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The Ravens squandered red-zone opportunities, dropped passes and failed to make a defensive stand as they blew another fourth-quarter lead in their 28-27 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. The defeat snapped a four-game winning streak and brought the Ravens face-to-face with the same troubles that plagued them early in the season. They fell into a tie atop the AFC North with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Players of the game
TE Josh Oliver: Oliver punished the team that drafted and then dumped him, catching four passes on six targets for a career-high 76 yards and a touchdown. He nearly pulled down an earlier touchdown that would have made life easier for the Ravens, but this was still a milestone performance for the 2019 third-round pick, who has revived his career this season.
CB Marlon Humphrey: Humphrey slid inside and did a fine job covering one of the league’s most productive slot receivers in Christian Kirk. He also made an impact behind the line of scrimmage with a sack and a tackle for loss on Kirk in the fourth quarter.
QB Lamar Jackson: Jackson missed on several deep connections that could have given the Ravens a commanding early lead and completed just 16 of 32 overall. But his runs (89 yards on 14 carries) kept the Ravens moving, and his daring 62-yard pass to DeSean Jackson nearly pulled them out of the fire before the Jaguars answered with a game-winning drive.
Snap-count analysis
Brandon Stephens absorbed Kyle Hamilton’s workload at nickel back, playing 51 defensive snaps, his most since Week 4. Damarion “Pepe” Williams, the other candidate at the position, played just five defensive snaps. Linebackers Roquan Smith and Patrick Queen again played every snap, while edge rushers Justin Houston and Odafe Oweh again took on modest workloads, playing 26 and 25 defensive snaps, respectively. Will rookie David Ojabo force his way into the crowded edge rotation, and if he does, whose snaps will he take? Defensive tackle Broderick Washington played 26 defensive snaps, more than Travis Jones and Brent Urban combined.
The Ravens did not ease running back Gus Edwards into the lineup after he missed two games with a hamstring injury, giving him a season-high 36 snaps, more than Kenyan Drake and Justice Hill combined. With tight end Isaiah Likely sidelined by an ankle injury, Josh Oliver tied his season-high at 44 offensive snaps. The Ravens did not use a rotation to fill in for injured left tackle Ronnie Stanley, keeping Patrick Mekari on the field for all 72 offensive plays. Devin Duvernay and Demarcus Robinson took most of the work at wide receiver, but veteran DeSean Jackson made the most of his 10 snaps with two catches for 74 yards.
Number crunch
129.8: Passer rating for Trevor Lawrence, highest by a Ravens opponent this season.
29: Tight end Josh Oliver’s previous career high in receiving yards before he went for 76 against the Jaguars, his former team.
13: Straight games in which the Ravens have forced a turnover, the longest streak in the NFL.
7: Lamar Jackson touchdown passes in the past eight games after he threw 10 in the first three.
Quote of the Day
QB Lamar Jackson on his team’s red-zone frustrations: “I don’t know what to tell you. I don’t know what to tell you. You see it; I’m seeing it, but I’m out there trying to make it happen. [We’re] just not clicking in the red zone. That’s just that.”
Next Up
Denver Broncos at M&T Bank Stadium, Sunday, Dec. 4, 1 p.m.
As frustrated as the Ravens were on Sunday, they had nothing on the Broncos, who fell to 3-8 with a 23-10 loss to the Carolina Panthers. Quarterback Russell Wilson and defensive tackle Mike Purcell bickered on the sideline in the fourth quarter, hinting at a potential disconnect between Denver’s championship-level defense and its moribund offense, built around a declining Wilson. The Broncos traded a passel of players and premium draft picks for their quarterback, thinking he would make them a Super Bowl contender. Instead, he and they have struggled, leading the franchise to a crisis of confidence.
Offensive snap counts
Ben Powers G 72
Kevin Zeitler G 72
Morgan Moses T 72
Lamar Jackson QB 72
Patrick Mekari T 72
Tyler Linderbaum C 72
Mark Andrews TE 61
Devin Duvernay WR 56
Patrick Ricard FB 53
Josh Oliver TE 44
Demarcus Robinson WR 43
Gus Edwards RB 36
Kenyan Drake RB 18
Justice Hill RB 14
James Proche WR 14
Nick Boyle TE 10
DeSean Jackson WR 10
Tyler Huntley QB 1
Defensive snap counts
Chuck Clark SS 63
Patrick Queen LB 63
Roquan Smith LB 63
Marcus Peters CB 63
Geno Stone SS 62
Marlon Humphrey CB 57
Brandon Stephens CB 51
Justin Madubuike DT 45
Calais Campbell DE 39
Tyus Bowser LB 38
Jason Pierre-Paul LB 36
Broderick Washington DT 26
Justin Houston LB 26
Odafe Oweh LB 25
Brent Urban DE 12
Travis Jones DT 11
Malik Harrison LB 7
Damarion Williams CB 5
Daryl Worley CB 1
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