The Ravens know their biggest problem and have ramped up the urgency to solve it.
Baltimore enters Week 11 ranked last in the NFL in pass defense, surrendering 294.9 yards per game.
No team has finished a season allowing more passing yards since 2015, when the New York Giants gave up 298.9 yards per game, and no team has ever won the Super Bowl with a pass defense at the bottom of the league.
Thanks largely to their No. 1-ranked offense, the Ravens are 7-3 heading into their AFC North showdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers (7-2). However, solving their pass defense issues has become the clear focus for a Baltimore team with Super Bowl aspirations.
"We've got to play our coverages better in those situations – especially the deep middle and intermediate part of the field are the areas that have been a problem for us," Head Coach John Harbaugh said Monday. "Just very inconsistent back there.
"That's the No. 1 target that we have to be better at. That aspect of our pass coverage. We worked at it through the weekend and will continue to work at it. Everybody's determined to get better, and we have a growth mindset. With a high sense of urgency to get better."
In the aftermath of Ja'Marr Chase's explosive performance (11 catches, 264 yards, three touchdowns) on "Thursday Night Football," the Ravens spent the weekend re-examining their pass defense and will continue to do so. The frequency with which opponents have hit Baltimore with big passing plays has been alarming, and it has been a theme since the season began.
Chase is one of five 100-yard receivers against Baltimore this season and he's done it twice. While he's a great player, the Ravens have made glaring coverage mistakes against him.
"He's a talented person, but [he got open] way too much, way too many times, and it really comes down to how we're playing; it comes down to us," Harbaugh said.
"You can't have those long touchdown passes. It's one thing to give up nine-yard completions, seven-yard completions on checkdowns. It's another thing to hit a sail route or inbreaking route and tackle it. But to not tackle it to let it get behind us, those are below the line. Those are not OK. Not that you don't get beat every now and then. It's just happening way too much with us right now."
The most recent Joe Burrow to Chase bomb came right after Baltimore had rallied to take a seven-point lead. Chase was allowed to run freely between cornerback Brandon Stephens and safety Marcus Williams, then ran down the middle of the field wide open as he streaked between Stephens and safety Ar'Darius Washington.
"The techniques were played wrong," Harbaugh said. "They weren't played the way they're designed to be played. Whether it's something wasn't seen the right way, or it was misunderstood, we'll look at it from a coaching standpoint that we didn't coach it well enough. We've got to coach it better, make sure they understand it more clearly.
"That same route's been covered before. That wasn't the first time it's been run against us. We've got to be consistent with it. We've got to be on point every single play. We have to have a clear understanding of what we're doing. And we've got to be urgent about it."
Cornerback Marlon Humphrey gave an honest assessment of where he felt the Ravens' pass defense was after Thursday night's victory over the Bengals.
"I just don't think [with us] playing like this we can go far," Humphrey said. "It's cool winning; it's great we're winning, but I want to go far. I want to go to the end. The way we're playing … Something has got to change. We've just got to play better. I've got to play better; we've all got to play better. We've got to play as a unit, and we're just not doing that."
Harbaugh was asked Monday about the possibility of making personnel changes. Williams was benched in favor of Eddie Jackson against the Cleveland Browns in Week 8, but Williams returned to the starting lineup the following week against the Denver Broncos.
"Of course you consider everything," Harbaugh said. "Everything's on the table, always. I don't think that's any news story, it's definitely not headline worthy. Because that's what you do. That's what I spent the weekend doing, and that's what our coaches spent the weekend doing, and that's what our players spent the weekend doing on the back end."
Harbaugh said veteran cornerback Tre'Davious White, who the Ravens acquired before the trade deadline, could join the cornerback rotation, but Harbaugh ruled out the possibility of moving Stephens to safety, a position he has played before.
"We'll look at every aspect of it and pursue the best path that we can think of and that we see going forward," Harbaugh said. "We'll be pointed toward the Pittsburgh game in terms of what they do, and who they have doing it."
