There are plenty of NFL organizations that would have happily signed up for a playoff berth before the season began, but no team wants to be one-and-done once it gets to the postseason.
Wild-card weekend delivered four close games in a row after a comfortable win by the 49ers, but there's no such thing as a satisfying loss in the playoffs. Five seasons came to a halt this weekend -- there's one more game Monday night -- and those five organizations are going to want to do whatever it takes to avoid falling at the same hurdle again in 2023.
I'm here to help. I've taken a closer look at each of those five losses to get a handle on what those teams should do to advance farther next season. In the process, I'll break down what went wrong for them over the weekend and how their personnel or process needs to change in the months to come.
Let's start with the most dramatic game of the weekend, in which the Jaguars inflicted psychic punishment on the league's most snakebitten franchise:
Jump to an eliminated team:
Chargers | Dolphins
Ravens | Seahawks | Vikings
Los Angeles Chargers
Wild-card result: 31-30 loss to the Jaguars
What they need now: An offensive reboot
There's plenty of blame to go around for the Chargers after their disastrous collapse in Jacksonville on Saturday night. Up 27-0 in the second quarter after Trevor Lawrence threw four interceptions over the Jags' first six drives, the Chargers simply fell apart. Jacksonville outscored L.A. 31-3 the rest of the way, becoming the first team in playoff history to win a game in which it lost the turnover battle 5-0.
Unsurprisingly, many of the bogeymen from the 2021 season reappeared as excuses for why the Chargers fell apart. A much-maligned run defense couldn't come up with a stop in a season-saving moment (for the second year in a row), as Travis Etienne burst off-tackle out of the T-formation on a fourth-and-1 carry to set up the winning field goal. Los Angeles' special teams, a strength for the first time in years, came up short when Cameron Dicker missed a 43-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. I even saw the loss blamed on analytics, a bizarre choice when coach Brandon Staley's only fourth-down decision of the game was to attempt that field goal as opposed to trying to convert with 3 yards to go. (Staley has been far more conservative this season than he was during his debut campaign.)
As I look back at this game, I keep returning to the same problem: The Chargers' offense simply wasn't good enough. It's bizarre to say that about a game in which Justin Herbert & Co. scored 30 points and didn't turn the ball over, but the Chargers left too much on the table and were lucky to avoid giving away the game before the final minutes. This should be the blueprint for how and why they need to evolve on offense next season.
This was a game in which the Jaguars handed the Chargers a series of short fields on offense. The average L.A. drive started on its own 41-yard line, one of the most lopsided field-position battles you will ever see. Its first seven drives were all on short (or shorter) fields: Three started in the red zone, while the other four began between its 30- and 42-yard lines.
Herbert and the offense turned those drives into 27 points. They punted from the 47-yard line and kicked two field goals, including one on a drive that started on the Jacksonville 6-yard line. Going 3-for-5 in the red zone is fine, but this was a playoff game not unlike the Packers' loss to the Seahawks in 2014 and the Saints' loss to the Rams in 2018, when a dominant team settled for field goals early and ended up missing those points dearly later. Games like these are why the mantra of taking the points with a big lead can come back to bite you.
Twenty-seven points from those situations isn't optimal, but it didn't lose the Chargers the game. The bigger problem is what happened next, as they had five meaningful drives (ignoring a kneel-down) without great field position and turned those into just three points. Including the drive that began with the muffed punt on the Jacksonville 6-yard line, the Chargers' seven drives to end the game produced six points. That's simply unacceptable, especially as the Jaguars were storming back to eventually win the game.
I'll focus on the second half, but I have to start by looking at the three-and-out for the Chargers at the end of the first half. A single first down would have pushed this game to the two-minute warning at 27-0. Instead, after a catch by Keenan Allen set up a third-and-1, offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi (note: Lombardi was fired on Tuesday, Jan. 17) called for a jet sweep to backup wide receiver Michael Bandy, who actively appeared to try to duck out of the way of taking the football from Herbert. The would-be handoff bounced to the turf, but the Chargers were able to recover. They punted.
