Ravens allow four sacks as Steelers pull the upset 17-10

A struggling Ravens O-line allowed the Steelers four sacks in Sunday’s loss. Moving forward offensive coordinator Todd Monken must adjust.

Earlier last week, I explained how the Baltimore Ravens needed to be selective with their play-calling in week 5. Well, a struggling Ravens offensive line allowed the Steelers four sacks in Sunday’s loss. Moving forward offensive coordinator Todd Monken must adjust.

 
 
 
 
 
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Certainly, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was prepared to fluster Lamar Jackson as much as possible. While the Steelers offense struggled mightily, Pittsburgh’s defense held the Ravens scoreless in the entire second half.

As I’ve stated before, Monken should’ve known to minimize Jackson’s volume passing the ball with the “clear” offensive line problems. Sunday, Jackson completed just 57% of his passes as Monken completely abandoned the running game that led to the 1st quarter touchdown.

Hyper-Analysis

The offensive success the Ravens had in week 4 was sorta deceptive. Though they scored 28 points, their 55 total plays ran were a result of three Browns turnovers. Furthermore, the Ravens were only 4/12 on third-down in that game and still allowed three sacks. These flaws led to their week 5 debacle.

Now, the Ravens sit at 3-2 just one game ahead of the Cincinnati Bengals who may have caught fire Sunday. The Ravens need to recalibrate as this loss may be a turn for the worse in a highly competitive AFC this season.