3 Baltimore Ravens to blame for brutal meltdown against the Browns

Blame the Ravens play calling and game management

The Ravens play-calling was suspect in the fourth quarter, to say the least, but it was a harsh reversal of what had been (to that point) business as usual for Lamar and Co. Similarly, defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald has done the same thing with the playmakers Baltimore has on the defensive side of the ball. In combination, both units have made an explosive and scary team. Against the Browns, both units started fast. Macdonald’s defense scored the first points of the game, while Monken’s offense controlled the game going into halftime.

In the second half, Monken’s offense appeared to be different. Despite scoring twice, the offense struggled to move the ball being stopped by the Browns' defense on most drives. In a first half where everything flowed freely, Baltimore was able to move the ball however they wanted. In the second half, every yard was a struggle with the offense seemingly beginning to exclude some of its key playmakers. On the other side, the defense gave up a pair of long-scoring drives, noticeably different from their play in the first half.

Additionally, John Harbaugh had some questionable choices of his own. The staff will need to clean some things up as they make a quick turnaround to play the five-win Bengals on Thursday.