While the Jaguars ended up scoring on the ensuing drive anyway, the Chargers losing a fumble inside their own 20-yard line with 2 minutes, 26 seconds to go would have been a catastrophic unforced error. They were lucky to get away with recovering the fumble and punting. It would be easy to second-guess running a jet sweep in that situation, but I can understand how the Chargers saw a loaded box and wanted to try to get a runner outside, just as the Jaguars did on their fateful fourth-and-1 conversion later in the game.
Here's the issue: Michael Bandy? The Chargers were down Mike Williams in this game after the star wideout suffered a back injury while playing through a meaningless Week 18 loss to the Broncos. DeAndre Carter, who moved into the lineup because of Williams' injury, went down in the second quarter Saturday and did not return. Carter took the ball twice on end-arounds this season, and after the game, the Chargers admitted they originally practiced the play to go to Carter during the week.
With Carter out of the lineup, Lombardi needs to know his personnel. Bandy had not had a single professional rush attempt before that play. He did not touch the ball on a run play in the preseason. The last time he carried the football was in 2019, when he was the star receiver for the University of San Diego. The little-used wideout didn't think the ball was going to him and tried to duck out of the way of the handoff. That's not putting players in situations in which they're likely to succeed. With all the playmakers the Chargers have, it's difficult to imagine they couldn't have found another short-yardage concept with a better risk/reward ratio.
That wasn't the only ratio the Chargers will look back at with regret after Saturday's defeat. In the second half, nursing a significant lead, they continued to lean heavily on their passing game. Lombardi called 30 plays in that half, and 23 of those were designed passes, as Herbert scrambled on one such pass play for a first down. Just seven were runs. The statistics about teams needing a certain number of runs in the second half to seal a victory are a product of spurious correlation, but there's a tangible benefit to running the ball: It keeps the clock moving.
The Chargers left way too much time on the clock for the Jaguars to fuel their comeback. Some of that was throwing the ball so often, but the other issue was that they simply snapped the ball too early. Leaving aside a play in which they clearly snapped the ball as quickly as possible to avoid a possible challenge, they snapped 15 times with a running clock in the second half. Herbert ran the clock down inside of five seconds on just three of those 15.
Their median snap with running time came with nine seconds still left on the play clock. On the final possession of the game, nursing a two-point lead, Herbert was sacked on first-and-10. The Chargers then snapped the ball with seven seconds to go on second-and-17 and nine seconds to go on third-and-13. The Jags didn't need the time at the end of the game, but L.A. couldn't have known that as it rushed to the line of scrimmage.
This should have been a coaching point with a 27-point lead at halftime. The Chargers don't want to snap the ball at one second every time because it would give the Jacksonville pass rush a timing cue, but there's no reason they should have been snapping the ball before the final few seconds of the clock at any point during the third and fourth quarters.
Those seven designed runs by the Chargers produced just 7 yards, so the coaching staff might argue the team wasn't running the ball effectively enough to justify more carries. Maybe that's fair. At the same time, there wasn't much variety in the rushing attack, either. I counted one carry inside the tackles each for Austin Ekeler and Joshua Kelley in the second half, with most of their opportunities coming on shotgun runs outside the tackle box. For a team with a free agent signing on an expensive contract at center (Corey Linsley) and a first-round pick at right guard (Zion Johnson), the Chargers didn't seem confident they could make hay against a good, but not great, run defense.
All of this then comes back to the passing playcalling, which has been criticized all season for taking one of the league's top arms in Herbert and reducing it to the quick game. Saturday was no exception. Herbert's average pass traveled just 5.4 yards in the air, 2 yards fewer than any other quarterback on the Saturday slate. It's not impossible to succeed getting the ball out on such short throws -- Patrick Mahomes averaged 4.8 air yards per pass in the Chiefs' epic game against the Bills last postseason -- but Herbert averaged just 6.4 yards per attempt against Jacksonville, well below the league average, against the NFL's third-worst pass defense.
Again, there might be an excuse: The Chargers were already down to second-string left tackle Jamaree Salyer, and the rookie lineman was injured in the first half before leaving altogether in the third quarter. Staley was forced to turn to backup Foster Sarell. With L.A. facing a desperate Jaguars defense trailing by multiple scores, would it have been dangerous to trust Sarell in pass protection?
