What happened in Vegas won’t stay in Vegas
Plenty for Ravens to worry about after OT loss to Raiders
From poor pass blocking to an absent pass rush, the Ravens have plenty to worry about after a wild 33-27 overtime loss in their season opener against the Las Vegas Raiders. Here are five things we learned Monday night:
The Ravens left Las Vegas with more to worry about than their 0-1 record.
Las Vegas fans partied after an improbable close to their first NFL dance. A national audience celebrated the wackiness of an overtime that would not end. But it was an evening of bitter disappointment and bad tidings for the Ravens, who were already a haunted team after injuries wiped out their starting backfield and one of their best defenders before the first snap of the 2021 season.
They led for most of the night. Lamar Jackson appeared to have enough magic in his arm and legs to bail them out in a tense fourth quarter. But a rebuilt offensive line failed to protect Jackson all night, and he was stripped on the Ravens’ final offensive play of overtime. Meanwhile, their vaunted secondary, playing without injured cornerback Marcus Peters, ran out of steam after an excellent first half. In a fitting final image, cornerback Marlon Humphrey pulled up and watched helplessly as the game-winning touchdown pass sailed over his head.
“We just didn’t close the game out when we had the opportunity to do it three or four times,” coach John Harbaugh said.
It’s Harbaugh’s job not to make too much of a single loss, but there were plenty of worrisome portents in this season opener.
Instead of burying their demons from the end of last season, the Ravens picked up where they left off on offense, with Jackson taking three sacks and fumbling the ball away twice. Tackles Ronnie Stanley and Alejandro Villanueva simply could not keep Raiders edge rushers Maxx Crosby and Yannick Ngakoue from wrecking his pocket. Offensive coordinator Greg Roman stopped calling plays for running back Ty’Son Williams after he scored a 35-yard touchdown and flashed as a receiver in the first half.
A Ravens defense that had dominated throughout training camp and the preseason looked all too mortal in the fourth quarter and overtime as pass rushers failed to reach Raiders quarterback Derek Carr and defensive backs lost highstakes battles on the back end. The Raiders scored on four of their last five drives, with their only miss coming on a flukish interception that went through the hands of former Ravens wide receiver Willie Snead IV and bounced off the helmet of safety DeShon Elliott.
The more we pull back to look at the greater context, the darker the view gets. This team needed a positive performance to push
back the gloom of last week, when Peters and running back Gus Edwards fell to season-ending knee injuries just minutes apart. Instead, the Ravens ate a dispiriting loss, and now they have a short week to prepare for Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, who embarrassed them last September.
Harbaugh has never lost his grip on a season, and the Ravens have never fallen out of contention with Jackson at quarterback, but they’re already sailing through rough seas as they try to steer this voyage back on course.