The Ravens’ Week 9 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars laid bare just how broken this offense has become, and it also put Jacoby Brissett in a brutal spot before he’s even fully in the mix.
Baltimore managed only 55 net passing yards in the defeat, a number that says plenty on its own. The ground game was better on paper with 172 rushing yards, but once Justice Hill’s 65-yard touchdown is removed, that number drops to 107 yards and 3.14 yards per carry. That’s not the kind of production that makes life easy for anyone under center.
Some of that was expected with undrafted rookie Joe Fagnano starting. But the problems went well beyond the quarterback.
Declan Doyle’s playcalling was overly cautious and, in the source’s view, flat-out bad. Even more damaging was the state of the offensive line, which never gave Baltimore any real rhythm in the air or on the ground.
That’s why the Brissett move suddenly looks so much tougher to trust. When news broke that the Ravens were acquiring him, there was at least some hope that Baltimore could survive Lamar Jackson’s stint on injured reserve. The thinking was simple enough: a friendlier stretch of schedule, a run game that could carry more weight, and a more experienced passer might be enough to keep things afloat.
Week 9 made that idea much harder to believe.
The offensive line didn’t help matters even with a healthy unit on Thursday. Baltimore allowed one sack and four quarterback hits on 19 dropbacks, and Fagnano was hit on 26.3% of his dropbacks. That kind of pressure wrecks any offense, no matter who is taking the snaps.
Brissett does bring more experience, and he has dealt with bad lines and ugly offenses before with the Indianapolis Colts, Cleveland Browns and Arizona Cardinals. But that history hasn’t translated into winning football. His career record is 23-50, and he has never had a winning season.
There is still some reason to think Baltimore can look cleaner with Derrick Henry and Zay Flowers around him. A steadier quarterback should also open up more of Declan Doyle’s playbook.
But Doyle has become part of the problem too. Against the Jaguars, the offense leaned on Derrick Henry wildcat, Zay Flowers reverse and screen passes, and the early success quickly disappeared.
It worked for the first two drives, then mostly went nowhere after that.
Even before Fagnano, the offense had already lost a lot of its edge without Jackson. The passing game missed his creativity, and the run game kept running into loaded boxes and tight defensive looks it couldn’t beat.
Tyler Huntley and Fagnano don’t have much arm talent, but Brissett’s arm has regressed too. If no one beyond Zay Flowers can step up, he’s walking into an extremely difficult situation.
The question now is whether the 33-year-old is talented enough to drag this offense out of the gutter. Based on how this group has played, and especially what it showed in Week 9, that’s a very hard sell.
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