Maybe. At the same time, this is nothing new for the Chargers. With Salyer in the lineup this season, they averaged 7.3 air yards per attempt. And from the start of 2021, with young star Rashawn Slater in the lineup at left tackle, Herbert averaged just 6.2 air yards per throw. Jacksonville was starting backup left tackle Walker Little against Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa and still managed to get Lawrence time to throw downfield.
Whether it's trusting their players, trusting their quarterback or building in more pass protection to help out overmatched tackles, the Chargers didn't come up with solutions to create downfield opportunities all season for one of the most exciting deep passers in football. This loss was no exception.
Herbert will look back and see throws he would like to take back. He had Allen open for two touchdowns in the first half, with one sidearm throw bouncing off a lineman and another simply sailing high. He was lucky to avoid an interception in the end zone on a drive that ended with a Gerald Everett touchdown. A screen that looked like it might have resulted in an Ekeler touchdown was thrown too high. Other throws were slightly off. Herbert is an incredible talent, but this wasn't his best performance, even if you question the coaching decisions.
After two seasons with this staff in charge, the Chargers can't afford to keep making the same mistakes. They've used multiple first-rounders to improve Herbert's offensive line and spent lavishly to retain Williams and sign Linsley. Herbert's contract is about to get significantly more expensive, and the competition in the AFC among the league's other young quarterbacks isn't getting any easier. Mahomes, Josh Allen and Joe Burrow each have offenses and offensive playcallers clearly playing to their strengths. I'm not sure we can say the same thing about Herbert.
Last year, when I wrote about the dramatic end to the Chargers' season, I found that coaching wasn't really to blame. I can't say the same thing this time around.
Seattle Seahawks
Wild-card result: 41-23 loss to the 49ers
What they need now: Defensive depth
Nobody enjoys watching the tape from a postseason loss, but Seattle's defenders in particular won't have any fun watching Saturday's game. The 49ers' 18-point victory was about as dominant of an offensive performance as you'll see from a team with an inexperienced quarterback. Rookie seventh-round pick Brock Purdy looked like he was capable of hitting whatever he wanted for long stretches.
By ESPN's expected points added (EPA) model, this was the 11th-best offensive performance (on a snap-by-snap basis) of the past decade's worth of postseason games. The 10 games ahead of Purdy & Co. include four by Patrick Mahomes, two from Josh Allen, one from Matt Ryan during his 2016 MVP season, two from Nick Foles during his incredible run to Super Bowl LII and the 49ers' victory over the Packers in the 2019 NFC Championship Game in which Raheem Mostert ran for four touchdowns. That's lofty company for a player making his sixth NFL start.
The 49ers had 11 gains of at least 15 yards Saturday, and if you thought many of them looked similar, you weren't wrong. Here's a deep over concept the 49ers hit for three big gains. Two came against single-high zone coverage, while the third came against a two-deep shell. See if the routes look similar to you:
These are three of the explosive plays the 49ers hit against the Seahawks today. pic.twitter.com/au55qTirrf
— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) January 15, 2023
Two of the three involved play-action, but in each case, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan was working off the same idea, wanting to attack a static Seahawks coverage shell and exploit linebackers -- most often Cody Barton -- in space. The Seahawks weren't using their free safety to cut and run with the bolded deep over route, but if Barton is not able to get in the throwing lane or read where the quarterback's going with the football, this is an impossible assignment for a cornerback with outside leverage. This was pitch-and-catch for three big plays.
Barton was outrun around a pair of blocks to the edge by Deebo Samuel for a 22-yard gain in the first quarter. Shanahan also had time to pick on fellow linebacker Tanner Muse, who was starting for the injured Jordyn Brooks. Muse got caught up in what looked to be zone coverage against George Kittle, freeing up Elijah Mitchell for an easy checkdown and an 18-yard completion to set up a 49ers touchdown.
Safety Ryan Neal has spent most of the season filling in for injured starter Jamal Adams, and he didn't star on the two longest plays of the day. Christian McCaffrey's 68-yard run in the first half was immaculately blocked by the 49ers. The only player left unblocked with a shot to tackle the star back was Neal, who took a poor angle to the ball carrier and had McCaffrey run right past him. This was a tough play, but Neal's angle is the difference between a 20-yard run and a 60-yarder.
