Ravens close door on Eagles’ late threat

PHILADELPHIA – The Ravens held off a late charge by the Eagles to escape Lincoln Financial Field with a 30- 28 victory Sunday.

Leading 17- 0 at halftime, the Ravens appeared on their way to a blowout. But the Eagles rallied and threatened to force overtime before just falling short on a failed two- point conversion.

There still are some troubling aspects about the Ravens, particularly the offense.

Lamar Jackson may be an elite- level talent, but unless he’s running circles around opponents, this offense lacks explosiveness through the air. It appears teams are figuring out how to minimize the threats that wide receiver Marquise Brown and tight end Mark Andrews pose.

Brown had a quiet day, recording only four catches for 57 yards, and Andrews managed just two catches for 21 yards. The Ravens have yet to find a consistent third option. Early in the game, Jackson connected with Devin Duvernay, Miles Boykin and Nick Boyle while directing a 75- yard scoring drive capped by a touchdown pass to Boyle. But things cooled off from there, and the Ravens struggled to manufacture any sort of downfield passing attack as the Eagles utilized a high safety to take away the deep threat. And when they needed to put the Eagles away with a time- consuming, chainmoving drive, the Ravens could not, and Philly pulled within striking distance before falling short.

Jackson has yet to record a 300yard passing game this season, and Sunday marked his fourth consecutive game with fewer than 200 yards. That recipe may work for most regular- season games, but not so much against elite opponents, or when the Ravens have to play from behind.