Immediately after the Baltimore Ravens lost 17-10 to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game, questions were raised about John Harbaugh’s offensive game plan.
Much of the criticism came from the lack of ground game. The Ravens turned the ball over a total of 16 times, and only six of those went to quarterbacks Gus Edwards and Justice Hill.Quarterback Lamar Jackson was responsible for eight runs, only two of which were projected. The other six were fumbles, and the team’s final two touchdowns went to wide receiver Zay Flowers.Baltimore gained 81 total yards and lost possessions 37:30 to 22:30.
During his postseason press conference Friday, coach John Harbaugh lamented the lack of runs, but also tried to explain how it happened.”It’s not the numbers you want,” Harbaugh said on Baltimore City’s official website. “When it’s all over and you look back, you’re not going to get the AFC Championship Game. It’s more than just calling plays.”Harbaugh also believed there was a lack of urgency in the way Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and his group approached the game. “Most of what we did was at the level of scrimmage because of the defense.
“The defense lined up to take the points.” Harbaugh said. “The next thing was to get the ball out of tight, heavy formations and wide receivers and cover the rim and protect the rim that way. We were able to do that, but we struggled. We wanted to keep the formation open and move the ball to give ourselves as many scoring opportunities as possible.“[We] had the ball for nine minutes in the first half. So, two long drives [by the Chiefs] took away our ability to close games. We didn’t change after that. I made a mistake. They stopped us.
They did a play. After the first trip I immediately left the place. “I think all of those things played a role.”Many people believe that the running game is overrated in the modern NFL, but it still has its place. If the Ravens had more time and could have performed at a higher level, they could have faced the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII.
