Mink: There's not one clear "problem" with the Ravens' pass defense, which now ranks 31st in the league with 280.2 yards allowed per game. As is the case whenever you have an issue like this, it's a game of whack-a-mole to solve it.
In my view, it has come down to three main root causes: slants/crossers over the middle, busted coverages, and top-tier opponents playing well.
The fact is the Ravens have faced Patrick Mahomes, Dak Prescott, Josh Allen, and Joe Burrow in the first five weeks. Plus the Raiders' Gardner Minshew played out of his mind as he always seems to do versus the Ravens. At wide receiver, the Ravens have faced Rashee Rice before he got hurt, Davante Adams before he got hurt, CeeDee Lamb, and Ja'Marr Chase/Tee Higgins. That's some of the top quarterbacks and wide receivers in the NFL.
Now, the Ravens have an extremely talented secondary, too. So you would hope that they would win a bunch of those battles. So far this season, they haven't won enough. Baltimore has more premier quarterback-wide receiver duos coming up, including Jayden Daniels-Terry McLaurin next. The Ravens need more wins.
Baltimore has made some progress on covering the middle of the field, but there's still room to improve. There are still too many blown coverages, as the Bengals' 41-yard touchdown just before halftime was another. The poor tackling on Chase's 70-yard touchdown goes into a different category.
We were all praising the job first-year Defensive Coordinator Zach Orr did against the Bills last week. I don't think all that much changed with his approach in a week and I don't think his relative inexperience as a play-caller is the reason for the troubles. But as the leader of this group, I'm sure he feels responsible for raising the level of play.
Mink: I'll stick with the defense questions. The Ravens finished 6-of-14 on third down in Cincinnati. That was at least better than the Bengals' defense, which allowed the Ravens to convert 10-of-15.
Of the Bengals' eight third-down conversions, seven came in the third quarter alone when Burrow and his receivers got extremely hot. I don't think there's an overarching third-down problem beyond the issues I outlined in the previous question.
As far as what the Ravens plan to do differently in the secondary, I don't think there will be any substantial personnel changes. Marlon Humphrey, Brandon Stephens, and Nate Wiggins will continue to be the top three corners. Each has had their ups and downs so far. Kyle Hamilton is playing at a high level. Head Coach John Harbaugh said safety Marcus Williams is doing a good job and he expects him to "come up with some big plays for us very soon."
If Baltimore was going to make a change, it could be giving Ar'Darius Washington a larger slice of the No. 3 safety snaps. Eddie Jackson has played 55% of the Ravens' defensive snaps thus far. Washington has seen 27% of the action. The eventual return of Arthur Maulet (knee/hamstring) will also shake up the secondary rotation some.
Brown: I don't see Tylan Wallace on the verge of supplanting Nelson Agholor as the No. 3 wide receiver.
Playing a season-high 42.1% of the offensive snaps in Week 5, Wallace received the Ravens’ second-highest grade (84.6) from Pro Football Focus behind Charlie Kolar (91.4). Wallace deserves plenty of credit for making two crucial fourth-quarter catches in Cincinnati. His 12-yard reception was part of a touchdown drive that pulled the Ravens to within three points. Then Wallace made a 19-yard catch on Baltimore's final drive of regulation that resulted in Justin Tucker's game-tying 56-yard field goal.
However, those were Wallace's first two catches of the season. Agholor has six catches for 81 yards and has been targeted almost as many times (12) as Mark Andrews (14). Although Agholor made just one catch for four yards against the Bengals, he played 37 snaps, which was just one short of his season high.
In a shootout game where Lamar Jackson attempted a season-high 42 passes, Wallace showed he's capable of making plays if targeted. However, I wouldn't anticipate him supplanting Agholor in the wide receiver pecking order behind Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman.
Brown: With Baltimore's personnel, I don't see the need for a four tight end set.
The Ravens have the NFL's most talented tight end room in my opinion with just three – Andrews, Isaiah Likely, and Charlie Kolar. They're all excellent pass catchers, while Andrews and Likely are having the best blocking seasons of their careers.
The Chiefs have been forced to become more exotic after injuries to wide receivers Rashee Rice and Hollywood Brown. Head Coach Andy Reid is a creative play caller who's adapting very well as usual, with the Chiefs at 5-0.
However, Offensive Coordinator Todd Monken has been on point through five games. The Ravens have scored on their first possession in every game – four touchdowns and a field goal. They lead the league in total offense by more than 40 yards per game over the No. 2-ranked San Francisco 49ers.
The Ravens already have five players who've caught at least 10 passes, including Likely (16) and Andrews (10). The screen pass has become a much bigger part of their offensive arsenal. Derrick Henry is running effectively from multiple formations. An example was his 51-yard overtime run against the Bengals, when he lined up in an I-formation behind Patrick Ricard and took a toss from Jackson.
Baltimore's offense has been very creative and effective without the use of four tight end formations, and I'm not expecting them to add that to their package.
