Instant takeaways from the Baltimore Ravens' loss against the New Orleans Saints.
The Baltimore Ravens took on the New Orleans Saints in what was an exciting back-and-forth matchup through four quarters.
After the Ravens got ahead through two quarters, they began to lose footing to the Saints' defense, which sacked Lamar Jackson three times.
Here are the instant takeaways.
Saints Show What a Strong Defense Can Do
The Saints have a Pro Bowl pass rusher in Chase Young, and he made life very difficult for quarterback Lamar Jackson throughout the game. Young found his way to get into the backfield and turned that into 1.5 sacks and two quarterback hits.
New Orleans, in general, was able to get in and rattle Jackson's cage, and things only got worse as the game marched on. On top of getting after Jackson, the Saints were able to mostly silence running back Derrick Henry.
Henry had 68 yards on the ground, but that pales in comparison to the strong Week 1 performance that he had.
Ravens Offensive Line Woes Return
Near the end of the third quarter, the Ravens lost a big player in left tackle Ronnie Stanley. Stanley has been dealing with a toe injury, and he missed practice for two straight days leading up to the Saints matchup.
That toe apparently led to Stanley finally being ruled out, as he left Carson Vinson to finish the game. Right after the veteran stepped out, Jackson was almost immediately sacked.
Baltimore may need to find some quality depth before they run into another situation like this down the line.
Wide Receivers Step Up With Zay Flowers Out
Losing Zay Flowers was a big hit to the receiving room, as was rookie pass catcher Ja'Kobi Lane. With the pair out, Jackson linked up with Rashod Bateman plenty.
Bateman picked up 88 yards and one touchdown on seven receptions, Mark Andrews secured 49 yards on six receptions, and Devontez Walker had one catch for 47 yards.
On all accounts, the receiving room did well with 235 total yards and one touchdown.
Baltimore Starts Fast and Ends Slow
Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey spoke candidly about the "Achilles ' heel" being the team starting fast and ending the game slowly. Despite that, the team rallied in the fourth quarter against the Indianapolis Colts to put the game away.
That same issue reared its ugly head in Week 2. As the Ravens blew a 17-9 lead to allow the Saints to rifle off 15 unanswered points in the fourth quarter.
It may have been the strong defensive showing from the Saints, but the Ravens looked too sloppy when it mattered, and they lost footing as a result.
Baltimore also committed another seven penalties in this game, which heavily impacted the team. It was only for 36 yards, but those are the kinds of things that can stall drives.
Head coach Jesse Minter spoke about the pre-snap penalties being something they have harped on, but that message was clearly not heard.
Now, the Ravens will reset as they will travel to Brazil to take on the Dallas Cowboys in Week 3.
