Sitting on the bench late in the fourth quarter Sunday, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson was asked by cornerback Marlon Humphrey about how his day had gone.
“Man, we have to do a lot better,” Jackson told Humphrey while the Ravens wrapped up a 31-17 victory at Washington.
Humphrey chalked it up to the reigning NFL MVP never being satisfied. But Jackson knows the Ravens have yet to hit their stride and become the same crisp, dominant, touchdown-scoring machine that struck fear in defenses around the league last season.
It felt as though the Ravens scored at will in 2019, when Jackson led the NFL in touchdown passes and set a single-season rushing record for quarterbacks. Baltimore was the one who kept defenses on their heels, pushing them around up front while eating up yards and chunks of clock.
This season, it seems drives are choppy with failed third downs and inopportune penalties. The rushing attack isn't fully in sync and the deep passing game isn't clicking. The Ravens are now the ones being attacked as defenses have increased their blitzes and aggression against them.
“Everyone kind of has a bull's-eye on us, so teams are coming out and playing a bunch of different defenses,” tight end Mark Andrews said. “It’s a unique task, just because you never know what they’re going to be playing in. Everyone thinks that they have the formula to stop us, so we see different things every week, and that’s only going to make us battle-hardened. To continue to play through that, and learn and grow as a unit, we’re going to be good.”
To be fair, Baltimore wasn't an offensive juggernaut after four games last season. Perhaps the expectations for a sequel were unrealistic Sunday, when the Ravens were coming off a humbling loss to Kansas City on a short week, without All-Pro left tackle Ronnie Stanley. Baltimore didn't even have offseason practices in the spring or a regular training camp.
Still, there were times Sunday when it seemed like old times, as Jackson broke a 50-yard touchdown run and threw a couple of touchdown passes to Andrews. Then there were moments that Jackson lamented afterward. He threw an ill-timed interception deep in his territory late in the second quarter, which essentially handed a field goal to Washington. Jackson also missed an open Marquise “Hollywood” Brown on two deep throws that could have resulted in big-play scores.
Take away Jackson's career-long run and Baltimore averaged 3.0 yards per carry (94 yards on 31 attempts) against Washington. The Ravens also lost the time-of-possession battle, something that occurred just three times last season.
"We should be coming off the field with our touchdowns,” Jackson said. "That’s why I was down for real.”
Last season, Jackson and Baltimore ranked No. 1 in scoring (33.1 points per game), No. 2 in total yards (407.6), No. 1 in rushing (206), No. 2 on third-down conversion rate (47.1%) and No. 2 in red zone efficiency (67.2%).
Through the first quarter of this season, the Ravens have taken a significant drop in every one of those categories: No. 7 in scoring (30.5), No. 25 in total yards (341.5), No. 4 in rushing (160.8), No. 19 on third downs (42.2%) and No. 22 in the red zone (57.1%).
Of course, the Ravens understand their situation could be worse. Last year at this time, Baltimore had lost back-to-back games to the Kansas City Chiefs and Cleveland Browns to fall to 2-2. Few anticipated the Ravens would reel off 12 straight wins.
Now with a 3-1 record, the Ravens are headed into Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals feeling that their best football is ahead of them.
“We're close,” Andrews said. "It’s just little things here and there that need to be tightened up. Like I said, we’re close."