Getty Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson leaves the field after a loss against the Miami Dolphins.
Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh did not hesitate to take accountability for his team’s stunning loss to the Miami Dolphins, telling media after the game, “This falls squarely on me.”
Harbaugh seemed to lay full responsibility for the Ravens’ poor performance, especially on offense, on him and his coaching staff. The Dolphins threw heavy blitzes at Lamar Jackson all night, and the Ravens had no response.
“We just weren’t ready, and that’s on me,” said Harbaugh, who has received acclaim this season for his leadership of the injury-ravaged Ravens to a 6-2 record coming into this week.
But he repeatedly emphasized that it was coaching, not player performance, that held the Ravens back in Miami.
“We’ve got to be a lot better,” he said, “That’s on us as coaches.”
When asked about a “lack of rhythm” on offense, Harbaugh responded, “I agree with that,” adding that “crowd noise” was a factor in several instances of the Ravens struggling to get set before the game clock expired.
The Ravens’ loss on Thursday night came just five days after an overtime win over the Minnesota Vikings that saw Baltimore’s offense on the field for almost 100 snaps.
But Harbaugh didn’t use the short week as an excuse, saying, “It’s the nature of the beast. We’ve got to be a lot better.”
He provided no update on cornerback Tavon Young, who left the game with a foot injury and did not return.
‘Wake-Up Call’ For Ravens
All-Pro cornerback Marlon Humphrey called last night’s loss a “good wake-up call for the coaches and the players,” after the game.
He admitted his frustration at the Ravens’ tendency to give up big plays this season, especially when they played extremely well otherwise.
Teammate Calais Campbell had a similar response when asked about the Dolphins’ 64-yard play with 3:29 left in the fourth quarter.
64 YARDS. Tua Tagovailoa to Albert Wilson for a clutch big gain. #FinsUp
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Campbell said that he had “all the confidence in the world that we’re going to get a stop there, and they made a play.” If the Ravens had held the Dolphins on that drive, Baltimore would have gotten the ball back down just five points. Instead, Miami scored a touchdown to put the game all but out of reach.
“I felt like we had a good gameplan, especially on defense,” said Campbell, “They just made a couple plays. This is the NFL. There’s going to be some good, bad and ugly.”
Andrews, Jackson Prepared for Blitzes
Tight end Mark Andrews told media that the Ravens were prepared for the Miami’s blitz-heavy game plan, but failed to “make them pay early on” to force the Dolphins to dial it back.
But he was surprisingly upbeat after a disappointing loss, pointing out that there were “a lot of positives that happened tonight.”
Andrews emphasized that the Ravens would “Learn from our mistakes and build on the positives,” promising, “We’re going to continue to be a dangerous team.”
Jackson also said he wasn’t surprised by the blitzes, saying, “We’ve seen it before. We was practicing the whole week. We have to go a better job fixing that, get that handled.”
The Ravens will have a mini-bye week following their Thursday night game, giving them 10 days to prepare for their Week 11 matchup with the Chicago Bears.