The Baltimore Ravens suffered their second setback of the final three weeks in a sloppy street loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 5. On a day the place the protection performed lights out on all however one drive, some uncharacteristic however acquainted errors by the offense led to their final demise by the hands of their AFC North rivals.

Listed here are among the prime takeaways from the Ravens’ Week 5 defeat through which gamers in all three phases had inconsistent performances.

Revamped cross catching corps let their quarterback down

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The Ravens devoted a number of assets to overhauling their vast receiver depth chart this offseason. Via the primary 4 weeks of the season, those which were on the sector had been dependable and helped the offense thrive with explosive performs. On Sunday towards the Steelers, Lamar Jackson would’ve had one other profession day had it not been for the litany of expensive drops by a number of of his most trusted cross catchers.

First-round rookie standout Zay Flowers made some spectacular performs however simply as many dangerous drive-killing drops all through the sport that might’ve gone for first downs. He additionally fell down on a play that would’ve resulted in his first profession landing. Third-year wideout Rashod Bateman and three-time Professional Bowl tight finish Mark Andrews dropped touchdowns on back-to-back performs on the Ravens’ third drive of the sport. That will’ve put them up 14-0 early within the second quarter.

Veteran Nelson Agholor had a brutal drop on one in every of Jackson’s finest throws, the place he delivered a wonderfully positioned ball proper in his palms on what would’ve been a walk-in landing. This play, late within the third quarter, would’ve given the Ravens what appeared like an insurmountable 17-3 lead. As a substitute, Jackson was sacked on the subsequent play, knocking the group out of Justin Tucker’s discipline objective vary and their lead stayed at only one possession.

Ball safety and premature turnovers killed momentum . . . once more

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As was the case in Week 3 after they suffered their first lack of the season by the hands of the Indianapolis Colts, the Ravens’ offense was transferring the ball at will early within the sport. They held all of the momentum till catastrophe struck within the type of a fumble by operating again on an explosive passing play.

Two weeks in the past it was veteran Kenyan Drake on the unit’s second drive of the sport, which started the downward spiral of finally an upset loss in additional time. This time round it was veteran operating again Justice Hill who was off to an extremely sizzling begin to the sport. He had the ball punched out of his grasp after he had picked up 10 yards on a display cross to maneuver the ball close to midfield.

As a substitute of extending what regarded destined to be a 3rd straight scoring drive, the premature turnover gave the Steelers’ struggling offense their finest discipline place of the sport at that time. They’d flip it right into a 43-yard Chris Boswell discipline objective seven performs later for his or her first factors of the day.

Jackson had a pair of expensive turnovers late within the sport that finally sealed the Ravens’ demise on back-to-back drives within the fourth quarter. The primary was an interception ultimately zone, which squandered yet one more golden alternative to place the sport away. It got here following the punt protection unit developing with a clutch fumble restoration that superior the ball contained in the Steelers’ 10-yard line. The second was on a strip sack by Steelers’ outdoors linebacker Alex Highsmith that he didn’t see coming from his blindside as a result of All-Professional left sort out Ronnie Stanley obtained beat across the edge.

The interception occurred on his solely dangerous throw of the sport, as he threw it too far inside on a cross supposed for three-time Professional Bowl wideout Odell Beckham Jr. After holding up exceptionally effectively for almost all of the afternoon, the Ravens’ cross safety started to spring on the worst potential time with the sport on the road. These lapses paved the best way for the Steelers to eke out an unpleasant win in a sport they’d no enterprise being aggressive in.

Protection did greater than sufficient to win

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The unit with probably the most to be annoyed concerning the inconsistency on offense is their defensive cohorts. The protection performed lights out for all however two drives within the fourth quarter however they dominated sufficient that the Ravens had quite a few alternatives to place this sport away effectively earlier than then.

Defensive Coordinator Mike Macdonald’s unit was as near full power because it’s been for the reason that season opener. They compelled six punts and recorded three sacks, 4 quarterback hits, 5 cross deflections, and 4 tackles for loss.

They didn’t surrender their first landing in 10 quarters till there was simply over a minute remaining within the sport. Even that was a results of a foul gamble on their half and a wonderfully executed reply to the duvet zero stress they despatched on the play.

After the sport, defensive captain and All-Professional inside linebacker Roquan Smith didn’t need to absolve himself or any members of the protection from the half they performed of their defeat. Nonetheless, his unit couldn’t have performed a lot better outdoors of a handful of performs.

Sadly, a couple of leaks can sink a complete ship when half the crew isn’t pulling their weight and executing their duties. That was the case for the offense outdoors of Jackson on Sunday.

“We didn’t do sufficient to get the job achieved, and that’s how I take a look at it, and I’m positive that’s how the opposite defensive guys take a look at it on the finish of the day, and that’s all we will do,” Smith stated. “We simply should study and get higher from it.”

Ravens owned and can study from expensive errors

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As gut-wrenching and virtually as unfathomable as this loss is for the group, probably the most useful studying experiences usually happen on account of such epic letdowns. Following the sport, Jackson didn’t throw his receivers beneath the bus though he had each proper to. He took duty for the half he performed within the defeat, expressed his unwavering confidence in his cross catchers, and vowed to be higher.

“We don’t anticipate our guys to drop passes,” Jackson stated. “It occurs in NFL soccer. It simply occurred on the improper time. However we’re going to get higher and go to apply and go to work.

One of the vital head-scratching blunders, which prevented the Ravens from going up by double figures at halftime, was the fourth-and-short play late within the second quarter. It resulted in a turnover on downs as a substitute of an computerized discipline objective try for Justin Tucker from beneath 50 yards. Jackson threw a ball incomplete within the route of Flowers.

After the sport, second-year heart Tyler Linderbaum admitted that the fault was his and that the ball by no means ought to’ve been snapped.

“Actually it’s on me simply understanding the state of affairs and ensuring that he will get throughout the ball earlier than I snap it,” Linderbaum stated. “That’s my fault not being conscious and placing our group in a foul state of affairs.”

Head Coach John Harbaugh concurred that the precise plan was to trot Tucker out for the quick try however stated that there as a “miscommunication – [in the] warmth of battle.”

”We had been planning on kicking the sector objective there,” Harbaugh stated. “The concept was to run the clock down and never go away them time to come back the opposite manner after which simply name a timeout and kick the sector objective… They jumped the impartial zone, and guys thought they had been within the impartial zone and went forward and snapped it.”

Ball safety stays a nagging challenge for all the offensive ability positions and if the Ravens are going to make it so far as they envision they’ll go. Studying from debilitating errors will make gamers and coaches alike extra ready to beat future adversity. Hopefully it would forestall comparable errors from costing the group dearly transferring ahead.

“This sport, it sucks on the finish of the day, [but] we simply have to take a look at it as a studying expertise,” Smith stated. “[We have to] take the positives from it and construct off the negatives, and that’s all we will do on this sport.