Marlon Humphrey Sends Harsh Message on Ravens Defense After Tough Loss
For much of the Baltimore Ravens‘ Week 1 season-opener against the Buffalo Bills, things were going their way. And then, everything came crashing down at the end of the fourth quarter, with the Bills staging a furious rally to pick up a stunning 41-40 victory. While the team as a whole lost this game, cornerback Marlon Humphrey believes one unit in particular has to shoulder this loss.
Neither defense could do much against the opposing team’s offense, but at the end of the day, it was Buffalo who got the better of Baltimore. Humphrey, like the rest of his teammates, wasn’t happy with the result, and he laid into the Ravens’ defense when looking back at the team’s loss to the Bills.
Marlon Humphrey Calls Out Ravens Defense After Week 1 Loss
Ever since getting selected with the No. 16 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, Humphrey has been one of the leaders of Baltimore’s defense. A four-time Pro Bowler who also earned All-Pro First Team selections in 2019 and 2024, Humphrey has played a big role in helping turn the Ravens into one of the top teams in the league.
That problem is that, when it comes time for Baltimore to deliver in the biggest moments, they often fail to do so. They were tracking towards a huge season-opening win on the road against Buffalo all night long, but they could not close the game out. That was due in large part to the Ravens’ defense being unable to stop Josh Allen and company late in the game to close the game out.
Even though Baltimore lost, it’s tough to get too upset with the offense, as the unit put up 40 points on the night. Instead, Humphrey chose to air out the defense, calling out the group for not being mature enough to protect the leads that Lamar Jackson and the rest of the offense were able to give them in Week 1.
“It’s very clear we got great players on both sides of the ball, but defensively, we have to work on our maturity, too,” Humphrey said when speaking to reporters on Wednesday. “It doesn’t matter what our offense is doing … we have to go out there and win the game. Our maturity level right now is sadly, when we get in those situations, it’s just not good enough.”
Marlon Humphrey, Ravens Looking to Rebound in Week 2
GettyBaltimore Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey celebrates after an interception during the fourth quarter against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium
The good news for the Ravens is that this is only their first game of the season, meaning they have a lot of time to get themselves back on track. However, everyone knows that if they intend to accomplish their main goal of winning a Super Bowl this season, they are going to have to find a way to take down other contenders like the Bills.
Baltimore has to turn the page quickly, as it needs to get its first win of the season in Week 2. The team will have a good shot to do that, though, as they will take on the lowly Cleveland Browns in their second contest of the new season. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, and you can bet the Ravens will be very motivated to come away from this game with a win.
John Morton’s Tactical Edge Could Be Key to Lions’ Week 2 Success
The Detroit Lions did not have a great start to their season on Sunday. In Week 1, they faced their division-rival Green Bay Packers on the road and got destroyed — the final score was 27-13, and even that doesn’t tell the full story, as the Lions scored a late touchdown to make the scoreboard less ugly.
Much of the blame fell on the offense, as the defense did a decent job keeping Detroit in the game in the second half. Sloppy mistakes, poor offensive line play, and the inability to run that ball plagued the Lions in this game. All these things are foreign to this Lions franchise under head coach Dan Campbell, but they reared their ugly heads last week.
Lions offensive coordinator John Morton took to the podium on Thursday to discuss how they’re handling it and what they’ll change moving forward. “So the players have been awesome, great attitudes, great preparation — just like we did last week,” he said. “The bottom line is it’s just about execution. And the details of everything, and then taking some…a little bit less, so guys are playing a little bit faster, so everybody knows exactly what to do.”
“But I’m encouraged. There were some encouraging things in the game, obviously. And then we move on. That’s what we’ve done, great attitude by the guys. How do we fix this? Because that’s — we’re in the ‘fix it’ business as coaches. So Dan [Campbell]’s been awesome, players have been awesome, we had a good practice yesterday, and we’re moving on to Chicago.”
The Detroit Lions Really Struggled on Offense Against the Packers
With only 246 total yards in Green Bay, it was not a banner day for the Lions offense. QB Jared Goff’s box score doesn’t look too bad, going 31/39 for 225 yards and a touchdown, but he had just 5.8 yards per attempt and threw a costly interception deep in Packers territory at the end of the first half.
Detroit’s rushing offense was worse, with 46 rushing yards on the day and a dismal 2.1 yards per attempt. On third downs, the Lions went 5/15 — they struggled to generate yards and sustain drives.
The offensive line was a major reason why. With three new starters on the interior, including two rookies, it’s a very young group with some long-term potential, but right now it’s a struggling unit. LT Taylor Decker and RT Penei Sewell are still elite, but they can only do so much.
The Detroit Lions Had to Replace Both Coordinators This Offseason
Something that maybe didn’t generate as many headlines as it should have was the offseason turnover the Lions experienced on their coaching staff. Former OC Ben Johnson was one of the hottest names on the coaching carousel for years, eventually jumping to take the Bears job. DC Aaron Glenn was also a hot commodity and ended up taking the Jets job.
With both coordinators out, Detroit had to look elsewhere. That was a problem on offense in particular, as Johnson is considered one of the smartest and most creative offensive minds in the game. Replacing him is no mean feat, and Morton was an internal promotion and someone that Campbell trusts.
The early returns aren’t great, especially considering the offensive line woes the Lions experienced. Still, it’s just one game. There’s a lot of season left, and it sounds like Morton has the offense on track to bounce back this week against the Bears.
