Earlier this week, Kyle Hamilton said the Ravens may need to be more creative with their punishments for dropped interceptions.
His drop of a game-winning interception late in the fourth quarter of the Ravens' 29-24 loss in Cleveland will be punishment enough for one of Baltimore's best players.
While Hamilton's drop made him the headline offender, he wasn't alone. Ravens defensive backs dropped multiple potential interceptions against Browns backup quarterback Jameis Winston and Baltimore's wide receivers dropped some, too.
Overall, the Ravens literally dropped their chance to win a back-and-forth AFC North slugfest on the road.
"We definitely have had our opportunities," cornerback Brandon Stephens said. "We had some opportunities in this game, even late in the fourth to end it. But it's tough – we just have to capitalize when we get our hands on the ball."
Hamilton's dropped interception came with about a minute left when Winston sailed a pass over the head of Elijah Moore. It hit Hamilton right in the body, but he juggled it multiple times and couldn't hold onto the rebound.
On the very next play, Browns wide receiver Cedric Tillman got behind safety Eddie Jackson for a game-winning 38-yard touchdown with 59 seconds left.
Earlier in the game, Winston threw one directly to Jackson, a longtime ball hawk with the Chicago Bears, in the end zone that Jackson dropped. Jackson also could've had a leaping interception later in the game and had a tipped ball bounce off his hands.
"You can get on the JUGS [machine] and everything like that, but at the end of the day, we all can catch," safety Ar'Darius Washington said. "So, just [have to] block out all the noise, stop thinking about everything that's going on and just focus on the catching the ball."
The epidemic spread to the offensive side of the ball, too. Nelson Agholor had a good snag on his 11-yard touchdown catch in the first half, but he dropped a third-and-5 pass on the Ravens' first drive of the second half.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Lamar Jackson extended a play to heave a long pass to Rashod Bateman, who was wide open, but Bateman stumbled and lost the ball in the sun just as it approached.
"I've still got to catch those still though," Bateman said. "I saw the ball all the way up to the last minute, and then the ball went directly into the sun. I can't do anything about that, so God just got me on that one, I guess."
Drops aside, it was a tough day for the Ravens defense, as Winston gave the Browns offense a spark after replacing Deshaun Watson following his season-ending Achilles injury.
Winston completed 27-of-41 passes for 334 yards and three touchdowns and the Browns, who entered the game ranked last in the NFL in passing yards, scored 20+ points for the first time all season. It was also the first time all season a Browns quarterback threw for at least 200 yards.
The Ravens didn't get enough pressure on Winston. They had two sacks against a team that had given up a league-high 35 in seven games, though one was a forced fumble by Hamilton on a blitz that the Ravens offense turned into a touchdown just before halftime.
Cleveland, which had struggled mightily on third down this season, converted eight of 15 third downs, including a crucial third-and-7 on their final drive to Moore with Washington in pursuit.
"I mean we just have to get better," Washington said. "I should've been in a little tighter to him and made that play. So that's kind of how it is."
While Stephens said he didn't think communication was the problem, the Ravens were disorganized on Tillman's first touchdown of the day, a 22-yard score over the middle in which Baltimore's defensive front was shifting and pointing as the ball was snapped.
Another part of the problem was the Ravens secondary was without two of its top three cornerbacks in Marlon Humphrey (knee) and Nate Wiggins (shoulder/illness) due to injuries. That left Jalyn Armour-Davis starting in his first game back from a hamstring injury that put him on injured reserve.
"We trust those guys, but of course it's tough," Washington said. "Marlon is the head of the snake, so he leads us in his energy, and it definitely is felt out there when he's there."
However, the Ravens' defense has consistently struggled this season, and it didn't change when facing a backup quarterback and a scuffling offense.
Baltimore already started making some changes, as Washington replaced starting safety Marcus Williams in what Harbaugh called a "personnel decision." Pass rusher David Ojabo was a healthy scratch.
Harbaugh said the Ravens are "working through some things" with Williams but expressed confidence in Williams and the entire defense moving forward.
"We're very confident in our guys – we always are," Harbaugh said. "We've played great defense, and we'll keep working, and we'll put up some good defensive games – I'll promise you that."
