Ravens OC Reflects on Growth After Championship Loss

Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken is using his past mistakes as a learning experience.

Jan 28, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens running back Gus Edwards (35) carries the ball as Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie (22) defends during the first half in the AFC Championship football game at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports / Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

The Baltimore Ravens had the NFL's best rushing offense last season, which they used to great effect to earn the league's best regular season record at 13-4.

However, that strength was completely neutralized in the AFC Championship Game against the Kansas City Chiefs. In that game, the Ravens ran for just 81 yards in the whole game, barely over half of the regular season average of 156.5 yards per game.

The most disappointing part of the game was the fact that the Ravens completely abandoned the rushing game early on. Of their 16 rushing attempts, half of them came from quarterback Lamar Jackson. Running backs Gus Edwards and Justice Hill each had just three carries, while receiver Zay Flowers had two.

On Thursday, Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken made note of the flawed game plan and how he wants to use it as a learning experience.

"I'm not trying to justify, I promise you that," Monken said. "In general, we needed to run the ball better. That's a fact. You can't control the game if you can't run the football.

"We did give ourselves a chance in the second half. But we've got to attack them the way we planned to attack them, and I've got to a better job. That's what I'm paid to do – to do it against the best when it counts."

"We want to make it better for all of our players, Lamar especially," Monken said. "Streamline it in a way that we become a more consistent offense. I thought there was a lot of good things we did last year. We've got to work to start faster. That's inevitable, but Year 2 we should be able to do that."

Monken is entering his second season with the Ravens, and while the AFC Championship was rough, he overall did a very good job in his first year at the helm. Now with a year of experience under his belt and the Ravens more familiar with his system, another strong season looks to be in the cards.

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