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Ravens Eye View: Week 12 vs. Jaguars

QB Lamar Jackson
QB Lamar Jackson

The Ravens had a chance to take a big lead in Jacksonville, but settling for field goals on their first three trips to the red zone ended up biting them in a 28-27 loss.

On Monday, Head Coach John Harbaugh said "we're going to look at everything" and that it's "critical" to start scoring touchdowns in the red zone.

"It's two things always; it's going to be execution and scheme, and it's scheme and execution," Harbaugh said. "So, that has been a major focus for us as coaches to try to get the right plays up down there. At times, we've had the right plays and we haven't executed them."

Here's a look at the Ravens' five trips to the red zone in Jacksonville:

First red-zone trip

It appears Lamar Jackson has a brief open window over the middle to tight end Josh Oliver, but Jackson didn't feel comfortable with that option. With good protection from extra blockers, he waited and tried to float a pass over linebacker Chad Muma's head, but it was out of reach for Oliver.

After a delay of game penalty and then a short pass for five yards to Mark Andrews, the Ravens were back at the 10-yard line with a pass as the only real option.

The Ravens went four wide and the Jaguars brought a four-man rush with man coverage on the outside and zone over the middle on Devin Duvernay. With pressure in his face, Jackson moves outside the pocket and with nobody open, Jackson throws it away instead of trying to force it to Duvernay.

Second red-zone trip

On the outer fringe of the red zone, the Ravens get going with a nice gain by Jackson. He does well reading the outside linebacker and keeping the ball, and easily beats the defenders to the edge with help from blocks by Andrews and Pat Ricard.

Gus Edwards rarely is stopped for no gain, and it's even more unusual to see him go for a loss, but Jaguars linebacker Foyesade Oluokun, who finished with a whopping 18 tackles, blasts pulling guard Ben Powers to make the stop.

Morgan Moses is bull rushed into Jackson's lap, making him bounce outside again. This time, Jackson makes a spectacular throw on the move to Demarcus Robinson, who doesn't look at all open when the pass is released but breaks free in the back of the end zone. Robinson closes a lot of ground to make a play on the ball, but doesn't haul in the catch on the diving attempt.

Third red-zone trip

The Ravens dial up another Jackson read-option run and he again keeps it himself instead of handing it to Justice Hill. This time, Muma does a good job of filling all the gaps and allowing his teammates to rally to take Jackson down for a loss.

Offensive Coordinator Greg Roman calls another run and Muma defeats the block from Oliver to make a stop on Hill for just a gain of 3.

The Jaguars play man coverage outside on James Proche and Robinson, who both run slants over the middle at different depths. On the other side, the Jaguars drop multiple defenders into zone coverage to take away Andrews, who Jackson is looking at from the start. Jackson thinks about trying to zip a tight pass to Andrews, but pulls it down to run instead and is swallowed up.

Fourth red-zone trip

This is where things get better, as the Ravens finish for a touchdown. But it doesn't come easy.

The Ravens have another read-option run, this time using Duvernay as a speed threat on a jet sweep. Baltimore also draws the Jaguars' inside linebackers towards the sideline with Edwards as a decoy lead blocker and Powers pulling out wide. Jackson has a huge hole and nearly powers his way through the safety for a touchdown.

On the 1-yard line, the Ravens have a well-designed fake with Andrews faking as a blocker before releasing into the end zone. He's wide open but just drops the on-target pass.

This time, Baltimore calls on "The Bus" to be a sledgehammer at the goal line and Edwards shows great determination and power, slamming into the defensive tackle who breaks loose from Tyler Linderbaum and continuing to churn his legs for the touchdown.

Fifth red-zone trip

With just more than two minutes left and the Jaguars down to one timeout, the Ravens go for the jugular. Again, the Ravens use their tight ends, with Oliver starting as a blocker before releasing into a crosser that's wide open. He punches it into the end zone for the score.

Oliver would have needed to go down at the 1-yard line to pick up a first down but not score. The Jaguars still had the two-minute warning and then would've used their final timeout, so the Ravens could not have gotten the clock under a minute before a field-goal attempt to take the lead. Harbaugh said milking more time off the clock was "definitely a consideration, and we would have probably gone more for that if we thought we could milk it all the way down."

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