With a 17-7 deficit at the end of the first half in their AFC Championship matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs, the one-seed Baltimore Ravens had better make a couple of corrections in the second half. Covering Travis Kelce would be a great idea; Kelce had nine catches on nine targets for 96 yards and a touchdown in the first half. But it’s Baltimore’s reluctance to run the ball on a consistent basis that really makes no sense.
In the first half, the Ravens ran just nine times for 46 yards, and 27 yards came from quarterback Lamar Jackson on four carries. Running back GUs Edwards had just one carry… for 15 yards. This makes little sense. Coming into this game, the Ravens ranked first in rushing yards per game (157) and rushing yards per attempt (5.9), while the Chiefs came into this one ranked 17th in rushing yards allowed per game (117), and 24th in rushing yards per attempt allowed (5.0). .
With all of Steve Spagnuolo’s creative blitzes, and the extent to which the Chiefs play dime defense behind them, this is a weakness that Baltimore offensive coordinator Todd Monken must exploit if the Ravens are to advance to Super Bowl LVIII.