‘We need to be better’: Ravens’ offensive line struggles in loss to Bills, and the cost is huge

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ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Ravens’ last quarterback standing needed an ice pack. Lamar Jackson’s right thumb was already in a hard cast, his season potentially over, and Tyler Huntley’s injured toe was in pain, his short-term availability in question, which meant it was Joe Fagnano who stood at the podium after a bruising 36-10 loss Sunday to the Buffalo Bills.

Fagnano, who a year ago Sunday was starting for Connecticut in a win against UAB, was asked how he was feeling. CBS cameras had captured him treating an apparent lower leg injury in the second half. The undrafted rookie put on a brave face.

“After a football game, you’re always going to have bumps and bruises,” Fagnano said, his eyes downcast. He was optimistic he would be ready for Thursday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but maybe that was because he had to be optimistic. “We’ll kind of see, but, uhh ... yeah. Yeah.”

The Ravens’ pocket was a dangerous place Sunday. Jackson lasted one play there, a play-action drop-back; his right hand struck Bills outside linebacker Greg Rousseau as Jackson followed through on a pass. Huntley lasted just five drop-backs before leaving with a toe injury that he appeared to suffer on a first-quarter hit. Fagnano was sacked three times in three quarters.

The damage to the Ravens’ season, which started with Super Bowl hopes, could be irreparable. Jackson, the engine of their offense, will undergo surgery and be placed on injured reserve, coach Jesse Minter said. It’s uncertain whether he’ll return this season. Huntley, a serviceable backup, could be sidelined, too. The team’s playoff odds after a third straight loss have dropped to 24%, according to The Athletic.

For the Ravens’ offense to stabilize, their offensive line will have to stabilize first. Against a blitz-happy Bills pass rush that entered Sunday ranked second-to-last in the NFL in pressure rate (30%) and 25th in sack rate (4.2%), according to NFL Next Gen Stats, the Ravens were bullied and bamboozled. They were pressured on 55% of their drop-backs. They allowed a quick pressure (2.5 seconds or less) on 20% of their drop-backs. Huntley was strip-sacked once, and Fagnano narrowly avoided a second.

The Ravens’ rushing attack barely offered more of a lifeline, finishing with 76 yards (4 per carry) and the offense’s lone touchdown. Running back Derrick Henry had 11 carries for 53 yards, his third straight game under 100 yards and his sixth in seven weeks falling short of the mark.

“It’s honestly a tough eval right now, especially when you kind of have a game plan, and you have your starting quarterback out there and then that goes down,” Minter said of the offensive line. “Have to look at it and see where we can improve.”

From their first play, the Ravens (4-4) were in trouble. Right tackle Roger Rosengarten squared up Rousseau as Jackson faked a handoff to Henry, but Rousseau worked himself free once he recognized Jackson had the ball. As Rousseau accelerated toward Jackson, he batted Rosengarten’s hands away, softening the corner he had to turn.

Rosengarten said he knew he needed to keep Rousseau “one hand away” from Jackson. He could not.

“That’s the stuff that — it all falls on my shoulders,” Rosengarten said glumly. “Got to focus on next week and make the corrections.”

No one fared well up front. Rosengarten and left tackle Ronnie Stanley each allowed a game-high six pressures on 31 drop-backs, according to NGS, with Stanley tagged with three quick pressures and Rosengarten with two sacks. Left guard John Simpson and right guard Andrew Vorhees, making his first start since Week 4 in place of the injured Vega Ioane (knee), each allowed four pressures. Center Cam Jurgens allowed three to Buffalo (6-1).

Inconsistency and injuries have dogged the line all season. The Ravens’ starting five Sunday was their sixth combination in eight games. Only Simpson and Rosengarten have started every game. Jurgens, acquired in early October to help stabilize the middle of the line after a rash of injuries, could finish his first season in Baltimore having played just one snap with Jackson, who was returning from a high-ankle sprain suffered in Week 4.

“I’ve been playing football for a long time, and this is just part of the game,” Jurgens said. “It’s always ‘next man up,’ and it’s always tough. First play happens, and that happens, but you always have to have a mentality. It’s always next play, next man. And I thought guys fought hard, and my execution wasn’t good enough today.”

Justice Hill, the Ravens’ top pass-blocking running back, said the offense (season-low 144 yards) needs to do “everything” better. But he acknowledged that “everything [is] starting up front.” The Ravens’ issues Sunday echoed their struggles last season, when starting guards Daniel Faalele and Vorhees turned into frequent punching bags for critics.

After Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum signed a record-breaking deal this offseason with the Las Vegas Raiders, general manager Eric DeCosta signed Simpson to a three-year, $30 million deal, drafted Ioane in the first round and lined up several contingency plans at center. DeCosta conceded before the season that he didn’t know how good the Ravens’ line would be in September; his belief was that it would be good enough by December and January for a potential postseason run.

Those dreams have quickly faded. First-string center Danny Pinter suffered a season-ending knee injury in August, and reserves Jovaughn Gwyn and Ethan Pocic suffered significant leg and knee injuries, respectively, in Week 3. Stanley, Simpson, Ioane, Vorhees and guard Emery Jones Jr. have all been banged up this fall. Even Jurgens, after his trade, was out for a week longer than expected while he cleared the NFL’s concussion protocol.

“We need to be better,” Rosengarten said. He added: “It’s challenging, but no excuses. This is the NFL. This is the league of injuries. The combinations — it doesn’t matter who’s out there. Got to execute when it comes to Sundays.”

The Ravens’ hope is that better days are ahead for their line. Their fear is that those days will arrive too late for this season to matter.