The Baltimore Ravens are red-hot when it’s time to punch it in.
Finishing promising drives can frequently be the difference between win and failure in the NFL, and happily for the Baltimore Ravens, they’re excelling in that department.
Remarkably, the Ravens have scored touchdowns on 14 of their previous 15 red-zone opportunities, with the lone exception being an overtime game-winning field goal last week against the Cincinnati Bengals. They’ve also scored touchdowns on 75 percent of their red-zone possessions this season, tied for the second-best rate in the league behind the New Orleans Saints at 76.47 percent.
There’s no specific secret to the Ravens’ red-zone success, but it is a credit to the skill they have on offense.
“[We have] good players. Good players help you score down there,” offensive coordinator Todd Monken told reporters Thursday. “You have a running back who can score when it’s not perfect; you have a quarterback that can score when it’s not perfect; you have tight ends that you like in the red zone; you have wideouts that can separate; you have an O-line that continues to grow, so that gives us the best chance. I think our staff does a terrific job of being creative.
Monken, now in his second season with Baltimore, says the enhanced attention on red-zone offense goes back to the Ravens’ game against the Tennessee Titans in London last season. While the Ravens won the game 24-16, they did so while kicking six field goals, five of which occurred in the red zone (and the other was just outside of it). After that game, the Ravens understood they had some concerns to fix.
“Since London, where we basically tried to win a game by kicking as many field goals as we could, we’ve made it a priority to change who we were, and what we’re going to be moving ahead, and how we do it. It’s continually developing,” Monken added. “We’re always sitting there going, ‘OK, what’s next? What can we do now?’ Because we recognise how vital that is to winning.
“It’s one of the top five reasons you win is scoring touchdowns in the red zone. I think our staff has done a terrific job; we have really good players. To me, it’s the main thing — extremely good players and a staff that does a wonderful job of game-planning and designing how we attack somebody.”
The Ravens seek to keep their red-zone success going when they play the Washington Commanders on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
