Baltimore Ravens

Baltimore Ravens: 3 Things That Went Wrong Vs. Patriots

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Ravens dropped a 30-23 loss to the New England Patriots. Here are 3 things that went wrong from Monday night’s game

After a close loss to the Patriot’s last night, there are more negatives than positives to take away for the Baltimore Ravens.

Do not let the box score fool you, this game was all New England Patriots. The Patriots could have easily won the game by two or three touchdowns if it were not for mistakes in special teams. Tom Brady made the Raven’s top ranked defense look like a youth football team. The Patriots had no problem marching the ball down the field all night.

The Ravens offense came out flat and only managed to score three points in the first half. Special teams miscues put the team in a hole early and they were never able to dig themselves out of it. Their resilience to fight back and make it a one score game late in the 4th quarter is promising, but there still are many problems.

The Ravens now sit with a record of 7-6 and are a game out of the AFC North. Even with a loss they still control their own destiny to the playoffs. Their easiest playoff scenario is to win their last three games of the season.

Here are the 3 things that went wrong versus the Patriots last night.

#1: Special Teams

Special teams are usually a strong point for the Ravens, but last night was a different story.

Devin Hester’s struggles continued and his inability to field punts gave the Raven’s bad field position. A punt he refused to catch in the first quarter put the team on their own one yard line. On the ensuing offensive play, the Patriots stuffed Kennith Dixon for a safety. This has not just happened one time, this has been a regular occurrence for Hester. He looks scared to catch punts and constantly puts the Ravens in bad field position. Keep in mind, Devin Hester owns the NFL record for the most punt return touchdowns in NFL history. This guy does it for a living.

On their next offensive possession after the safety, the Ravens drove down the field only to have Justin Tucker’s field goal blocked. The block not only stopped three points from the Ravens, but it also ended Tucker’s field goal streak at 35. Linebacker Shea McClellin timed his run perfectly and aired over Morgan Cox for the block. To be fair, it was an impressive play by McClellin, but it should not have happened in the first place. There is no way that he should have gone untouched. The blocked field goal proved to costly as well. In the 4th quarter, the Ravens trailed 23-20 and could have really used the three points.

#2: A Conservative Offense

Aside from back to back touchdown throws by Joe Flacco, the offense looked stagnant all night. After an offensive explosion against the Dolphins, they were back to their old ways.

Flacco completed a franchise record 37 passes, but the stat is not as impressive as it seems. The majority of these completions were check down passes to running backs or to the fullback at the line of scrimmage. It was a complete turn around from last Sunday. Flacco barley took any shots down the field during the game. He almost looked scared to throw the ball deep. The only two touchdowns scored came off of turnovers, which put the Ravens offense inside of the Patriot’s 20 yard line. Overall, the offense looked like they lacked a sense of urgency.

If the Ravens want any hope of making the playoffs, the offense has to stay aggressive. The check down throws only pick up 1-2 yards and put the offense in bad 2nd and 3rd down positions. Defenses are very aware of the short throws and swarm to the ball every time. With receivers like Mike Wallace and Breshad Perriman, Joe Flacco must utilize their speed and throw the ball downfield.

#3: Miscues In The Secondary

The Raven’s secondary got completely exposed last night against Tom Brady.

Even without their best receiver in Rob Gronkowski, the Patriots had no problem moving the ball down the field. Tom Brady carved the Raven’s secondary like a Thanksgiving turkey. The quarterback threw for 406 yards and three touchdowns. If it weren’t for mistakes in the Patriot’s special teams, he could have thrown more. There is a reason the guy is the best of all time.

With a depleted wide receiver roster, Tom Brady made them look like hall-of-famers. It did not help that the Ravens #1 corner-back Jimmy Smith got injured in the first quarter. The secondary has struggled all season in his absence. It is uncertain how severe Smith’s ankle injury is and his back-up Shareece Wright has struggled this season.

After Smith left the game, the onslaught began. The speed of Julian Edleman and James White were too much for the secondary and linebackers. Most notably, blown coverage allowed Chris Hogan to catch a wide open 79 yard touchdown pass to put away the Ravens in the 4th quarter.