“If you want to draw some big cosmic thread, you draw it for every single team in the league except the team that wins. It’s a big challenge.” Ravens coach John Harbaugh sounds like a man chasing ghosts. The AFC North crown sits proudly on their shelf, clinched for the fifth straight year, yet the postseason keeps slipping through their fingers. Owing to some cosmic power, maybe?
A playoff loss a day keeps the Flock in dismay. Since 2018, the Ravens have lost six times in the playoffs, and each time, the turnover margin has told the story: 15 giveaways to just 2 takeaways. The math is brutal. “It’s how football works,” Harbaugh said, almost a defeated man. But even the raw numbers can’t really justify why this canon event keeps on recycling itself with Lamar Jackson.
Jackson’s slide in ESPN’s quarterback rankings shot everyone’s eyebrows up to the heavens. Dropping below Joe Burrow surprised many, but one reason stood out. The playoff curse. Despite Jackson’s dual-threat brilliance and red zone dominance, his 3-5 postseason record continues to haunt him. The Ravens, after another early exit, are finally addressing the elephant in the locker room. This time, the accountability came from within, landing squarely on offensive coordinator Todd Monken.
Monken faced the tough questions in the true spirit of leadership. “It’s doing a better job of — myself — helping us get into a better play, maybe a better protection, concept, anticipating it.” At Baltimore’s end-of-season press conference, coach John Harbaugh praised Monken for his first two seasons and signaled confidence with a contract extension. But that extension also raises expectations. Monken is now expected to elevate the Ravens beyond just regular-season greatness.
Todd Monken was asked about Lamar Jackson and the offense’s struggles against man blitzes:
“It doesn’t make any sense in some ways because we have guys who can separate. So against man, that [part] isn’t really an issue.
“It’s doing a better job of – myself – helping us get…
— Sarah Ellison (@sgellison) July 26, 2025
But for now, Monken is puzzled by how little all the hard work translated to playoff success. “But for sure it’s crazy when you look at the statistic, and you’re like, ‘How were we not [better] when there are so many other areas that we were elite at?’” Under Monken, the Ravens‘ offense wasn’t dormant. In fact, they soared. Last year, they led the league with 424.9 yards per game — a first in the franchise’s 29-year history.
While all these numbers are undeniable, at the end of the season, the playoff loss stings. Monken was hired to improve Baltimore’s passing game. On paper, he delivered. Lamar Jackson posted career highs in both passing yards (4,172) and touchdown passes (41). Yet when it mattered most, in the Divisional round against the Chiefs, the Ravens fell flat.
Adding irony to injury, some of Monken’s own schemes and Jackson’s brilliant play have definitely brought on some sort of collective league vendetta.
Todd Monken’s head-scratcher offensive data
It was not only the best offense in Ravens history. It was one of the best the league has ever seen. Baltimore became the first team in NFL history to throw for 4,000 yards and rush for over 3,000. They also became the first team to log at least 40 passing touchdowns and 20 rushing scores in one season. The not-so-secret weapon behind those monster numbers? Lamar Jackson’s elite ability to shake off the blitz, the very thing that usually sinks playoff quarterbacks.
But what is truly shocking about those numbers is the story behind them. Jackson saw man coverage on 50% of his dropbacks and blitzes on 53% — both the highest in the league. Those numbers are far above the NFL averages of 27% and 26%. Defenses around the league stopped playing fair. They abandoned traditional coverages and threw chaos at Jackson. He was man-blitzed on 37% of dropbacks. That is more than triple the league norm. If it feels personal, it probably was.
The Bills certainly treated it like a mission, throwing the kitchen sink. After getting carved up by Lamar Jackson earlier in the season, they showed up in the playoffs with a bloodthirst. In the Divisional round, they man-blitzed on 47.6% of early-down throws. For the entire game, 37% of Jackson’s dropbacks were blitzed with man coverage — again, three times their regular average. The result (thanks in no small part to some slippery hands from Mark Andrews) was as expected: Baltimore fell, 27-25, to Buffalo.
Just for context, Buffalo blitzed with man coverage on only 11.7% of dropbacks during the regular season. That ranked 16th in the league. On early downs, it was just 11.5%. And in the earlier blowout loss to the Ravens, they man-blitzed on a mere 10% of snaps. After being burned once, they rewrote the playbook. They chose pressure over passivity and let Lamar Jackson feel it on every possession. This season, Jackson is determined to change history.
Now the Ravens are looking ahead to protecting their QB. Todd Monken has seen the film. He understands the pressure schemes will not stop. He is planning to tweak the offense heading into Year 3. The franchise remains confident in its vision, for now. “It would be very meaningful if and when we get him back, and we continue [moving] forward,” John Harbaugh said. “I really am excited about 3.0, that iteration of this offense going forward.”
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