BATTLE PLANS: Defense – On the Other Hand, if It IS Broke…

Defense Get Physical Up Front

Perhaps even more than the offense, the Ravens defense has their own identity problem. They want to be a physical, disruptive group that sets the terms of engagement rather than merely reacting to the offense.

But outside of Kyle Hamilton, no Ravens defender embodied that ethos in Week 1. Even against the run, they limited efficiency but didn’t consistently penetrate the backfield and punish the Bills with negative plays. Nnamdi Madubuike and Travis Jones were still immoveable at the point of attack and the linebackers flowed to the ball well (aside from a handful of missed tackles). The big change in Week 2 will be the lack of a QB rushing threat that will allow the Ravens edge group to get more aggressive in shooting gaps and chasing ballcarriers down from behind.

BATTLE PLANS: Offense – If It Ain’t Broke…

The bigger concern, of course, is the passing defense – a rush plan that barely affected Josh Allen and a coverage unit that once again had too many lapses downfield. Again, the core issue is what appears to be a willful departure from the Ravens’ established identity of aggression and physicality. There also seemed to be a lack of synergy between the pass rush and the coverage call, both in terms of the play design and the execution.

Let’s start with the pass rush. The Ravens had a conservative rush plan against Allen with a focus on containment and a lack of stunts/twists. It was an understandable strategy against Allen, although it was often too conservative and struggled to contain him when he escaped to his left.

Obviously, Joe Flacco is no Josh Allen. The Ravens don’t need to be worried about him extending plays or taking off with the ball in the same way. However, he is fully capable of diagnosing and exploiting opposing coverage unit if he has time to go through his reads. He simply cannot be allowed to sit back in the pocket without any hindrance.

As a result, Baltimore’s edge rushers need to pin their ears back against an exploitable pair of Browns tackles and attack. Mike Green had an encouraging debut, but his style of play should be more effective in collapsing the pocket than it was at containing Allen. Same goes for Odafe Oweh and Kyle Van Noy, who spent a lot of time handfighting on the edges instead of using their skills to win consistently. It would also be great to flip Madubuike out to the edge on some key passing downs and let him go to work against Dawand Jones.

The interior defensive line also needs to be freed up to call their own stunts and twists on key passing downs. Again, line games against Allen can open up too many scramble opportunities, but the Ravens undoubtedly need to let their interior rushers mix things up in Week 2. Beyond Jones and Madubuike, Aeneas Peebles and Broderick Washington both had encouraging pass rush performances as well. Against a proven Browns interior O-line, straight downhill rushing is too easy to double-team and block up. The Ravens have to try to open up some free rushing lanes, and ideally, they won’t have to blitz to do so.

Tale of the Tape: Mike Green & Aeneas Peebles vs. Buffalo

The Bengals only blitzed the Browns at a 4.2% clip, but still pressured Flacco 35.4% of the time, per NGS. The Ravens don’t have a Trey Hendrickson, but their interior rush is better than Cincinnati’s. Some use of 3-3-5 ‘penny’ nickel formations can replace an off-ball linebacker with an extra interior rusher, too, freeing up the edge rushers for winnable 1-on-1 matchups. DC Zach Orr also needs to mix up his pre-snap looks at the line of scrimmage more and go back to simulated blitzes with pressure coming from the second level. Every defender on the line of scrimmage is considered a blitz threat; one of the reasons the Arthur Maulet slot blitz was so effective is that he didn’t look like he was blitzing before the snap! It’s hard to confuse blockers and generate free rushers when they’re expecting the blitz, especially against an experienced QB and OL that will be adjusting protections before the play.

Coverage Synergy

Similar to the conservative pass rush, the Ravens’ coverage calls were also too conservative in Week 1. They mixed up their calls, but didn’t disguise well enough. Crucially, the coverage plan was too often out of sync with the pass rush.