Neal was more noticeably at fault on Samuel's 75-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. The entire Seattle defense over-pursued a fake pitch to one side of the field, leaving Samuel totally uncovered running in the other direction. Neal is the most likely defender who would have been responsible for Samuel in zone coverage, but he ran all the way to the opposite hashmark to chase after the pitch before frantically turning around. Samuel got two blocks downfield and ran untouched for a game-breaking score.
It wasn't just the young replacements. Veteran Bruce Irvin, signed in midseason, got folded up into the same gap as Shelby Harris on the 22-yard Samuel pitch. Rookie sensation Tariq Woolen was fooled on a run fake and gave up a 33-yard completion to Jauan Jennings, setting up another 49ers score.
This was a banner season for the Seahawks, who exceeded expectations in Year 1 without Russell Wilson. Making it to the playoffs, developing what appears to be the league's best draft class and landing the No. 5 overall pick from the Broncos in April's draft is a scenario every Seahawks fan would have happily signed up for back in August.
A defense that was supposed to be refreshed and aggressive under promoted defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt, though, wasn't really all that much different from the 2021 unit in terms of performance. Last season's Seahawks ranked 21st in DVOA, performing 3.5% worse than league average. The 2022 Seahawks? They ranked 21st in DVOA, performing 3.5% worse than league average. Seattle was without Adams for most of the season, but then again, he didn't play all that well before getting injured.
The Seahawks took more strides than those numbers would indicate, but there is still work to be done. Brooks had his best season, but they could stand to add another linebacker, especially after giving up more yards per pass attempt to running backs and tight ends than any other defense. Uchenna Nwosu and Darrell Taylor combined for 19 sacks, but Taylor was limited to 19 snaps Saturday because of an injury. If the Seahawks don't draft a quarterback early, adding a difference-maker up front is the most logical direction.
The Seahawks will need to find their balance on defense in a division in which both Shanahan and the Rams' Sean McVay love to take advantage of linebackers and safeties in coverage. There's a fine line between playing aggressively and getting out of control, and Seattle didn't have a great grasp on that line Saturday.
Miami Dolphins
Wild-card result: 34-31 loss to the Bills
What they need now: A consistent rushing attack
Rookie seventh-rounders aren't inherently created equal, but there was a noticeable difference between what Brock Purdy enjoyed in San Francisco and what Skylar Thompson was facing in Orchard Park on Sunday. Making his third career start, Thompson battled one of the league's best defenses and was let down by a few drops. He was also 18-of-45 for 220 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions. When your completion-percentage and yards-per-attempt marks both start with 4 in modern football, you're not going to do well; quarterbacks with those figures over the past decade are a combined 14-69 (.169).
What was noticeable to me is how much help each of these quarterbacks got from their rushing attacks. Christian McCaffrey and the 49ers carried the ball 33 times for 181 yards with nine first downs. With Raheem Mostert sidelined by a thumb injury, a Dolphins backfield led by Jeff Wilson and Salvon Ahmed carried the ball 20 times for just 42 yards and three first downs. Two of those first downs came on carries by Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle; the halfbacks combined for just one first down on 15 carries, a 1-yard plunge by Wilson for a score.
To be fair, the Bills are the league's 11th-ranked rush defense by DVOA, while the Seahawks rank 25th. Mostert was injured, and neither Wilson nor Ahmed would invite comparisons to McCaffrey, who is the league's highest-paid running back. It would be unfair to have expected similar results from the Dolphins and 49ers in a one-game sample.
At the same time, the two teams weren't particularly close in terms of ground output. Kyle Shanahan has a lengthy track record of success when it comes to plugging various late-round picks and undrafted backs into his offense without skipping a beat, and undrafted players such as Mostert and Wilson typically outperformed more expensive or higher-paid backs during their time in San Francisco. Carolina's rushing attack, led by a pair of unheralded backs in D'Onta Foreman and Chuba Hubbard, also performed better after McCaffrey was traded to the Niners.
