The Baltimore Ravens put together a disappointing effort in Week 7, losing 44-17. Baltimore kept the game close in the first half, but after an early-third quarter touchdown by the Ravens’ offense, the defensive unit imploded, and gave up over 500 total yards to the Cincinnati offense on the day.
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow carved up the Baltimore secondary through the air to the tune of 416 yards, 201 of which went to rookie wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase. When cornerback Marlon Humphrey was asked about how concerned he is about the pass defense after the contest, he offered his assessment.
“I wouldn’t … I think … We do have to play better in the secondary, for sure. Going into this week, the biggest assignment was on me to kind of stop their top guy, and I lost that matchup. So, a lot of it, kind of, is on me. I’ve just got to play better, especially when the gameplan is for me to have a big day. The coaches put the trust in me to kind of lead the defense, lead the gameplan, [and] I’ve just got to execute better.”
Humphrey took responsibility for the poor showing in the secondary, as he said it was his assignment to stop their “top guy” in Chase. However, it takes more than just one player to result in a bad outing, so the loss doesn’t fall solely on him. The Ravens now enter their bye week at 5-2 with plenty of things to figure out, but John Harbaugh and his coaching staff have usually responded well coming off of a bye. They have time to get things right.