A second viewing of the Patriots' loss to the Ravens didn't do much to change the original thinking that the Patriots suffered a handful of assignment lapses and that largely led to their demise.
Outside of that, and for a good portion of the game, the Patriots did fine against Lamar Jackson and the Ravens defense. With the Ravens rested and prepped coming off a bye week, it was going to be a tall task for the Patriots to hold the fort. Would you hope they'd get a few more key stops to get off the field and change the complexion of the game? Yes, but the other guys get paid too, and you have to give credit to Ravens offensive coordinator Greg Roman for pushing all the right buttons at key moments, and for his players coming through when it mattered most.
Among the game-changing plays the Ravens made:
- Hollywood Brown's diving catch on the first third down, followed by the Patriots going offsides on the field-goal attempt;
- Mark Ingram's 53-yard run where it appeared Ja'Whaun Bentley was out of his gap;
- The 18-yard throw and catch from Jackson to Mark Andrews on a 50-50 third-down ball;
- The fourth-down completion to Willie Snead on a well-timed and legal pick play;
- Someone (likely Terrence Brooks) blowing man coverage on Nick Boyle's touchdown;
- Two third-down penalties by the Patriots on the Ravens' final scoring drive.
Those are plays the Patriots usually make and the opponents don't. But on this night, everything largely went the Ravens' way in that regard. It happens, especially when you play against an unconventional scheme without additional prep time. If there's a rematch, I'm fully confident the Patriots can get back to holding the Ravens at least in the 20s.
The defense better have that kind of performance because, after this game, my confidence that the Patriots' offense can be much better the second time around — or against any capable coordinator and unit — is waning.
This was a Ravens defense that is mediocre at best. They lack pass rushers and many impact players. And the Patriots, Tom Brady and Josh McDaniels had to take out all the stops just scrape out their 20 points — 10 of which were gifted by the defense and offense.
This was reminiscent of the Packers game last year, which happened almost the same week. Against another middle-of-the-road unit, the Patriots felt the need to use tempo and "deceptive" plays just to gain their victory on home turf.
The Patriots featured tempo exclusively against the Ravens, and even brought out the flea-flicker. You were almost surprised they didn't bust out a receiver pass, but they've used that against Baltimore previously.
Like the Packers game, this choice of attack shows you that Bill Belichick and/or McDaniels didn't have much confidence the Patriots could go toe to toe against the Ravens and win often enough.
I don't blame them. With an inside running game that is stagnant and without any threat from the tight end position (get well very soon, Matt LaCosse), the Patriots feel like they're running in quicksand. The current offensive line is unathletic and the receiving targets, when Julian Edelman is being doubled much of the game, are very ordinary. This offense, against worthy opponents, is the definition of prodding.
Even adding Mohamed Sanu didn't do much. He caught 10 passes for 81 yards and 44 of that came after the catch. That means his depth of target was 3.7 yards. He averaged 4.4 yards per reception. His long was 15 yards. On his touchdown, the Patriots needed Edelman and Ben Watson to bowl three defenders over to get Sanu open. And Sanu stopped running on the interception thrown by Brady.
If this offense wasn't handed 10 points by the defense, you really wonder what would have happened. Sure, you can point to a few long drives but it really felt like the Ravens, in Patriots fashion, were very content letting the Patriots and their 5.3-yard attack take all the small chunks they wanted.
Much like last season, you hope things will improve. Getting Isaiah Wynn and LaCosse back would certainly help. Wynn would add pop to the running game, and the Patriots have to get faster at tight end to threaten the middle of the field. Sanu will become more familiar with the system so the hope is he will play faster and be more of a weapon than a few hitches and slants.
The Patriots got a little better on offense down the stretch last year, but they had Rob Gronkowski, who defensive coordinators and defenders had to pay attention to. Outside of Edelman, who scares the opponent now? Sanu? Phillip Dorsett?
For ultimate success this season, the Patriots have to hope any defensive deficiencies were temporary and can be corrected. Because if it comes down to their offense winning a game on its own, the chances are long on that.
Will return later tonight with positional ratings, but for now here are the charts, videos and three up/down:
THREE UP
Kyle Van Noy: One of the few Patriots defenders who did his job on a consistent basis. Too bad others couldn't say the same.
Joe Thuney: Had by far the toughest assignment up front and he allowed a team-low one pressure and blocked well in the run game.
Marcus Cannon: Allowed just two pressures in his best game in some time. Hopefully this was a confidence boost.
THREE DOWN
Elandon Roberts: Had a few poorly timed lapses on some of the Ravens' biggest plays. He's counted on to be a top run defender.
Jamie Collins: Looked like he factored into two touchdowns and lapsed on a few plays against the run.
Julian Edelman: Hate to do this, but his fumble was a game killer.
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