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GOOD, BAD & UGLY: Ravens Deliver a Turkey on Thanksgiving

Saturday, November 29, 2025 12:01
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In my Good, Bad & Ugly following the Ravens v. Jets, I labeled the home team “mediocre”. Four days later, I’m not sure that they are as good as mediocre. The Ravens were exposed by a (3-8) team that was on the road during a short week. Thursday games are usually quite a challenge for the visitors, particularly when they:

  • Give up 32.7 PPG
  • Rank 32nd in points allowed, yards allowed, passing yards allowed, points per drive and yards per drive
  • Rank 31st in rush yards allowed

And there’s more sub-mediocre evidence to consider:

  • The Bengals give up 156 yards rushing per game; the Ravens posted 123.
  • Cincinnati gives up 416 yards per game overall; the Ravens had 346
  • The Big Cats yield 260 yards per game by air; the Ravens had 223.
  • Cincy gave up 19 points less than their 33-point average.

The Bengals were -7 in turnovers while the Ravens were even entering the game. Today Cincinnati sits at -3 while the Ravens are at -4. Over their previous nine games, the Bengals forced a total of six turnovers. They forced five on Thanksgiving in Baltimore.

The Ravens were poorly prepared to play. They were flat and uninspired. It was as if they had just pushed themselves away from a Thanksgiving feast and tryptophan ran their veins like molasses. They failed to match the Bengals’ intensity on all three levels. The Bengals just wanted it more and if you need proof, take a long look at the final score.

Mediocre?

We should be so lucky.

Dave Roesner

If this kind of uninspired play continues, the Ravens might not even finish 2nd in the lowly AFC North. Hey Dave, if you’re out there, hit me up. This “negative and frustrated old man” is dying to know what you think about the Ravens now. Please, enlighten me young, positive grasshopper.

There’s an old adage that goes, “If you don’t learn from the past, you are doomed to repeat it.” And John Harbaugh’s team just seems to ignore the importance of protecting the football. They continue to make big mistakes in critical moments that are rooted in carelessness. This used to happen just during the playoffs. Now, it’s a regular season norm.

Given the inconsistencies of the Ravens combined with their maddening way of falling short of expectations, how the balance of the season plays out is anyone’s guess. Maybe they dust off, collect themselves and put together another run. Maybe they fall flat on their faces. These are the behaviors of mediocre, inconsistent teams.

I’ve heard many people say that the Ravens weren’t the best team in the league during either of their Super Bowl runs – that they just punched their ticket to the postseason dance and got hot at the right time. And while that may be true, this 2025 Ravens team doesn’t possess any of the characteristics that suggest they can do the same. They don’t have the same resolve. They don’t have the same grit. Simply put, this adaptation of the purple and black lacks an identity.

Yesterday I watched the Bears take it to the defending Super Bowl Champions on their home turf. The Bears have an identity. They win games at the line of scrimmage. They protect the football. They force turnovers. They don’t beat themselves. None of these qualities define the Ravens. NONE! Ironically the Ravens, led by Progressive Insurance’s go-to backup Tyler Huntley, are the only team to beat the Bears during Chicago’s last 10 outings.

Go figure!

Now, without further ado, let’s get to a game that was beaten to death with an ugly stick by your hometown team.

THE GOOD

Offense

Derrick Henry registered 60 yards and 1 TD on 10 rushes (6.0 avg.), while adding 44 yards on 1 reception. He put the Ravens on the board with a 29-yard rushing TD on their opening series, capping off a 7-play, 69-yard drive. On his TD run, Henry (now 12,354) surpassed Hall of Famer Jim Brown (12,312) for 11th on the NFL’s all-time rushing yards list.

Shockingly, Henry stood on the sidelines for an extended period, while draped in a winter coat. He didn’t touch the ball the entire second quarter. It left viewers wondering if The King was injured. But no…this was just Todd Monken getting cute again, tinkering with all his toys like an overstimulated child on Christmas morning. Same shit, different game.

Keaton Mitchell posted 19 yards and 1 TD on 2 carries (9.5 avg.), while catching 2 passes for 12 yards. He found the end zone on an 18-yard rush in the third quarter, reducing the deficit to 19-14. But Todd Monken can’t get this house call waiting to happen more than 4 touches in a game?

Isaiah Likely had 5 catches for 95 yards, but it was that 96th yard that was so costly. His fumble while extending towards the goal line, ripped the game’s momentum out of the Ravens hands.

Defense

The Ravens held the Bengals to 1-of-6 in the red zone and 0-for-2 in goal-to-go situations. Their defensive stand when the Bengals started a drive at the Ravens 2-yard line following a Jackson fumble, was clutch – at least at the time with the Ravens holding on to a 7-3 lead.

