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On Monday afternoon, 22 hours after the Ravens' worst half-season result, John Harbaugh was measured in his assessment of his team's loss Sunday against the Carolina Panthers. The coach said it was not as bad as it was later.
On Wednesday, three days after the top-ranked Ravens defense seemed just at the forefront of a 36-21-game-high setback, yards per game and frustrations after the game – Eric Weddle's safety was still alive defeat, like a poker player lamenting his worst beat. This must have always been a little out of place.
"It's a bit of a chain of events," Weddle said. He started reliving all the ways the game had derailed after a 7-0 start. Start with the missed quarterback Lamar Jackson, who missed the third and first throw against Willie Snead IV, wide open, then the "false penalty" on a fake driving kick. "We still have the ball, and who knows?"
He has not entertained the fantasy for long. Cam Newton's imposed it as a "very good cover." The Panthers hit goals with "two or three guys did not do their job." A "turnaround" by overthrowing Alex Collins in the heart of the Ravens territory. Linebacker C.J. Mosley was intercepted by Christian McCaffrey.
"So now you look at 21-7, where really, they had a long road on us where they were saved and they had the long road," said Weddle, referring to the second quarter run of 99 yards Panthers. "We did not play in those critical plays, and it's just that guys do not take responsibility. So when [Harbaugh] said that, that's right. … It 's never so serious, and it' s never so good, but we are confident. "
The Ravens' home game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, who are in the north, is "the biggest game of our season so far," cornerback Jimmy Smith said Wednesday, and for the first time in weeks, defense as good as its billing.
The unit is the 11th in the NFL in quick defense and the 2nd in defense of passage; only the Dallas Cowboys also rank in the top 11 of both teams. The Ravens are No. 1 in defense and No. 1 in total defense; The Jacksonville Jaguars, both runners-up, are about 20 meters behind each other.
And yet, the last five quarters of the Ravens stand out as a slash in armor: 501 yards and 53 points awarded, three punt kickoffs and no 13-pass reversals (with no Panther final possession), for a combined total of 5 , 8 yards. by game rendered. During this season, only nine defenses have deteriorated per game.
"If you are good at certain things, you want to continue to succeed. you can not take a step back, "said linebacker Terrell Suggs, the Ravens' last bag, early in the fourth quarter of week 7 against the New Orleans Saints. "Just go back to the drawing board, apply more attention to detail, do the little things and we should be fine."
But it can be hard to do the little things without the biggest names, and the Ravens are entering Sunday's game at M & T Bank Stadium with a disturbing list of injuries. Starting cornerback, Marlon Humphrey, evolved fluently during defense drills on Thursday, but he missed the last two games due to a thigh injury. Safety at the start, Tony Jefferson (hamstring) did not participate in Thursday's game, and linebacker Tim Williams (ankle) also missed training.
Linebacker CJ Mosley did not train this week either, and Weddle said before Wednesday's training that Mosley was "barely able to run." The Ravens would not be better without their linebacker – defense co-ordinator, "Wink" Martindale Luke Kuechly of the Panthers, considered the best of the game at his post – but the fight of the pillars like Mosley explains the recent deficiencies of the defense.
His Pro Football Focus ranking on Sunday was his worst of the season and the fourth consecutive game in which he scored poorly on the analysis site. He led the team in the tackles, but he also missed several times, two of which allowed McCaffrey to gain more than 10 yards. In the cover, he authorized six of the seven completions, according to PFF, some of which were under his responsibility, others that no linebacker could have hoped to prevent.
In Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was sacked once and hit twice in the 26-17 win over the Steelers Ravens on Week 4, but averaged a small 5.8 yards per attempt on 47 throws. The Steelers have never crossed midfield in the second half and coach Mike Tomlin on Wednesday reinforced his inefficiency in third place.
The Panthers had no problem moving the ball. In their first 24 games, they won at least 5 out of 11 yards. They crossed and cleared a defensive line, missing the injured defensive tailor Willie Henry, finishing at 154 yards. They took Mosley in the middle of the field and Smith and Jefferson elsewhere. According to PFF, the two defensive backs made it possible to reach nine out of 10 combined targets for 114 of the 219 yards gained by Newton.
When asked if he was completely cured of the Achilles tendon injury that ended his last season, Smith smirked and said, "Can I answer that after the end of the season?" ?
The Steelers will not hesitate to ask questions. Roethlisberger rebounded after being 27-27 against the Ravens with three consecutive losing days of more than 65%. Offensive halfback James Conner, who has a total of 44 yards in this week's loss, is AFC's offensive player of the month in the AFC. The big receiver Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster still have headaches to cover.
Even if the defeat of the Ravens was not as bad as it seemed, there is an offense that, by clicking, is as good as possible.
"We did some unusual things. We all did it, "said Martindale. "There are a lot of learning moments in this. We focused all our attention on Pittsburgh. We know what this game is about. Obviously, we talked about it four weeks ago. And we are really looking forward to this challenge. "
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