The Baltimore Ravens are slowly becoming a problem

The Baltimore Ravens' offense seemed nearly unstoppable during their five-game winning streak, but that definitely wasn't the case in Sunday's loss to the Cleveland Browns.

Suddenly, everything that had seemed so effortless for the past month and change became very challenging. Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson still played fairly well, but didn't take over the game like before. Add to that the numerous self-inflicted wounds, including drops, penalties and an abysmal success rate on third downs, and it was the perfect recipe for a disappointing game.

There's also a problem that's much more recent: slow starts. For the second straight year, the Ravens failed to score even a single point in the first quarter. Last week they overcame that slow start against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and actually found themselves down 10-0 instead of 3-0 like Sunday, but against a better defense the decision proved far more costly.

It's not like the Ravens have trouble moving the ball. They marched 68 yards on a 10-play opening drive but failed to convert a 4th-and-1 on a direct snap to Henry. However, yards don't mean much if they don't lead to points.

“We just have to put points on the board,” Jackson said after the game. “We do a good job of moving the ball and then we just get stopped as soon as we change fields. We just have to do a good job and make the downs count. (On) first and second down – (we have that) staying out of third-and-long, things like that, second-and-long.”

That slow start definitely set the tone for the rest of the game. The Ravens may have put some points on the board at the end, but they were just sloppy in their execution. It's hard to win games that way, especially against a solid defense led by reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett.

Hopefully this game is a wake-up call for the Ravens going forward, as they can't afford to have a slow start to the playoffs.

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