Mike Preston: Ravens are stuck with a passing game that’s coming up short | COMMENTARY

The Ravens and violative coordinator Greg Roman are stuck.

No squad wants to trust connected a abbreviated passing game, but that’s the Ravens close now. They’d similar to beryllium capable to premix and match, combining their almighty moving crippled with a versatile passing attack, but they can’t. Some of it is by plan and immoderate of it is due to the fact that they are ill-equipped.

In the tone of Christmas, Los Angeles Rams backmost Matthew Stafford was successful a giving temper Sunday arsenic helium turned the shot implicit 3 times, including 1 interception that was returned 17 yards for a touchdown by information Chuck Clark. But the Ravens inactive lost, 20-19, arsenic their playoff hopes crumbled.

The Ravens turned each of Stafford’s turnovers into points with a touchdown and 2 tract goals from Justin Tucker, but that’s not bully capable erstwhile playing a squad with an explosive discourtesy similar the Rams’. Turnovers and scoring opportunities person to beryllium turned into touchdowns, and if they aren’t, you get what the Ravens got Sunday.

Another loss. That’s 5 successful a row.

And what you saw Sunday is what you volition spot successful the playoffs if the Ravens play a apical violative squad similar the Kansas City Chiefs, Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills oregon adjacent the New England Patriots if rookie backmost Mac Jones gets hot. The Ravens can’t vie due to the fact that they won’t instrumentality chances. They play tiny ball, astir of it by design.

Backup backmost Tyler Huntley, filling successful for injured starter Lamar Jackson, completed 20 of 32 passes for 197 passes. Most of those were 8- to 10-yard outs, speedy slants oregon abbreviated crossing routes crossed the middle. That’s large if you privation to power the clip of possession against a squad similar the Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions oregon Chicago Bears.

It’s not truthful bully against the Rams, who person talented receivers similar Odell Beckham Jr., Cooper Kupp and choky extremity Tyler Higbee. They tin people rapidly and from astir anyplace connected the field, which is 1 of the reasons the Ravens mislaid contempt having much than a seven-minute vantage successful clip of possession.

When you play tiny ball, determination is virtually nary country for error. A squad similar the Ravens can’t spend a punishment astatine a important infinitesimal due to the fact that their chances of gaining a archetypal down connected third-and-long are astir arsenic slim arsenic their playoff chances. It’s understandable wherefore Roman mightiness beryllium truthful guarded.

The Ravens’ violative enactment has occupation walk blocking, truthful it’s not arsenic if they tin usage a batch of passing plays that necessitate the backmost to driblet backmost 5 to 7 yards. They gave up 5 sacks Sunday and person allowed 54 for the season, which is 1 of the main reasons Jackson is walking astir with a limp. To antagonistic the walk rush, Huntley has to propulsion quickly, instrumentality a sack oregon instrumentality disconnected running.

He took disconnected a batch against the Rams, which is wherefore helium finished with 54 rushing yards connected six carries. The Ravens’ champion violative play, arsenic it was with Jackson, is the backmost scrambling aft the pouch collapses. And erstwhile that doesn’t work, the Ravens are successful trouble.

It’s harmless to presume that Roman knows Huntley, a second-year undrafted quarterback, isn’t acceptable for a much analyzable passing game. To telephone this a watered-down passing onslaught would beryllium unfair, but it’s precise simplistic. Huntley fundamentally looks astatine 1 receiver and if helium isn’t open, goodbye.

He missed 2 imaginable touchdown passes successful the 2nd quarter, overthrowing Devin Duvernay successful the backmost of the extremity portion connected a third-and-5 with 3:48 to spell and completing a 33-yard walk to choky extremity Mark Andrews down the close sideline. The propulsion to Andrews was a large idea, but Marquise Brown was streaking down the mediate of the tract for what would person been an casual 65-yard touchdown.

Another miscue happened precocious successful the archetypal fractional erstwhile Huntley threw a agelong walk to Brown, who broke wrong portion the walk sailed to the outside. The walk was picked disconnected by information Jordan Fuller astatine the Rams’ 37-yard enactment and returned to the Ravens’ 29. Three plays later, Stafford threw a abbreviated walk implicit the mediate to Kupp, who turned it into an 18-yard touchdown.

Maybe the motivation of this communicative is an casual one: conscionable support it simple.

“‘Hollywood’ [Brown] bushed him a antithetic mode than I was thinking,” Huntley said. “It was conscionable a miscommunication. I privation I could person that 1 back, though. That was 1 of those ones that you privation to person back, but shot is football. Kudos to No. 4, helium made a bully play close there.

“The Rams person a bully defence — a large defense. They played precise carnal down there. We conscionable came up abbreviated each clip we got down there.”

This is each portion of the Jackson fallout. With their prima backmost missing the past 3 games due to the fact that of an injured ankle, the Ravens person gone conservative. Huntley played tiny shot successful his 2 different starts this season, and the Ravens stuck with the abbreviated passing crippled erstwhile journeyman Josh Johnson filled successful for Huntley past week against the Bengals.

It’s a shame due to the fact that the Ravens person the makings of a truly bully radical of receivers. They person velocity successful Duvernay and Brown. They person a pugnacious feline who tin spell heavy and marque catches implicit the mediate successful rookie Rashod Bateman, and a possession benignant successful James Proche II. And they person 1 of the champion choky ends successful the NFL successful Andrews.

But they can’t walk artifact and person a backmost going done on-the-job training.

“Yes, helium played a poised game. He made immoderate plays,” Ravens manager John Harbaugh said of Huntley. “I’m definite determination are plays he’s going to privation to person back. We’re looking … We’re going to justice each of our players by the highest standard. As a starting quarterback, determination are plays helium could person made there, too, with his legs and with his arm. He besides made a fig of plays and operated for the astir portion well.”

But “well” wasn’t bully enough. And neither was the Ravens’ violative enactment oregon the team’s abbreviated passing game.

Even with Stafford and the Rams discourtesy having a atrocious day, the Ravens played good capable to win. But they didn’t.

Because they are stuck.