Knee-Jerk Reactions: Eagles 24 Ravens 19

The Ravens fell to the Philadelphia Eagles 24-19 in Week 13.

RSR staff react to the loss here.

Derek Arnold

What a fun way to go into the bye week, with yet another dud from the offense in a big game. Didn’t that look eerily like the AFC Championship Game? Like the Steelers game a few weeks back? This offense just cannot impose their will against a team with a solid front, instead getting dictated to. They’re frauds and front-runners until they prove otherwise. Even the presence of Derrick Henry can’t save them from turtling up, and they can’t even blame penalties today – just more mistakes (botched snap/handoff fake), poor execution (dropped passes, guys not on the same page, etc), and the OL getting beat like a drum.

Lamar Jackson turned in his worst game of the season, and his insistence on denying his greatest talent by taking the running lanes that are there did him in again. If he and Isaiah Likely are on the same page on that over route up 9-0, maybe we’re talking about a different result. But they weren’t, and we aren’t. Rashod Bateman was invisible, then got hurt, and Diontae Johnson still couldn’t get any reps, with Nelson Agholor dropping a big pass down the sideline.

The talk coming into the game was about the running backs. They were both fine, nothing special. But Jalen Hurts took what was there and was able to supplement things nicely and sustain three touchdown drives, while the Ravens only managed one (until garbage time). And his offensive line held up better, while Lamar’s had him running for his life within a second of the snap far too often.

The Ravens special teams are ABYSMAL. They get worked in every single facet, and as a result the Eagles controlled field position all afternoon. Jordan Stout stinks, Tylan Wallace is afraid to catch the ball, and…

…of course, the elephant in the room.

Justin Tucker. What is there to say? I really thought he’d get the ship righted. He hasn’t. He can’t be the kicker any more.

Rob Shields

The Ravens lost today because of awful offensive line play, terrible special teams and questionable decision-making at times by Lamar.

For whatever reason, Lamar is very hesitant to run the ball. Today he had an opportunity to scramble a lot because of the pass rush and he didn’t do it. He kept dropping back several yards and wasn’t getting outside the pocket to try to make things happen with his legs. He kept trying to make big plays instead of taking what was given to him.

The OL is a real problem and it has been for a little while. They have other options they can go to in the bye week and I tend to doubt they will but this isn’t a good enough line and it really showed today.

Tucker has become a major problem. If you look at the stats from today, the Ravens were better across the board in most stats. The defense played well. Barkley didn’t do anything for three quarters. They didn’t do much passing. A.J. Brown was a non factor. But the seven points Tucker took off the board were killers and that has to start to deflate the team somewhat.

The bye week comes at a great time. This was a loss to a very good team playing on a short week where you had to travel cross country but it also showed the team has some huge issues…ST and OL. Hard to overcome that.

Nick Polinsky

That was the biggest disaster I’ve seen on the field for the Ravens in a while. After a hot start, it all completely fizzled away.

The o-line got beat all day; Lamar was under constant duress and even when he wasn’t he was inaccurate and typically not on the same page as his receiver. When the line broke down and Lamar stepped up in the pocket, he had plenty of chances to tuck it and run yet he rarely took them. This was a true Lamar stinker where everything looked out of sorts.

The defense played well especially considering the Ravens handed the Eagles good field position a number of times from missed field goals and empty offensive possessions. Saquon Barkley was a non factor until the end where he was the one that laid the dagger.

I have no clue what the plan is with Tucker at this point. He just left seven points on the field and has now been the difference in losses against the Raiders, Steelers, and Eagles. I’m not sure if it’s the yips, or something mechanical. If it doesn’t get fixed, it’s bound to cost us in a playoff game.

I guess this is a good time for the bye.

Kevin McNelis

Talk about limping into your BYE week.

It’s not often that you see a Ravens team that looks like they quit on a game, but after they let this one start slipping out of their hands in the second quarter, they looked lifeless out there. Yes, Philly’s a tough team with a really talented defense, but they matched Baltimore’s offensive ineptitude for a good stretch in this one. Execution was a huge issue, and I worry that we’ll see this carry over in the games down the stretch when the pressure’s on, because you need every one from here on out to ensure a spot in the postseason. With Pittsburgh’s win today, it feels like you can kiss the division goodbye and set your sights on a wild card.