Skipping right over THE BAD and to…

THE UGLY

Offense

Over the course of the last 3 games, Lamar Jackson has morphed into playoff Lamar. He’s careless with the football, indecisive and now he’s added accuracy issues that we all thought were well in the review mirror. He just doesn’t look right.

Bengals at Ravens 2025

We could debate the extent of Lamar’s injuries and their effect on his game. We could debate the impact of a pathetic offensive line. We could debate the inept play calling and the incredibly archaic way in which Monken deploys his assets. And each debate has merit. But at the end of the day, the $52M/year man just isn’t playing to the level of his contract and the way that GM Eric DeCosta has constructed this roster, No. 8 needs to play like Superman, otherwise, the Ravens have no chance to beat good teams.

Hey, has anyone seen Rashod Bateman?

What more can be said about the Ravens offensive line that hasn’t already been said? Well, how about this – they made the Bengals defensive front seem like the second coming of the Monsters of the Midway. Entering the game the Bengals had 15 sacks in 11 games, mostly with Trey Hendrickson. On Thursday night the Bengals had 3 sacks and 5 QB pressures and that’s with Lamar Jackson at QB. Offensive line coach George Warhop has been criticized of late and rightly so. Did the loss of Patrick Mekari impact the offensive line THIS much?

Every single week there’s another “highlight reel” from Daniel Faalele. It’s a clown show! Opposing defensive coordinators watching film of the NFL’s answer to the Keystone Cops probably can’t control their enthusiasm.

What a sad, pathetic attempt to field this level of talent to protect their $52M/year man. It represents malpractice on the part of the personnel department. Does this qualify as “beating a dead horse”?

The turnovers. My God the turnovers. The carelessness with the football is unprecedented in Ravens history. Lamar, Zay Flowers, Likely. All playmakers trying to do too much and eventually, they fail to protect the football. In their desperate attempts to make plays, to perhaps spark fire in a team that looked like a cold, damp doormat on a late November evening, they lose perspective and then the football. And then the game.

Hey Dave, how’s my frustrated, old man act going so far?

Defense

Here comes another dead horse to beat. Good quarterbacks will carve up the Ravens defense. They get stonewalled trying to get to the quarterback with four pass rushers. Sending five doesn’t do much more and then the secondary is asked to cover for far too long. Even if they are a half-step away from a receiver, a QB like Joe Burrow with a clean pocket, can pick apart a secondary. Send more players after the QB, and opposing quarterbacks will carve up a defense like a Sumu wrestler might tear up a buffet at the Golden Corral…Six times Burrow faced a 3rd-and-9 or worse and he converted four times, twice for touchdowns. Each was a dagger.

COACHING

John Harbaugh

Todd Monken

When the Ravens season comes to a crashing halt, to the dismay of many, John Harbaugh will return. The team will spin it in the carefully crafted way that they’re known for. Harbaugh will play the role of politician – it’s what he does best. But they’ll need a fall guy and fall guy in Baltimore is spelled, M-O-N-K-E-N.

There’s little doubt that Monken deserves criticism. But you have to wonder how much the ineptitude of Messrs. Vorhees and Faalele (admittedly I think of a Christmas Carol when I say that name) influences his play calling and personnel packages.

But I can’t defend how they execute screens; I can’t defend the way they fail to exploit the vulnerabilities of a Cover 0 defense; I can’t defend why Rasheen Ali had 29 offensive snaps while Henry had 24 and Mitchell 8; I can’t explain why Bateman had 44 snaps and 1 target without a catch.

I could go on but that dead horse comes to mind again. And he hasn’t moved since the last beating.

Zach Orr

Earlier this season Harbaugh was asked if former DC Dean Pees was still involved with the team. Harbaugh acknowledged that he was. And the question that should have screamed out to everyone is, “If you need to call on a semi-retired, 76-year-old coach, then the defensive coordinator you have isn’t competent enough.”

Nothing has changed. Nothing will change unless someone forces a change or changes.

You still with me Dave?

The Jimmy’s Famous Seafood Big Crab Cake (Unsung Hero)

Lost in the mess of this incredibly deflating loss is the outstanding performance delivered by Travis Jones. Jones had 6 tackles, and he never stopped chopping despite the lopsided score that probably persuaded others to dial it back and live to see the next game. Jones added a TFL and a QB hit to his outing to go with a forced fumble and fumble recovery.

Let’s also give Travis the Captain DEE-Fense Player of the Game too.

Captain Dee-Fense

Next up, the Steelers, for the AFC North lead.

Shockingly, the Ravens are currently listed as 6 ½ point favorites.

The post GOOD, BAD & UGLY: Ravens Deliver a Turkey on Thanksgiving appeared first on Russell Street Report.


Source: https://russellstreetreport.com/2025/11/29/gbu-paige-spiranac/bengals-at-ravens-2025/


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