Game Recap - Ravens at Jaguars

If you couldn't imagine a worse offensive night for the Ravens than the one they had in Jacksonville, you aren't alone.

Head Coach John Harbaugh couldn't either.

"It's about as bad as you can play on offense," Harbaugh said. "I don't know if you can play worse than that."

Playing against a Jacksonville Jaguars team that had lost five straight games, on the grand Monday Night Football stage, the Ravens' offense doomed Baltimore to a 12-7 loss.

The Ravens had never lost to a team with a record like this in Harbaugh's era. Only twice had they fallen to a team with a losing record, and both were 0-1.

Monday night's loss halts Baltimore's three-game win streak and unseats them from first place in the AFC North. The Pittsburgh Steelers are now atop the division at 5-2 while the Ravens are 4-2.

The offense's performance will certainly raise questions as to whether the Ravens have the firepower to make a postseason run as many were predicting.

"If we don't get consistency on offense we're not going anywhere," Harbaugh said. "We can't play like we did tonight on offense and expect to accomplish anything. We got our butts handed to us in that sense and we're going to get back to work like we always do."

If it weren't for one late-game drive, the Ravens would have set multiple franchise single-game offensive lows, including fewest total yards. They also barely avoided their first shutout since 2004.

Even so, here's the offensive damage:

• The Ravens tallied 16 total offensive yards in the first half, a new franchise low.
• Baltimore had zero first downs in the first half, tying a franchise low last set in 2005. They didn't get a first down until about 40 minutes into the game.
• The Ravens finished with 146 total offensive yards.
• Baltimore went 2-of-12 on third down.
• Quarterback Joe Flacco finished 21-of-38 for 137 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
• Running back Ray Rice had eight carries for 28 yards and lost his first fumble in 522 consecutive regular-season touches, breaking the NFL's longest streak without coughing up the ball.

Add it all up and it's a night to forget for the Ravens' offense, which entered the game ranked 14th in the NFL in total yards.

Asked if he could explain what happened, Flacco originally said, "Not really."

He later pointed to the offense's youth, saying they knew they would be growing throughout the course of the season. Injuries to starting guard Ben Grubbs and wide receiver Lee Evans also loomed large considering the line yielded a lot of pressure and the receivers had trouble breaking free.

"I think you guys can see it," Flacco said. "We felt it. It wasn't good football. … It was bad football."

Despite the offense's struggles, the Ravens still had a chance to win because of their league-leading defense.

The defense surrendered only field goals, including three of over 50 yards. It held Jacksonville to just two of 16 on third down and 205 total yards, only 59 more than Baltimore's offense notched.

But with the Ravens' offense struggling, Jacksonville could play it safe and essentially took the ball out of the hands of rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbert, who completed just 9 of 20 passes for 93 yards.

Instead, Jacksonville pounded the ball with Pro Bowler Maurice Jones-Drew, who had 105 yards on 30 carries. He's the first running back to notch more than 100 yards rushing against the Ravens defense this season.

Jones-Drew fumbled the ball three times, and Gabbert fumbled it once more. But the Ravens were able to recover just one, which kept the heat off Jacksonville's defense that hardly played from its side of the field all night.

Even with seemingly everything going wrong, Baltimore had an opportunity to escape with a win.

The Ravens' offense finally got going with 5:22 remaining in the fourth quarter and marched 90 yards using the no-huddle and shotgun passing. Flacco connected with Anquan Boldin on a five-yard touchdown to bring the Ravens to within two points.

With just more than two minutes left, the Ravens opted for an onside kick and recovered. But Billy Cundiff's kick fell a half-yard short of the required 10 yards and Jacksonville was automatically awarded possession.

The Jaguars booted another field goal and the Ravens had one final opportunity to score a game-winning touchdown with 1:43 remaining in regulation, but Flacco's night ended about as well as it started. His second pass was intercepted by Jacksonville cornerback Drew Coleman, sealing the loss.

Baltimore will now have a short week to shake off the loss before facing the Arizona Cardinals, another one-win team at M&T Bank Stadium.

"In this game there are valleys and peaks," linebacker Terrell Suggs said. "This game is very low for us. But we have to get over it very quick. We better learn for our mistakes. Going forward, we can't drop any more games like this."