The Ravens lost to the Chiefs in part because the Ravens lost sight of what the Ravens do well. And what they do well is run the ball.
Meanwhile, the Chiefs aren’t great against the run. That could have allowed the Ravens to sustain drives, to control the clock, and to keep Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes on the sideline.
Instead, the Ravens ran the ball only 16 times on Sunday. The Chiefs, in contrast, ran 32 times.
Baltimore running backs Gus Edwards (three for 20 yards) and Justice Hill (three for three yards) combined for six carries. Running back Dalvin Cook didn’t even play. (Cook, along with quarterback Tyler Huntley, were the only Ravens players in uniform who didn’t participate in at least one snap.)
Ravens coach John Harbaugh had no specifics when asked about the lack of commitment to the run.
“It was that kind of a game, I’d say,” he said. “That’s the way it worked out. [That’s] the way the game went.”
Tackle Morgan Moses was asked whether he was surprised the offense didn’t run the ball more, especially early in the game.
“No,” Moses told reporters. “Obviously, [the Chiefs] game-planned like we game-planned. We block [for] what’s called. At the end of the day, we just fell short of some things today. That’s what it is.”
What it was was not a great game plan from the Ravens and offensive coordinator Todd Monken.
While it’s important at this stage of the season to make changes, it’s also important to remember what works. What works for the Ravens is running the ball.
The other benefit of running the ball in the last game before the Super Bowl is that it allows a physical team like the Ravens to set the tone, without the extra moving parts of a passing game that can lead to mistakes, especially when one team has no conference championship experience — and when the other has played in six such games in a row.
The Ravens would have been wise to stick with a run-heavy approach. To push the pile. To move the chains. To work the clock. To shorten the game.
Instead, their season ended up one game short of where they hoped it would.