The Dolphins finished the regular season ranked 16th in rushing DVOA, but that comes in the context of an offense driven by two devastating downfield receivers. Opposing teams have typically wanted to play with light boxes to avoid getting torched downfield by Hill and Waddle, and it's borne out by NFL Next Gen Stats, which use a model to estimate how many yards each carry would have generated with average results from an average back.
The typical Dolphins carry this season should have generated an even 5.0 yards per carry, which was the highest mark in football by a significant margin. No other team was expected to generate more than 4.6 yards on their typical rush attempt, and the average was 4.2.
By this model, Dolphins runners were the least effective group in football. They generated minus-0.4 rushing yards over expectation (RYOE) per attempt, which ranked last. They also generated 19 first downs fewer than what backs would have expected to convert on the same carries, which was tied with the Buccaneers for the worst mark. One model isn't everything, but the Dolphins certainly haven't looked like a consistently impactful rushing attack in the same way the 49ers have over the past several seasons when McDaniel was working alongside Shanahan.
Some of their issues owe to a dismal half-season from Chase Edmonds, who was dealt to the Broncos after earning a $4.5 million bonus from the team, but the Dolphins will want to address the position this offseason. The oft-injured Mostert and Wilson are both free agents, while Ahmed is a restricted free agent. Starting over at running back seems like the most likely outcome for Miami.
Improving on the ground will help accomplish the organization's most important task of the offseason. If Tua Tagovailoa is able to return from his most recent concussion, the Dolphins have to do whatever they can to make their quarterback's life easier. One way to do that is to run the football effectively, which will create passing opportunities downfield and slow down opposing pass rushes.
No one is hoping to see Tagovailoa deal with more injuries in 2023, but improving the running game would also make life easier for a backup quarterback if the Dolphins are forced to turn to another QB. The 49ers have generated the fifth-most EPA per rush attempt since Purdy entered the starting lineup in Week 14. If Miami can approach those figures next season, it'll help make life easier for their quarterback, whomever that passer might be.
Minnesota Vikings
Wild-card result: 31-24 loss to the Giants
What they need now: Upgrades in pass defense
Just about every team that posts a great record in one-score games in the regular season loses a one-score game in the postseason. The 2020-21 Titans went a combined 13-4 in games decided by seven points or fewer and lost narrow games to the Ravens and Bengals. The 2021 Raiders were 7-2 in those games before losing a close one to the Bengals, while the 6-0 Buccaneers lost on the final kick of their division-round game against the Rams.
It might not be much of a surprise, then, that the greatest one-score-game team in regular-season history was immediately bounced in a seven-point game against the Giants. The Vikings, previously 11-0 in games decided by seven points or fewer during a remarkable 2022 campaign, were booted out of the playoffs at home by Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley.
The offense will be criticized for how this game ended. Justin Jefferson caught just one pass for 4 yards during the second half, with the Giants finding ways to double-team him out of the contest. Kirk Cousins was able to find his other receivers for most of the game, but on the final fourth down of the season, he threw a pass well short of the sticks to a covered T.J. Hockenson, who was tackled easily for an anticlimactic ending.
More noticeably, this was a game in which the Vikings simply didn't appear to have many defensive solutions for what the Giants planned to do. Minnesota somehow combined the worst of both worlds, spending most of the game in conservative zone coverage and still managing to give up a remarkable amount of rushing yards to Jones.
Given that the Vikings had just played the Giants in December and were going up against an offense that has relied heavily on Jones' ability as a scrambler, it was remarkable to see how unprepared they looked during the first half of the game. The pass rush didn't stay disciplined enough to prevent Jones from escaping the pocket, and he was able to get the edge far too easily. Coach Brian Daboll mixed in steady doses of Jones on designed runs before halftime. His 8.9 rushing EPA was comfortably the most of any player, quarterback or otherwise, of wild-card weekend.
Jones, who led the league in QBR over the final month of the regular season, posted a 91.9 QBR against the Vikings in zone coverage on Sunday, per ESPN's automated coverage analysis. The Vikings were seemingly trying to take away the big play, but they were playing an offense that throws the shortest average passes in the league. Jones was happy to dink and dunk his way down the field with accurate throws.
