Jesse Minter didn’t spend much time dressing up what happened Sunday. The Ravens blew another double-digit lead, and their new head coach made it clear the problem goes well beyond one ugly fourth quarter.
After Baltimore let a 14-3 advantage against New Orleans turn into a 24-17 loss at M&T Bank Stadium, Minter pointed the finger at the whole operation - offense, defense and special teams. The collapse fit a pattern the franchise knows far too well, one that has followed Baltimore through multiple staffs and multiple play-callers.
“I’m focused on creating a mentality and continuing to create mentality that we play our style in those big moments,” Minter said in his Monday press conference with a trip to Brazil to face the Cowboys looming. “I felt like guys started pressing a little bit and were trying to make plays and search for that big pay in key moments … In reality, your identity as a player needs to show up in crunch time, in those situations.”
For Minter, the issue is both immediate and familiar. The Ravens have now lost an NFL-high 15 games since the start of 2019 in which they led by 10 or more points, and 10 of those defeats have come at home. Sunday’s version brought all the familiar ingredients: penalties, missed tackles, broken contain, poor situational awareness and special-teams mistakes that swung the game.
Minter’s defense, which is supposed to be the strength of the team, had no answer once New Orleans settled in. The Saints rolled up 200 yards on 21 plays against dime personnel, and quarterback Tytler Shough was especially sharp against those looks. In 11 career starts, he has been tough on dime, and Sunday was no different as he went 8-for-9 for 142 yards with a 118.8 rating on third and fourth down against it.
“Always looking inward first,” Minter said assessing the defeat. “Looking at play calls, decisions, all those things.”
The Ravens also hurt themselves on special teams in a game where every hidden yard mattered. Minter said the staff debated whether to use a shorter kickoff before halftime instead of sending it into the end zone, but New Orleans came away with a big return that helped set up three points before the break. Later, a blocked field goal added to the damage.
“I saw us really not read the way the return was going to go,” Minter said. “I need to have full conf and trust in our kickoff team.
On the blocked kick, he said the operation wasn’t clean enough and allowed pressure to break through.
There was also discussion about a second-half fourth-down decision from Baltimore’s own 37 after a third-and-one pass to veteran special-teams ace Chris Moore fell incomplete. The Ravens chose not to put the ball in Derrick Henry’s hands there, another call that will be picked apart after the loss.
“I think there are a lot of calls in every game you go back and forth on,” Minter said.
The fourth quarter told the story in full. New Orleans put together a 16-play drive, scored 15 points in the final period, held the ball for more than 12 minutes and ran 26 plays in the second half. Baltimore, by comparison, ran just nine second-half plays, averaged 3.4 yards per play after halftime and took Henry out of the equation.
Minter said he’ll keep addressing the issue with the locker room as the Ravens prepare for the Cowboys in Brazil after Thursday’s practice. He also said there’s hope that injured veterans Zay Flowers and All Pro defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike could return for that game, though a challenging playing surface could bring its own problems.
When Baltimore brought in free-agent pass rusher Trey Hendrickson on a $30M/year deal, Minter called him “a closer” and tied that move to the need to finish games. That need looked just as urgent after Sunday’s collapse.
“We’ll attack it,” Minter said, “and we’ll own it … We’ll own it together and try to do better.”
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