Photo by Billie Weiss/Getty Images
The Baltimore Ravens literally and figurately dropped the ball during Sunday’s 17-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Baltimore dropped seven passes — including two inside the end zone — after its wide receivers went the previous four games without any drops. Those miscues (and three turnovers) cost the Ravens a winnable game against their AFC North adversary.
Most drops in a single game this season:
1. Ravens (Week 5 – 7 drops) pic.twitter.com/TZDDLVFZ8S
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) October 9, 2023
Per team reporter Clifton Brown, the Ravens held a 45-minute team meeting during Wednesday’s practice in England. However, Lamar Jackson said he felt no need to address Sunday’s drops with his teammates.
“It’s self-explanatory, I don’t need to say anything,” Jackson said. “Those guys feel how I feel. They want to make a play. We haven’t had that before, that was the first time it happened. I believe guys are locked down right now and they’re going to be better. So will I.”
Head coach John Harbaugh also doesn’t anticipate the problem derailing Baltimore’s offense again.
“They don’t need to be a concern going forward because we need to take care of business in that area. That’s below the line. That’s what receivers do, they catch the ball,” Harbaugh said. “Our guys are going to catch those balls 99 out of 100 times. I think we’ve got a lot of catches in front of us if that’s the case.”
According to Pro Football Focus, Jackson had the highest passing grade (93.4) of any quarterback in Week 5. Yet drops took multiple big plays off the board, limiting his final line to 236 passing yards on 38 throws.
The 26-year-old also surrendered an interception and a fumble, so Jackson’s pass-catchers can’t take all the blame.
Baltimore’s offense will collectively look to play better when facing the Tennessee Titans at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Sunday’s game starts at 9:30 a.m. ET on NFL Network.