OWINGS MILLS — The Ravens’ secondary has been the weak link of the team through five games this season.
The Ravens have given up 1,401 yards passing and opposing quarterbacks have averaged 280.2 yards per game — both ranked 31st in the NFL behind the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Ravens need to do a better job of preventing big plays downfield.
Coach John Harbaugh said the secondary needs vast improvement for the Ravens to have a successful season.
“To win our conference; to win our division; to win a game against the teams we’re going to play – we’re going to play quarterbacks that are capable of that,” Harbaugh said. “We just have to be on point every single play with what we’re doing.”
The cornerbacks have been beaten in man coverage because they have not gotten enough support from the safeties. Teams also have attacked the middle of the field because there’s been a breakdown in the Ravens’ communication among the safeties and cornerbacks.
In Sunday’s 41-38 overtime win over Cincinnati, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow threw for 392 yards with five touchdowns and an interception.
Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase ran roughshod over the Ravens’ cornerbacks and safeties. Higgins had nine catches for 83 yards with two touchdowns. Chase had 10 receptions for 193 yards with two touchdowns. Several communication breakdowns in the Ravens’ secondary led to long plays. However, cornerback Marlon Humphrey might have saved the game with a fourth-quarter interception.
Despite the issues, Harbaugh was quick to credit Burrow for the performance.
“[Burrow] had pressure in his face numerous times,” Harbaugh said. “The pocket was getting pushed, guys were coming at him; he stood in there and made some really great throws like on-the-money throws off his back foot. He had receivers that were tightly covered – I call them tightly contested catches. We had numerous tight coverages where they made the catches. In that case, that kind of throw under pressure, that kind of a catch – that’s football.
“I also believe that we compounded the yardage because we didn’t play things as well as we needed to play them. There’s so much opportunity in there to play certain things better. There were probably five or six plays in the passing game, from a coverage standpoint, that we’re just way better than that.”
The Ravens’ challenges did not begin with the Bengals.
In the season opener, Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice caught seven passes for 103 yards in the Ravens’ 27-20 loss. In Week 2, the Ravens struggled to cover Davante Adams, who finished with 110 yards on nine receptions with a touchdown in the Las Vegas Raiders’ 26-23 victory.
The bottom line is the Ravens need to play better on the back end of the defense.
“We’re still striving for consistency; we’re still fighting for consistency,” Harbaugh said. “And you’re going against a really efficient and talented offense, but it’s still up to us to play our defense consistently the way we want to play it.”