Next Gen Stats' passing model predicted that an average quarterback would have completed nearly 66% of the passes Jones attempted Sunday, which is just below what he actually completed (68.6%). He unsurprisingly threw the shortest average pass of any quarterback of the weekend at 5.8 yards per attempt, but the only quarterback who kept his team ahead of schedule at a higher rate, coincidentally enough, was Cousins.
It's one thing to play that sort of soft coverage if you tackle well, keep everything in front of you and close up shop in the red zone. The Vikings didn't do any of that. The Giants went 3-for-4 in the red zone and had a fourth touchdown on a Jones rushing attempt called back for an illegal shift.
Facing a Giants receiving corps with Isaiah Hodgins, Richie James and Darius Slayton as the primary wideouts, Minnesota repeatedly gave up extra yardage by running its way out of plays or missing tackles. Jones' passes generated an average of 7.6 yards after the catch, which is significantly past his seasonal average. He topped an average of six YAC per reception in only one of his 16 games during the regular season.
The Vikings finished the season as the league's 27th-ranked pass defense by QBR, and diagnosing their problems is a chicken-or-egg issue. The pass rush had stretches of dominance, but Za'Darius Smith faded badly as the season went along, racking up 8.5 sacks across his first seven games and just 1.5 more over the ensuing 10. The defense ranked 30th in pressure rate, ahead of only a pair of salary cap-strapped teams -- the Bears and Falcons.
When Ed Donatell's defense didn't get home with pressure, it allowed an average of 8.3 yards per pass attempt, which ranked 30th. Veteran corner Patrick Peterson posted a 65.0 passer rating as the nearest defender in coverage, so he wasn't the one often at fault. Cameron Dantzler began the season in the other cornerback spot before being benched at midseason. Andrew Booth started a game before hitting injured reserve, at which point the Vikings turned to Duke Shelley, who was cut by the Bears in August. Shelley posted a 55.0 passer rating in coverage.
Slot cornerback Chandon Sullivan allowed a passer rating of 111.1 in coverage this season, according to Pro Football Reference, and the Giants picked the slot clean for conversions Sunday. Jones was 10-of-12 for 95 yards and five first downs targeting slot receivers, throwing to four different receivers on his conversions. Minnesota allowed 8.9 yards per attempt on throws to the slot this season, the fourth most of any team.
As it enters the offseason, a Minnesota team that won an unexpected division title doesn't have a clear path of progression. Does it trust its record and believe it's a couple of players away from contending for a conference championship? Point differential suggests the Vikings were a .500 team, while DVOA pegged them as one of the league's worst teams. If the front office takes that line of thinking, the organization could head in an entirely different direction.
Any path will involve change. Peterson and Sullivan are both free agents. Booth will return and should figure into the starting lineup, and the hope will be that first-round pick Lewis Cine recovers from a broken leg and is able to see time at safety, but there's at least one cornerback spot likely to be up for grabs in the slot.
Likewise, after his second-half fade, the Vikings will need to decide whether they want to pay Smith $14 million for the 2023 season. Dalvin Tomlinson is a pending free agent, while the Vikings could clear up $9.5 million by moving on from veteran stalwart Eric Kendricks. For a team that is $8.5 million over the projected cap and likely to give Jefferson a record-setting contract, the Vikings are going to need to make some difficult decisions this offseason. It would be a surprise if they didn't field several new starters up front and in the secondary in 2023.
Baltimore Ravens
Wild-card result: 24-17 loss to the Bengals
What they need now: Help at receiver
Outside of the most important play of the game, the Ravens got just about everything they could have hoped for from Tyler Huntley on Sunday night. The backup quarterback struggled on the final drive of the game and had his fumble at the goal line taken 98 yards in the other direction by Sam Hubbard for a 12-point swing, but Huntley held his own as a passer. Despite an early interception, he was 17-of-29 for 226 yards with two touchdowns and a pick. He added nine rushes for 54 yards. The 24-year-old posted a 74.0 QBR in defeat, which was the fourth-best mark of the weekend.
Let's now detail whom Huntley had as options in the passing game. The Ravens have Mark Andrews, Josh Oliver and promising rookie Isaiah Likely in their primary rotation at tight end, with veteran Nick Boyle left on the practice squad. Boyle was once the team's primary blocking tight end and a secondary option in the passing attack, but a serious knee injury suffered in 2020 has limited him to inline blocking work.
