Tucker Still a Proud Raven Amidst Red Zone Issues

Despite the Ravens’ offensive red zone challenges against the Tennessee Titans, Justin Tucker is proud to be a part of the team. 

The six-time pro bowler nailed all six of his field goals against Tennessee, helping lead Baltimore to a 24-16 victory that was probably closer than it should have been. And, as usual, Tucker was nothing but a class act after the game. 

“I couldn’t be happier and more proud to be part of a team where every once in a while, I get to be a punctuation, an exclamation point,” said Tucker. “But you guys are the paragraph, you guys are the story. The FG unit … we’re just here to do our jobs, help us win football games, I appreciate you guys giving us the opportunity, hell of a win!”

His faith and support for his teammates paid off last Sunday when the Ravens’ offense was absolutely surgical in their 38-6 demolition of a strong Detroit Lions team. 

So the question is, what were the causes of Baltimore’s early season red zone struggles, and what did Todd Monken & Co. do to orchestrate a complete 180 versus the Lions?

Redzone Struggles: It’s All on Lamar

No, we don’t mean the Baltimore Ravens red zone offense struggles are all Lamar Jackson’s fault. While he’s certainly struggled with turnovers, the real issue is that Monken often over-relied on his star QB to make plays out of thin air. Combine that with a lack of separation from top receivers, and an RB room that can get bogged down on occasion, you have a lot of plays when opposing defenses are fully focused on Lamar Jackson, who rarely had the space to operate effectively either with his arm or his legs. 

This issue was exacerbated by play calling that seemed to get less ambitious as games dragged on. Baltimore’s offense has been astounding all season over their first few scripted drives but has often failed to counter defensive adjustments later in games. 

The first vs second half splits tell you all you need to know. The Ravens have the 6th first half offense in football, averaging just shy of 15 points, while their second half attack sputters to a lowly 20th, averaging south of 10 points. 

Dominating the Lions: What Changed?

Props must be given to the entire Baltimore offense, because they completely flipped the script last week. In perhaps the Ravens’ most dominant win of the last few years, they had an elite red zone percentage, scoring five TDs on six trips inside the 20. 

The reason? We’d chalk it up to unpredictability. As we said earlier, a huge problem for Baltimore in the red zone was how predictable they were. Lamar Jackson was going to scramble, he was probably going to look for his biggest target in Mark Andrews, and defenses were totally keyed in on that. 

But against Detroit, not only was the Baltimore Ravens run game humming, but their red zone targets were more spread out than ever before. Nine different players recorded a reception, the most of any game this season. 

A Turning Point

While it might mean that Justin Tucker will have a bit less work to do, the end of the Ravens’ red zone issues is huge for their playoff ambitions. With a slim lead over the rest of the AFC North, they’ll have to continue to reach the end zone consistently if they want to be playing meaningful games in January. 

If you’re looking for more news about the Ravens or other NFL teams, Overtime Heroics is a great choice.

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