“We know who really should have won”: The Ravens' reaction to their 29-24 loss to the Browns

Ravens offense

Putting the big names aside for a moment: Baltimore's offensive unit has put up 30 or more points in its last four games and ranked seventh in the first quarter (5.9).

The Ravens had a scoreless first quarter. The offense finally put up points with 27 seconds left in the first half on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Lamar Jackson to Nelson Agholor.

That helps paint a picture of how the Browns' defense performed against Baltimore on Sunday.

“(The Browns defense) was triggering. They all had safeties (and linebackers). They turned it on its head; They did a good job of changing it, but the reading was still the same. But they did a good job,” Jackson said.

In his 11th career game against Cleveland, Jackson gave the Browns her support after the game.

“People will probably look at the Browns' record and say, 'Oh, that's a sad team,' but that's the NFL.' I always say, 'That's the NFL,' and on any given Sunday a team can do well be,” Jackson said. “Every Sunday a team can wake up and it could be their day.”

Before Sunday, Cleveland's defense still had four good quarters to show. They usually appeared in one half of the game or in separate quarters. Never the whole game.

They took on their division rival and held Jackson to a season-low 289 yards on a 60.5% completion rate. Jackson was sacked more times (three) than he had touchdown passes (two).

The intensity was there from the start, especially when the Browns stopped Derrick Henry from converting on a 4th-and-2 on the first series of the game, which was helped by head coach John Harbaugh.

“We wanted to try (at anything from) one (or) one and a half (yards) – anything within two. “Early in the game, that was our benchmark the whole time,” Harbaugh said.

But with Jackson in the pocket, he finally found his cohesion with the receiving corps. Zay Flowers caught seven passes for 115 yards (16.4 per reception), but later in the game it came down to the little things.

The offensive line struggled with the Browns' pass rush, and the Ravens converted on just two of their 10 third-down attempts – a different picture for an offense that ranked second in third-down conversion percentage.

“I just don’t think we stuck to the script. First of all, I don’t think we played at the highest level,” wide receiver Rashod Bateman said. “We played behind the chains a lot and we can't do that. We just have to keep making plays – somehow, some way – and be consistent on the field.”

Bateman's 28-yard catch on the fourth play was his only catch through five scores. His other four targets were in close cover and with the sun in his sights.

On a third-and-14 in the fourth quarter, 15 yards from his own end zone, Jackson bought some time until he found an open target downfield. It was Bateman low on the Brownie the Elf midfield logo, but it bounced straight off him.

“The sun put me on this one deep ball, I have to catch it,” Bateman said. “I saw the ball until the last minute and then the ball flew straight into the sun. There’s nothing I can do about that.”

Ravens defense

Baltimore's run defense ranked first in fewest rushing yards allowed before the game (68.4). They rank last in passing yards (287.1 per game).

There was no better example of this than on Sunday.

While they did a solid job limiting Cleveland's running game to 80 yards on 23 carries (3.5 per run), the pass defense allowed a ball out to Jameis Winston, who hadn't started a game since Week 3 of the 2022 season.

Winston completed 224 of his 334 total passing yards and all three touchdowns in the second half. Winston made deep throws from the jump, including a 20-yard toss to David Njoku on his first pass.

“We are the Ravens, we pride ourselves on defense,” defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike said. “It's a game we should have won but we didn't, so it's very frustrating. And I know that a lot of men feel the same way as me.”

Before Winston's game-winning 38-yard touchdown to Cedric Tillman, Madubuike tackled guard Wyatt Teller. As he passed Teller and ran toward Winston, the ball was released.

“The fact that we didn’t manage to (stop the Browns from scoring) hurts a little bit; it hurts a little. But hey, what can you do? The game is over,” said Madubuike. “Kudos to the Browns; They played a good game and won, congratulations to them. But we know who should have won this game.”

The Ravens secondary took the field without their usual cornerbacks in Marlon Humphrey and Nate Wiggins.

“It's tough, but we trust the guys who are going to go out there. Even the backups or something like that – everyone can play. We trust these guys, but obviously it's tough,” safety Ar'Darius Washington said after recording three tackles.

A big topic after the game was Winston's multiple near-interceptions, but Baltimore simply couldn't catch any of them.

“We just don’t make these plays when they come to us; it's just that simple. We just have to make them,” safety Eddie Jackson said. “There’s no grand theory behind it, we’re in a crisis right now that we need to get out of because a lot of these are game-changing plays when we make them.”

The biggest drop came from Kyle Hamilton late in the fourth quarter, which would have ended the game with a 24-23 lead. On the very next play, Winston dropped back and hurled the game-winning ball to Tillman and over Jackson's head.

“Cover 0 is a difficult spot, but I have to play it better. It’s that simple,” said Jackson, who recorded a game-high 10 tackles with Hamilton.

Jackson, who spent seven seasons with Chicago, was part of the Bears' 2023 squad that blew a 10-point fourth-quarter lead and lost by three points to the Browns in Week 15. The disappointment of once again falling victim to a resilient Browns team was obvious.

“There is no excuse for everything that happened out there, we just have to make those plays when they come to us. For us, they were game-changing plays and we have the people in the room who can do that,” Jackson said.