Josh Tolentino: Ravens win again, but offensive questions remain | COMMENT

In the final moments of the Ravens’ final win, the big screen at M&T Bank Stadium displayed the latest accomplishments in Derrick Henry’s career — his 30th multitouchdown game and his rise to pass Marcus Allen and Edgerrin James in the all-time rushing streak — while live-streaming the future Hall of Famer in purple.

The fans cheered, but Henry, sitting on the home bench, didn’t look up or acknowledge his latest achievement.

As Henry continued to keep his head down, his non-reaction represented the body language of one of the team’s top playmakers measuring the offense against a higher internal standard.

Of course, the Ravens continued to win. Their 23-10 win over the Jets was their fifth straight as they climbed above .500 for the first time this season.

But the Ravens tried harder, especially on offense — a unit that hasn’t scored a home opener since Sept. 28 at Kansas City.

Ask anyone about the state of the offense inside the celebratory home dressing room, where Henry’s post-match interview lasted a minute, and you’ll receive a similar response.

“Good, we won. Look forward to Thursday,” said Henry. “We have to be better. We have to be better offensively.”

Asked to elaborate on what the offense could improve on, Henry responded: “Playing better. Executing. I don’t know what else to say. We just need to play better and get 11 guys executing and playing together, putting together drives and putting up points.”

Center Tyler Linderbaum shared the same frustration that Henry did: “We still need to improve. You have to find ways to win ball games. It certainly helps when you have a good defense, they’re certainly playing at a high level. Of course, we want to play at a higher level as well. We’re going to keep looking and keep trying to improve.”

The Ravens missed all five of their third down attempts in the first half Sunday and accounted for just 72 total yards in 24 plays, marking their lowest yardage output in a half of the season. They eventually put together enough key plays to crawl to victory.

Quarterback Lamar Jackson completed 13 of 23 passes for just 153 yards; the Ravens have now had 10 games this season with fewer than 200 passing yards, compared to just five in 2024. Jackson also posted his lowest and second-lowest passer rating of the season in back-to-back weeks.

Jackson refused to admit that his pace was slowing or that some lower-body injuries were affecting him. However, when you watch the NFL’s Most Valuable Player twice, it’s clear that Jackson played with some kind of limitations that affected his fear and speed.

Jackson said: “We just need to execute better. We were in good field position, but we weren’t scoring points.”

What does a sluggish unit need to turn things around?

With six regular season games remaining, coordinator Todd Monken will need to adjust to personnel limitations. He doesn’t have a healthy Jackson right now and continues to overcome a disappointing offensive line that ranks 27th in pass blocking, according to Pro Football Focus.

Baltimore’s run blocking ranked ninth in the NFL, but Henry averaged just 3 yards per carry against the Jets, his third-lowest mark of the season. Sunday also marked Henry’s fourth game of the season with fewer than 4 yards per carry. For stark comparison, Henry posted a single-game rushing average lower than 4 yards just once all last season.

Feed.

After acquiring defensive end Dre’Mont Jones and safety Alohi Gilman before the trade deadline, general manager Eric DeCosta did not make any additions to bolster the offense, representing a similar approach to last offseason. The only reinforcement is the return of full-back Patrick Ricard from a calf injury; he made his season debut in late October, and the Ravens have gone 5-0 since. Even with Ricard’s influence in the running game, the offense has yet to find a consistent rhythm.

This is especially surprising considering the Ravens rely on continuity in the trenches.

Besides allowing Patrick Mekari to walk in free agency and trading him for Andrew Vorhees at left guard, the Ravens continued to use the same starters in left tackle Ronnie Stanley, Linderbaum, right guard Daniel Faalele and right tackle Roger Rosengarten.

“We have to be on the same page, be very efficient in the first instance,” Rosengarten said. “There are many things to do [offensive success]but accepting the play call, doing your job and doing it at a high physical level.”

Veteran defensive back Marlon Humphrey emphasized that the team’s mindset remains strong, even if its offensive execution is not.

“Early in the season, the defense, we were the worst in the league, and the offense wasn’t really going our way,” said Humphrey, who threw a fumble-saving touchdown on Jets running back Breece Hall.

“I think this team is really starting to come together. … It seems like we’re all working toward something, even when something goes wrong, if the offense isn’t right, we still build each other off. So, it’s very encouraging.”

Another veteran, DeAndre Hopkins, offered his perspective: “I still find satisfaction in winning. This is the NFL. A win is a win, so it doesn’t matter how it happens. I came here because I knew they had Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry here. Those guys are playing for something. I feel like we just clicked to win and that’s all that matters, man. You look at teams in the league whose records don’t match ours, but statistically they could be ranked as one of the top offenses. I’d rather be in this position than the best statistically on paper.”

The Ravens’ offense, led by playmakers including Jackson, Henry, wide receivers Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman and Hopkins, and Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely, feels unreliable at the moment. Baltimore will show flashes, but the Ravens, more often than not in recent weeks, have shown a sense of recklessness that won’t go away.

This is pretty annoying, especially considering we witnessed the peak of the unit in Week 1. The first three quarters of Buffalo’s season opener showed immense offensive strength. However, the defense has adapted to the Jackson-Henry duo.

Monken should do the same.

The Ravens have won five straight, but the structural challenges of an offense struggling in the red zone and critical downs remain.

Next is the very important closing session. Of the remaining six games, Baltimore has four divisional games against the Bengals and Steelers.

Which version of this offense will emerge when the stakes rise in January? Will the Ravens put together a complete four-quarter performance before then?

This season still holds great promise. But soon, the offense must stop resting on potential and start producing results that live up to the standards Henry and his teammates hold themselves to.

Have a news tip? Contact Josh Tolentino at jtolentino@baltsun.com410-332-6200, x.com/JCTSports And instagram.com/JCTSports.

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