After four weeks of the 2022 NFL season, clarity is starting to set in on what teams will probably look like. Teams are starting to take shape, and we are seeing what teams’ philosophies and game plans are going to shape out like each week.
With that being said, let’s take a look at what caught my eye this past weekend as we begin looking ahead to Week 5 of the 2022 season.
NFL Week 4: Ravens sliding down a slippery slope
Baltimore has now blown two 17+ leads this season with both of those games being at home. Dating back to last season, the Ravens have lost five straight home games, and Baltimore will be hosting Cincinnati in week five on Sunday night. Both teams enter the contest atop the AFC North at 2-2, creating a pivotal game that will leave one team lonesome in first place.
Back to Sunday, the Ravens held a 20-3 lead in the first half and 20-10 at halftime after surrendering a touchdown in the dying moments of the first half. Even then, the Ravens received the second-half kickoff but ultimately did nothing with that drive, and matter of fact, for the rest of the game. Baltimore would never score again in this contest.
After throwing for 108 yards and one touchdown in the first half, Lamar Jackson would compile 36 passing yards and two interceptions in the second half. The second interception came on a controversial play, as John Harbaugh decided to go for it on fourth-and-goal instead of settling for a field goal and taking a 23-20 lead with a little over four minutes left in the contest.
It was a decision that I personally disagreed with, as the Ravens had failed to put one drive together in the second half and had not scored a single point after halftime. A field goal would have stopped the momentum slightly and given hope to a defense with a lead to hold onto. However, an interception in the endzone gave Buffalo the ball at its own 20, and an offense that could play at its own leisure.
The Ravens also made it super predictable that they were throwing the ball by going into an empty set, showing no threat of play-action or read option. The Bills’ defense sat its linebackers on the goal-line and the secondary occupying much of the space in the endzone. At least put a running back in the backfield and offer a threat of running the ball. Inevitably, the Bills would drive down the field and kick a field goal as time expired.
Now, the Ravens are facing a Bengals team with extra time to prepare, as Cincinnati played on Thursday against the Dolphins. Not to mention, Rashod Bateman is dealing with a foot injury, and the Bengals passing attack matches up excellently with the Ravens’ porous secondary.