OWINGS MILLS — Ravens defensive coordinator Zach Orr is expecting a better performance from his players in Week 2 against the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Ravens are coming off a 27-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in which there were communication issues that led to breakdowns by the defense. Orr wants to see improvement in the home opener on Sunday.
“I don’t think it was good enough – I don’t think it was up to our standard,” Orr said about the game against Kansas City. “[For] me personally, I look at it as a coach – you’ve got to look at yourself first. I take full responsibility of that. We look forward to the challenge of responding and doing things to our standard. It was OK, but here in Baltimore, OK is not good enough. It’s a learning experience for myself and for everybody, and we look forward to Sunday and righting our wrongs.”
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was 20-for-28 for 291 yards with a touchdown and an interception by Ravens inside linebacker Roquan Smith. The Ravens did a solid job shutting down the Kansas City ground game and allowed 72 yards rushing on 20 carries.
The main blunder that stands out is blown coverage on Kansas City wide receiver Xavier Worthy which led to an easy 35-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter and was the difference in the game. Marlon Humphrey had the initial coverage, but when he let Worthy run past him, no one was there to pick him up.
Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton took responsibility for the busted play.
“That was on me 100 percent. I was supposed to go back to the half; I played the wrong call,” Hamilton said. “It wasn’t on [defensive coordinator] Zach Orr, it wasn’t on Marlon [Humphrey] or anybody else – it was on me. If you watch the play, you can probably tell that we’re missing a half-safety. I got kind of mixed up and was supposed to go back to the half, and I take the blame for that.”
The Ravens face another challenge Sunday against the Raiders and wide receiver Davante Adams, who has caught 877 passes for 10,840 yards and 95 touchdowns over his 11-year career. The Ravens will be focused on limiting Adams’ catches downfield.
If the Ravens can shut down Las Vegas’ passing game, they should be in a position to win. Las Vegas managed just 71 yards rushing on 22 carries in a 22-10 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 1.
“I think we have to try to limit the explosive plays,” Orr said. “We gave up too many explosive plays in Week 1 – we have to limit those. They have great playmakers. We have to be able to cover their skill and stop the run. I think if we stop the run and cover their skill – obviously you speak about Davante Adams – he’s one of the top receivers this league has.”