Baltimore Ravens: The Need For A More Balanced Offense

The Baltimore Ravens tend to play well when they run the ball more, and the lack of a running game may be one of the reasons for their struggles this season.

It has really seemed like over the past few seasons, the Baltimore Ravens offense has centered itself around quarterback Joe Flacco. Whether or not you believe he’s an elite quarterback (like, you know, Donald Trump does), he has been the centerpiece for the Ravens offense for quite some time.

But should he be? Because the stats seem to suggest otherwise. Since Flacco signed his massive, $120.6M deal before the 2013 season, the Ravens are 21-10 when Flacco throws the ball less than 40 times. If Flacco throws the ball 40 times or more, the Ravens are 3-15.

Now, I understand that some of that is situational, that Flacco is more likely to throw the ball 40+ times when the team is down, however, that’s not always the case. In fact, 21 of the Ravens last 23 games have been decided by one score, and there are more stats that emphasize the importance of a balanced offensive attack for the Baltimore Ravens.

Last season, the Ravens lead the NFL in passing attempts with 676, the most passing attempts for a team in a season since Cleveland in 2013, and they were tied 25th in the league in rushing attempts with 383. As we all know, the team went 5-11 last year, missing the playoffs.

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But in 2014, the Ravens were 11th in the league in rushing attempts with 448, and 17th in passing attempts with 554, and that season ended with them going 10-6 and making the playoffs.

In fact, in the eight seasons that John Harbaugh has been with the Baltimore Ravens, the team has reached the playoffs every season that they’ve ranked in the top-half of the NFL in rushing.

When they struggle to run the ball, like the aforementioned 2015 season or the 2013 season when they ranked 30th in the NFL in rushing, they haven’t made the postseason.

So far this year, Flacco has thrown the ball an average of 44 times a game with 5.96 yards per attempt, which is good for third-worst in the NFL. During the Ravens most recent four-game losing streak, Flacco has thrown the ball 190 times, which is 27 more than any other quarterback in the league.

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There is an unmistakable pattern here: when the Ravens are a pass-first offense, they struggle, and when they’re a balanced offense, they succeed. So far this year, the Ravens are 26th in the NFL in rushing, and if they want to turn this season around, they need to balance out their offense sooner rather than later.

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