Ghosts of season’s past have drawn fear in the Ravens’ fanbase. Hope is being engulfed by familiar fears.
There are innumerable reasons for Ravens fans to embrace hope. The roster boasts two MVP-worthy candidates. The offense has been a juggernaut for the majority of the season. The defense made significant strides after the benching of safety Marcus Williams for Ar’Darius Washington and the addition of cornerback Tre’Davious White. But the familiarity of the 2024 season brings the ghosts of season’s past and has stripped hope and optimism from fans on account of recognizable concerns.
Own Worst Enemy
In their best seasons of the Lamar Jackson era, the Ravens cripple themselves. In 2019, they were flagged 109 times in the regular season for 867 yards. In 2023, they drew 102 flags for 955 yards. And this season, they’re on pace for 123 penalties for 1,056 yards.
The same phrases are being uttered in each loss for the Ravens. “Self-inflicted wounds.” “Shot themselves in the foot.” “Own worst enemy.”
Below, you’ll find commentary from losses that range from 2019, 2023 and this season.
Pressbox’s Bo Smolka: “Poor execution, poor clock management and poor communication all appeared to be culprits as the Ravens let the _____ work their way back…”
ESPN’s Jamison Hensley: “Baltimore had too many lapses in coverage, and none was more memorable than the breakdown that allowed ______ to run free downfield. The Ravens talked about correcting the miscommunication problems from last Sunday against _____. Baltimore needs to try harder next Sunday against _____ and the ______.”
Baltimore Beatdown’s Joshua Reed: “Whether it was bad drops, blown blocks or a procedural/post-snap penalty, they shot themselves in the foot more times than the _______ stopped them.”
The repeated criticism is of their own errors. It’s because of their miscommunications and lapses. Hoisted by their own petard.
In October, Bill Belichick said, “The Ravens, every week, they got to look at it like the biggest opponent is the Ravens. They just can’t let themselves beat themselves. They can’t let the Ravens beat the Ravens.”
So far, their losses have spoken more toward their own failures than their opponents play. Which is all too familiar.
Coaches and Coaching
When flags are flying, the critique is lack of discipline. Lack of discipline points to coaching. And the Head Coach, John Harbaugh, receives the critique.
Harbaugh is a polarizing figure for the fanbase. Fans on social media loathe him. Calls for him to be fired are echoed in each loss. When the Ravens win, the online community says it is despite his leadership.
All critiques, be they just or unjust, come with the job. But it’s the sole fact that the head coach is the same individual that influences fans. They see the coach hasn’t changed and the familiar issues persist with the familiar coach. And in that, it becomes a familiar fear.
Similarly, the play calling and player usage crept its way back into focus after the loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. NFL.com’s Nick Shook felt the game was reminiscent of the team’s most painful loss in a decade.
“But for a team that was looking to score a big win in a tight division battle, this was not how Baltimore wanted to perform, especially offensively. It reminded me of the Ravens’ showing in the AFC Championship Game last season, a low point I thought they’d buried in 2024, as evidenced by their many explosive outings,” Shook wrote. “We all learned they’re not impervious to a good defensive game plan and still have work to do.”
It’s the same head coach as the AFC Championship, with the same offensive coordinator in Todd Monken. To fans, that wound has not healed, and the same individuals are at the helm, and it spawns irascibility.
Losses Feel the Same
Lamar Jackson’s dominance over the NFC doesn’t mean much to the fanbase. It’s cool, but their response is like Jackson’s apathy over the statistic. It’s good to get wins, but the all-important games in their season have more to do with the AFC North and the reigning back-to-back Super Bowl champions.
Jackson has a negative record against only three teams in the NFL. The Steelers (2-5), Kansas City Chiefs (1-4) and Las Vegas Raiders (1-2). They’ve lost to all three this season in familiar fashion to history.
The Ravens become the worst versions of themselves against the Steelers. They’re a play or two short of the Chiefs. They bumble and stumble into a loss against the inferior Raiders. They had the chance to revise their history in all three games and failed to do so.
Familiar fears…
Only Rings Matter
On April 26, 2018, the bar was set when Jackson was drafted.
“They’re going to get a Super Bowl out of me,” Jackson said.
That is the bar. The standard. The defining measurement of him and the organization.
The fanbase does not care about the Ravens’ regular season. Pundits don’t either, citing Jackson’s playoff record more than anything else.
Moreover, fans in general measures success as you’re either the team celebrating under raining confetti or you’re a failure.
Championships are becoming the lone qualifier of greatness. The individual accolades, the awards, they don’t mean anything. Especially when the precedent set six years ago was to be the ones atop the mountain’s peak.
The pressure has long been boiling. In 2019, the release was expected, but they faltered. The next two years, their seasons were halted by Jackson’s injuries. In 2023, everything fell their way, yet they failed. They didn’t deliver with the best roster in the best position. It boiled over. The fanbase’s pressure threshold hit imminent detonation after January’s defeat. Yet, it continued to climb after Harbaugh returned. It climbed after defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, defensive backs coach Dennard Wilson and defensive line coach Anthony Weaver departed.
Clemency was found in the Ravens’ signing running back Derrick Henry. But the gauge is still shaking, and arrow remains in the red.
It’s Super Bowl or bust. And at this rate, a Super Bowl win won’t feel as cherished and celebrated. It would be a relief.
But fans aren’t hopeful it will happen. The familiar fears have engulfed hope.