'That Kind of Game!' John Harbaugh On Ravens Lack Of Rushing Attack In AFC Title Loss

Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh has been left to pick up the pieces and answer why the team's offensive game plan in their AFC Championship loss wasn't what fans expected.

For a team that dominated the NFL regular season to a 13-4 record and set records on both sides of the ball, the Baltimore Ravens saw all that go up in smoke in just three hours last week in their AFC Championship loss. 

It's left fans still trying to figure out how and why the 17-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs even happened at M&T Bank Stadium. 

Even their head coach couldn't fully understand it ... as much as he tried to. 

USA Today

A big reason for the team's struggles on offense last week came from their lack of aggression on the ground. Baltimore running backs carried the ball just six times while averaging just under four yards a carry. For a unit that led the league in rushing this year, their abandonment of the run was a clear sign that the Chiefs' defense was in control.

"A lot of what we were doing was directed at the line of scrimmage by what the defense gave us. And the defense was lined up to take away the run, “Harbaugh said. “The next thing would be to bring it in tight and run the ball out of heavy formations and wide receivers blocking the edge and protecting the edge that way. We could have done it that way, but we were down. We wanted to keep the formations open and give ourselves the best chance to try to move the ball and score points.”

Baltimore's long-time head coach further explained that while the defense took the running game away at times in Sunday's loss, it was the Kansas City offense that made it hard for any sort of rhythm to be built at home. 

"[We] had the ball for nine minutes in the first half," Harbaugh stated. "So those two long drives [by the Chiefs] took us out of the opportunity to call any kind of plays. Then, we didn’t convert. We had mistakes. [The Chiefs] stopped us. They made plays. We were off the field right away after that first drive. I think all those things played into it.”

Mistakes were certainly a big reason why Baltimore will watch Super Bowl LVIII at home. The Ravens turned the ball over three times - two of them in the red zone. 

As Kansas City's defense continued to shine, it was clear that Baltimore was out-coached in key moments - especially from an adjustments standpoint. 

But Harbaugh's staff should not receive all blame for the loss either. While the rushing game struggled to get any traction, the lack of aggression shown in MVP front-runner Lamar Jackson also played a role. 

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Jackson may have run the ball eight times for 54 yards, but it seemed that the Chiefs were certainly willing to let him beat them on the ground. On many occasions, the top scrambling quarterback in football simply chose not to run. 

A quarterback who refused to run at times, a coaching staff that abandoned what worked for the team all year, and turnovers were all central reasons why the Ravens won't be in Las Vegas this week. 

It'll be up to all three phases to try and get back to the same game next year.