Thursday Night Football sucks. Did anyone see when the NFL Network showed the score twice at half time and it said Ravens vs. Ravens? But analysis of the NFL Network aside, the Ravens defense let up a game winning drive to Matt Ryan and the Falcons and fell 26-21. Here are my thoughts on the game.
- The Ravens shouldn’t have even been in it – The game looked completely one sided until the second half. The Ravens were shut out offensively in the first half and ran into the tunnel down 10-0. They had the ball just over eight minutes in the first half and failed to click. But the second half was a different story, the Ravens put seven up on the board in the third quarter and Joe Flacco led the offense to a 21-20 lead late in the fourth quarter.
- Offense or defense to blame – I’m having a tough time figuring out who is at fault in this one. On one hand the Ravens offense was slow to develop, but the defense failed to stop the Falcon’s from a game winning drive with under two minutes to play.
- Better off without Ed – Ed Reed is a Half of Fame safety, no doubt. But are the Ravens better off without him? Their secondary got torched yesterday, allowing Matt Ryan to throw three touchdown receptions and 315 yards passing. Josh Wilson looked like a stud on Sunday against Miami and a dud last night against the Falcons. But Ed Reed, trying to make the big play, left the secondary high and dry. Are the Ravens better off with Zbi?
- No longer elite – For weeks the Ravens defense has been ranked right in or slightly above the middle of the pack in the NFL. I still associate the purple and black with the bruising defenses that Baltimore has had in recent history, but I think this season that has definitely changed. Though teams have had success running the ball on Baltimore, the Ravens limited Michael Turner to just 39 yards on the ground, but in 50 attempts, Matt Ryan spread the ball to eight different receivers and slashed through the Ravens secondary all night. The Ravens of recent past would have killed for a fourth quarter comeback from the offense and forced a three and out from their opponent, not a game winning 80 yard drive.
What were your thoughts on the game?