might scorn kicker Justin Tucker, Monken equally squandered possessions in plus territory, finishing NFL Week 13 with a red-zone scoring percentage of 40%. Monken’s mastermind always seems to stray when the strength of competition increases. Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio had an answer for Monken, forcing the Ravens into holding penalties and loss of yards in key moments of the game and stuffing his schemes on third down.

Consider Orr holding the Eagles offense to just ten second-half points, hoping desperately that Monken would turn an offensive opportunity into a touchdown. Instead, Monken’s lack of production would have extended the Ravens’ 9-0 lead, which would have nullified the usage of Eagles running back Saquon Barkley. Instead, Orr had to use many packages and personnel to try to slow down the NFL’s leading rusher, all because he had no scoring lead to work with.

The Ravens’ strength this season was supposed to be their offense, yet the defense played better between the two units on Sunday.