Likewise, at running back, Huntley could throw to J.K. Dobbins, Gus Edwards and Justice Hill. Dobbins touched the ball 17 times Sunday night, but it wasn't enough, as the third-year back vented about being "held back" after the game. He probably has a point, although the 24-year-old missed all of last season and significant portions of 2022 while recovering from a serious knee injury.
At wide receiver? There's not much. A hodgepodge of late-round picks and journeyman were options. Demarcus Robinson broke a double move past Eli Apple for a 41-yard touchdown, but that was a rare bright spot for the league's least imposing wideout corps. Robinson, a fifth option during his time with the Chiefs, looks like prime Tyreek Hill in comparison to the other wide receivers in this group.
The Ravens were otherwise forced to turn to Sammy Watkins, Andy Isabella and James Proche. The former two were signed after being cut by wideout-needy teams in Green Bay and Arizona, respectively, while Proche has 25 catches across three seasons. He was the one in position to come away with what would been a season-saving Hail Mary catch on the final snap, only for the ball to bounce off his fingertips. DeSean Jackson, who was cut at the end of the regular season, saw meaningful snaps at wide receiver down the stretch.
Baltimore's affinity for running the ball can depress their players' raw numbers, but Ravens wideouts averaged just 1.3 yards per route run this season, which ranked 30th in the league. Only the Colts and Titans saw their wideouts average fewer yards. If anything, playing in a run-first offense with lots of tight ends can help make wideouts look more efficient when they do get opportunities: Falcons wideouts generated just under 2.0 yards per route run, the second-best mark.
It's fair to note that injuries led to the Ravens being stuck with Watkins and Robinson in starting roles. Rashod Bateman, the team's first-round pick from a year ago, suffered a foot injury in October and aggravated the issue before going on injured reserve. Ace returner Devin Duvernay suffered his own foot injury in practice last month and hit injured reserve shortly thereafter.
While those injuries couldn't have been predicted, heading into the season with a depth chart consisting of Bateman and little else at wide receiver was a risky proposition for a team with championship aspirations. Bateman had been fine as a rookie, but it was hardly as if the Ravens could be assured he would be a legit WR1 or stay healthy for the entire season. Baltimore traded away Marquise Brown on draft night and never acquired a significant replacement for its 2019 first-round pick.
Now, like the Vikings, the Ravens enter a difficult offseason with more questions than answers. Quarterback Lamar Jackson is an unrestricted free agent, and while they can use the franchise tag to keep him, there appears to be at least some tension between the organization and its most important player.
Jackson has now missed significant time in December in consecutive seasons, costing the Ravens a playoff spot a year ago and limiting them to a wild-card berth this time around. Jackson's absence and the offense's struggles without him only underlined the former MVP's value, but it's unclear whether the two sides are even close to agreeing to terms on a possible extension. The team is one offseason away from having to make a longer-term decision on his future, which could lead it to make a deal this spring instead.
Whether it's Jackson or someone else under center in Week 1 next season, Baltimore can't afford to place the entirety of its passing game on the shoulders of Andrews and Bateman. It needs to add another meaningful playmaker to help keep the passing offense afloat, either by using a high draft pick on another wide receiver or signing a veteran in free agency.
General manager Eric DeCosta attempted to sign JuJu Smith-Schuster in the past, so the Ravens could attempt to make another play for the now-Chiefs wide receiver in free agency. They were also in the trade talks for DeAndre Hopkins before the star wideout was dealt to the Cardinals in March 2020, but Hopkins' salary and desire for a new deal might price out a team with Jackson's franchise-tag number on the books.
A more realistic option might be DJ Chark (Lions) or Parris Campbell (Colts), both of whom will be unrestricted free agents. DeCosta might prefer to go after a cap casualty to avoid missing out on a compensatory draft pick, which could lead the Ravens toward possible offseason cuts Adam Thielen, Robert Woods or Michael Thomas. Either way, if they hope to win the North for the first time since 2019, they'll need to supplement a thin receiving corps this offseason.