Frustrations were clearly boiling over for the Ravens on Thanksgiving.
The concern surrounding Baltimore’s offense, which has been sputtering for nearly the entire season, hit a fever pitch Thursday night when it sputtered against a bad Bengals defense in a 32-14 home loss.
Quarterback Lamar Jackson expressed loads of frustration with the offense’s showing, which included five turnovers, including three by the two-time MVP.
“I can’t describe the level of frustration. I’m ticked off,” Jackson said. “Turnovers are a big part of winning or losing games. Turning the ball over and giving them an extra possession pushes the outcome.”
At one point, Jackson appeared furious after a missed fourth-quarter throw to Zay Flowers that could have easily gone for a big gain had it been on target.
But the turnovers were the most embarrassing part of the loss for the star.
“Can’t have that s–t,” Jackson said. “That’s why we lost the game. As you can see, we move the ball wonderfully, it’s … hold on to the f–ing ball. Sorry for the language. That s–t’s annoying. I’m tired of this s–t.”
The game for the Ravens ended pretty on brand, as Flowers caught a short pass for a gain before having the ball ripped free by the Bengals’ defense.
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Cincinnati came into this game at 3-8 and one of the worst defenses in recorded history, according to FTN’s Aaron Schatz, the founder of DVOA.
Turnovers aren’t normally an area of concern in the regular season, but they’ve been Jackson’s undoing in the playoffs.
In last year’s AFC divisional round, Jackson and the Ravens lost the turnover battle, 3-0, as the Bills avoided mistakes to advance to the conference championship.
The loss has a resounding effect on their AFC playoff standings, as the Ravens (6-6) fell behind the Steelers for first place in the AFC North, while the Bengals pulled to just two games out despite their 4-8 mark.
Baltimore sits in the 10th spot in the AFC playoff picture, two games in the loss column behind the Bills, who own the seventh and final spot.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