And the injuries. Madre de dios, the injuries. Sanoussi Kane and Rashod Bateman got hurt running cardio out there.

The late rally made this one feel a lot closer than it was, and unfortunately, the difference could have been seven points that kicking cost you. I love Justin Tucker dearly, but it’s time to do the merciful thing here, for all of our sakes.

Jared Pinder

I think this game just shows that this team doesn’t have what it take to win a Super Bowl. This offensive line can’t play against good edge rushers and it forces Lamar to press constantly. This might have cost Lamer his third mvp because he did not play well today and when the offensive line doesn’t do its job he can’t play well. Todd Monken was also awful today as he gave the offense no answers. The biggest issue right now is Justin Tucker who cost the Ravens seven points today.

Not much to say for the defense, when you are on the field constantly against the Eagles you are going to give up some points.

Now we go into bye with nothing but questions and no answers in sight for this team. What a waste.

Tanner George

I think this game shows us who the Ravens really are. Though they’ve shown flashes of greatness this year, their performance against Philadelphia proves that they’re really a tier-2 squad in 2024.

Things got off to a great start. The offense was humming, going up 9-0, and the defense looked like it had turned a corner. But then things went south. Lamar and the offense managed just 10 points the rest of the game, and seven of those came in garbage time. The Eagles figured out Baltimore’s scheme quickly, and Saquon Barkley absolutely gashed them in the fourth quarter. At times it looked like they were toying with the Ravens’ defense, and that’s not what you want to see from a team that’s supposed to be a Super Bowl contender.

I’ve been patient with Justin Tucker all season, but this seems like the beginning of the end for him. Harbaugh should—and will—let him ride it out the rest of the year, but the front office needs to start looking for other options in the future if he can’t fix his struggles. He cost his team seven points today, and one can only wonder how this game would’ve turned out if he had made his kicks…

The Eagles showed the Ravens who they really are today, and unfortunately the 2024 team cannot be considered a true Super Bowl threat. And wasting another year of Lamar Jackson’s prime hurts. No one is getting any younger…

Chris Schisler

Things fell apart after a promising 9-0 start. Justin Tucker missing the extra point served as an omen of things to come. The Ravens big plays were plays only Lamar Jackson could pull off with his magic – magic you can’t always rely on. The start was a mirage. This team didn’t have it today.

The Ravens offense found ways to come up short like they needed them for their Bingo board. Bobbled snaps, missed throws, unsecured receptions, bad sacks, I think some lucky Ravens fan got BINGO.

Justin Tucker missing out on 7 points changed this game irrevocably. Not only did it change the situation it deflated M&T Bank Stadium.

The Ravens only gave up 24 points. The offense had chances to win. It was 14-12 for a dangerously uncomfortable stretch. If you give Philadelphia enough chances they’re going to take control and win the game. They had their chances and it’s what happened.

The game fell apart. The truth is the Ravens didn’t have it today. They lost to a great team that didn’t leave points on the board and didn’t beat themselves. This is the Ravens worst loss.  They had a chance the whole time against a contender in the NFC and shriveled up. There’s nothing nice to say. If you would have told me before kickoff that the Ravens would out-gain the Eagles by a healthy margin, and they ran more plays on a healthy win of the time of possession battle I would have thought it was a win. This team loses in the worst ways. The late Isaiah Likely touchdown was as meaningless as the 9-0 start.

Chad Racine

In my opinion they must address the kicking situation immediately and now is the perfect time going into the bye week. I think they can sign a kicker to the practice squad and elevate him and see how he does. Or put Tucker on IR for four weeks, or the rest of the year. At this point I think a street level kicker would probably perform better. It’s not only the points they’re leaving on the board, it puts a strain on the defense giving the opponents good field position.  I never thought Tucker would be losing us games but here we are.  I think it’s so bad that the negative energy carries to the rest of the team.  Harbaugh must address this NOW!

Darin McCann

Of all the disgusting performances by this inconsistent Ravens team this season, this might have been the distustingest. Poor and sloppy offense, a Hall-of-Fame kicker who couldn’t hit the side of a Royal Farms right now and a defense that breaks down when it needed to stand strongest all showed up today.

This team can beat anybody. This team can also lose to anybody. It’s just not good enough, and answers better be found during the bye week or it’s going to be another offseason of what-ifs.

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