The Ravens don’t suddenly need to flip into constant press-man coverage, but their depth from the line of scrimmage surrenders far too much leverage and gives up easy separation underneath. How, exactly, can a secondary force turnovers when they’re so far away from the ball? Dropping way downfield will especially be an issue against the Browns, who have a solid receiving back in rookie Dylan Sampson and two tight ends for Flacco, a known TE truster, to target.

They need to get up on the line of scrimmage and, just like the defensive front, get physical. Chip and bump slot receivers and tight ends off the snap to throw off their timing over the middle of the field. Run zone, but make it look like press-man before the snap.

Just look at Flacco’s two interceptions last week. Neither were bad passes, but both were examples of using physicality and aggression in coverage to disrupt timing and force a mistake. That’s how good defenses force turnovers. They don’t just take advantage of opportunities, they create them. Disrupting the pass-game timing off the snap gives the rushers more time to get home, which in turn will create higher quality opportunities than the tough plays they’ve typically had to make to secure an interception.

The #Ravens came close on 3 takeaways but converted none, a significant factor in the loss:

Starks dropped INT on tip which was tough, but 35-45% chance.

Awuzie unable to cradle diving INT (20-25%).

Hamilton FF rolls OOB (25-30%).

No one was an awful play, but approx a full…

— Ken McKusick (@FilmstudyRavens) September 11, 2025

In the same sense, the Ravens should avoid gambling in man coverage (especially by players coming off a knee injury with less than a week of practice that may be adjusting to reduced athleticism). Instead, they should take advantage of Flacco’s ability to read the defense by trying to bait specific throws with designed coverages. Rather than simply reacting to what the offense does, they should be setting the terms. It’s easier to make a play on a pass you know is coming. In the past, this has been effective against other pocket passers like Joe Burrow and C.J. Stroud.

The Ravens were actually able to force some good turnover opportunities against the Browns last year, but they failed to convert them. Still, those performances are examples of how aggressiveness and physicality can trap opponents into making mistakes.

It might also be time to give Sanoussi Kane a shot as a third safety to free up Kyle Hamilton to attack the underneath areas and help out with the tight ends. Three-safety will also help the Ravens better combat the Browns’ heavy attack. According to Next Gen Stats:

The Browns used 12 personnel on 36 of their 71 offensive plays (50.7%) against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1, an increase from their season average of 16.5% in 2024 and their highest game usage since Week 16 of 2020. The Browns scored a touchdown and recorded a 45.7% success rate on 35 plays in 12 personnel. In comparison, the Browns used 11 personnel on 40.6% of offensive plays and generated a 39.3% success rate (28 such plays). Tight ends, David Njoku (85.9%) and rookie Harold Fannin Jr. (71.8%) both logged over 70% of offensive snaps with the two of them combining for 10 receptions and 100 yards.

Matchup: Last season, the Ravens allowed the 8th-most yards per dropback against 12 personnel (7.7) and faced the 10th-most TE targets (127) in the NFL. Additionally, in Week 1 the Ravens allowed Bills’ tight ends to catch all 7 of their targets for 97 yards and a touchdown.

That won’t do against the Browns. Njoku has been a problem for the Ravens in the past and Fannin had an excellent debut. Hamilton needs to be the one dropping down in the box/slot to handle the tight ends. He can handle them in man while also disguising zone looks to bait throws into dangerous areas of the field. He has such good play recognition and the athleticism to cover completely different parts of the field relative to where he lines up.

Finally, and simply, Roquan Smith needs to play better. He has to step up in coverage and tackling after the catch. He got beat in the middle of the field too often, including for Dalton Kincaid’s touchdown. He also missed a key tackle on the James Cook checkdown that went for 50 yards.

Smith isn’t the same force-multiplier that he was when he arrived in Baltimore. That’s not ideal given his contract, but that’s more of an offseason conversation. Right now, he needs to raise the floor of his play by executing his assignments with discipline and better positioning.

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Source: https://russellstreetreport.com/2025/09/12/ravens-battle-plans/battle-plans-defense-on-the-other-hand-if-it-is-broke/