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Losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers is never palatable for the Baltimore Ravens, but Lamar Jackson could be forgiven for feeling let down by his receivers, who dropped seven passes at AcriSure Stadium in Week 5.
Those drops contributed to the Ravens blowing a double-digit lead and slipping to a 17-10 defeat, but Jackson refused to play the blame game. Instead, the quarterback admitted, “we don’t expect our guys to drop passes; it happens in NFL football. It just happened at the wrong time, but we’re going to get better,” per “Ravens Vault” co-host Sarah Ellison.
Jackson also revealed he didn’t take his less-than-sure-handed receivers to task during the game: “No, we focus on the game. We let go of that play, and go to the next play. That’s all we focus on.”
Although Jackson wouldn’t lash out, the missed connections ultimately proved fatal against the Ravens’ fiercest rival. Dropped passes weren’t the only issues, with Jackson throwing a critical end-zone interception to Steelers’ rookie cornerback Joey Porter Jr., when targeting Odell Beckham Jr., with under five minutes remaining.
The mistake set up the go-ahead touchdown and was one of two turnovers committed by Jackson during the final period. Those gaffes proved decisive, but they would have counted for naught had Jackson’s receivers made plays earlier.
Drops Plagued the Ravens in Week 5
Jackson wouldn’t put the boot into his receivers, but it’s hard to defend some of the missed opportunities. The most notable was this drop in the end zone by Rashod Bateman during the second quarter, highlighted by Mr Matthew CFB.
Bateman hadn’t played a down since Week 3, but this was an inexplicable drop that took a touchdown off the board. Making this simple grab would have cemented the Ravens’ early dominance and built a two-touchdown lead against a struggling Pittsburgh offense.
Instead, “Bateman declined to talk to reporters after the game,” according to ESPN’s Jamison Hensley.
Bateman didn’t want to face the critics, but he wasn’t the only Ravens’ wideout needing to run for cover. Rookie Zay Flowers, who was already earning comparison to a Hall of Fame member of the ‘Greatest Show on Turf,’ had his own costly drop.
It came during the fourth quarter, with the Ravens leading by just two points. Flowers had gotten behind the Steelers and Jackson’s deep throw beat coverage, only for a slip by the receiver to wreck the play.
This continued a theme that went against the grain of how the Ravens had played before this week. As Hensley noted, “Baltimore entered Sunday with 3 drops in first four games.”
The sudden spate of catches that got away left one of Jackson’s favorite targets exasperated. All-Pro tight end Mark Andrews was blunt in his assessment about where the blame lay, and it’s not with his quarterback, per Kyle Phoenix Barber of SB Nation’s Baltimore Beatdown: “We need to be better. Lamar is putting the ball right where it needs to be.”
Andrews is right to point out Jackson was not at fault for many of the drops, but the signal-caller may bear some responsibility for the late miscue involving Beckham.
Jackson Explains OBJ Miscue
Jackson explained the critical pick by saying he was “just trying to give my boy a shot. Just have to get in sync is all,” per Ryan Mink of Ravens.com.
Things were out of sync when the throw for OBJ landed with Porter.
It’s not clear if this was a fade Jackson didn’t get enough air under and threw too far to the inside. Or perhaps Beckham gave up inside leverage too easily.
Either way, the turnover was symptomatic of Jackson and his receivers not being on the same page. That’s tough to accept, even though the Ravens are just five games into new offensive coordinator Todd Monken’s system.
A new scheme, along with a superior supporting cast, are supposed to make the Ravens more proficient and prolific through the air. Not as mistake-prone as they were in Pittsburgh.
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