BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – JANUARY 11: Marlon Humphrey #44 of the Baltimore Ravens warms up before the AFC Divisional Playoff game against the Tennessee Titans at M&T Bank Stadium on January 11, 2020 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Todd Olszewski/Getty Images)
The Ravens are looking for answers after losing at home to the Titans. Marlon Humphrey believes he knows why Baltimore lost the big game.
No athlete at any level wants to be known as someone who chokes under pressure. Unfortunately for the Ravens, quite a few people are labelling them as such in the aftermath of their ugly loss to the Titans. The fact that one of their own players is labelling them as chokers should be cause for real concern in Baltimore.
Cornerback Marlon Humphrey was beaten deep for a touchdown early in the game, but that didn’t stop him from levying criticism at his entire team in the aftermath of the playoff exit. He told NFL.com that his team’s current identity is to reach the playoffs and then “choke.” That’s hardly a word that will endear him to the rest of his teammates.
Despite the harshness of the criticism, it’s also hard to ignore the large elements of truth in Humphrey’s words. His team came into Saturday night’s games as heavy favorites against Tennessee. Instead of marching on towards the Super Bowl, the Ravens were summarily punched in the mouth by a Titans team that barely managed to qualify for the postseason.
Quarterback Lamar Jackson will certainly field a ton of questions about his play in the game all throughout the offseason. The likely NFL MVP award winner for the 2019 regular season went 31 for 59 for 365 yards and a touchdown against the Tennessee defense. Unfortunately, he also threw two costly interceptions that really hurt his offense.
More of the criticism should be hurled at Jackson’s offensive line though. They failed to give their skill players on offense any real opportunity to establish a rhythm in the game. Time and time again Jackson was forced to run for his life in the face of a daunting Tennessee rush. The game plan never intended for Jackson to throw almost 60 passes. Instead, that was an unfortunate byproduct of Baltimore’s inability to control the game early at the point of attack.
No matter who was really at fault, it’s hard to argue with Humphrey’s assessment of Saturday night’s events. The Ravens dominated the regular season for long stretches and were completely dominated during their one playoff outing. Choke might seem like a harsh word, but it fits the way Baltimore went out of the postseason in a whimper.