The Ravens rely on covert defense. No one has been fooled.

The best thing the Ravens defense did Sunday was a lot like one of the worst things it did Sunday — at least until the end. That’s when things tend to fall apart. That was where a pass defense was one of the NFL’s best just a year ago now seems one of the worst.

The two plays took place about a quarter apart in the Ravens’ stunning 29-24 loss to the Cleveland Browns. Strategically, defensive coordinator Zach Orr’s play calls had similar intentions: intersect with the offense’s pass protection responsibilities with a heavy push at the line of scrimmage. Drop defenders into the second level to prevent quick releases over the middle. Move a deep safety on the fly to confuse the quarterback’s first read.

The first piece worked like a dream. Late in the second quarter, Kyle Hamilton timed his blitz perfectly, swinging unmarked around the left side of the Browns line as cornerback Arthur Maulet, who had feigned a blitz look from the right side, dropped into coverage. Quarterback Jameis Winston barely had time to reach the end of his drop before Hamilton crunched him in the back, shot the ball loose and forced a turnover. The Ravens recovered at Cleveland’s 25-yard line and scored a touchdown less than a minute later.

But that other play? A nightmare. Late in the third quarter, as Cleveland faced third-and-5 at the Ravens’ 22, the Ravens defense mistakenly lined up without an edge rusher over Browns left tackle Dawand Jones. As outside linebacker Odafe Oweh rushed toward him, Winston snapped the ball. Maulet’s attack from his blindside was unmarked, but that didn’t matter. Winston quickly threw into the space that Eddie Jackson had just vacated as the defense mutated from one two-high coverage shell for a one-high look. Wide receiver Cedric Tillman caught the intruder around the Ravens’ 15, wasn’t touched until around the 5, and moments later reached the end zone for his first career touchdown.

Under coach John Harbaugh, the Ravens want to muddy the picture for opposing quarterbacks. That can be difficult if not everyone in the defense gets the picture.

“We’re trying to keep people guessing,” Harbaugh said Monday. “It’s a big part of our defense, and the execution of it has been good for the most part, but there have been plenty of times where it hasn’t been good.”

Sunday marked a new low for the Ravens defense, allowing 334 passing yards for what, under sidelined starter Deshaun Watson, had been the NFL’s worst aerial attack. Needing one last stop to maintain a late Cleveland lead, the Ravens surrendered 74 passing yards on the Browns’ final possession, the last 38 coming on Winston’s last-minute, go-ahead touchdown strike to Tillman .

The Ravens now enter Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos at the top of some unpleasant rankings. Most passing yards allowed in the NFL (2,331). Most touchdown passes allowed in the NFL (17). Most dropped interceptions in the NFL (eight, according to Pro Football Focus).

If schematic bafflement were quantifiable, the Ravens would probably lead the NFL in that as well. The coverage breakdowns derailed the defense in almost every gamea trend made all the more infuriating by the relative continuity in the team’s defensive system. When rising stars coordinator Mike Macdonald was named head coach of the Seattle Seahawks last season, Harbaugh first chose Orr, then the Ravens’ inside linebackers. to be the unit’s new play-caller.

(Defensive backs coach Dennard Wilson then left to become defensive coordinator at Tennessee, which now allows the fewest passing yards per game in the NFL.)

For eight weeks, Orr embraced the features of Macdonald’s plan without achieving the same level of success. The quick magic tricks that confused the quarterbacks last year aren’t really fooling anyone this year.

It’s not for lack of trying, though. According to Veldvisiethe 2023 Ravens disguised their coverage – usually with a two-high look before moving to one-high near the snap, or vice versa – on 41.3% of their play, one of the highest percentages in the league. The Ravens of 2024 stand at 41.5%.

The 2023 Ravens ran a simulated pressure — where the threat of five or more pass rushers forces offenses to adjust their protection rules and keep blockers in, only for the defense to send just four pass rushers after the quarterback — on 27, 4% of their plays, also one of the highest rates in the league. The 2024 Ravens are at 26%.

“You can’t compete against these guys too many times and just show them what you’re made of,” Harbaugh said. “When you do that with (Joe) Burrows and those guys, it’s tough, so that’s always what we’ve done. We were a big disguise team. We have been a large (simulated busy) team. We took action on both sides. We’ve shown blitzes one way and gone another and come out again. We have shown one way and are heading that way. We showed the advantage and came to the middle. We try to keep it moving.”

Imitation hasn’t led to duplication for the Ravens, but not because of a sudden inability to trick quarterbacks. A review of the 59 “explosive” pass plays (gains of at least 16 yards) the defense has allowed this year, by far the most in the NFL, revealed disguise-related coverage failures on only about a dozen. The rest were more standard failures of execution: lost one-on-one battles, punctured holes in the zones, missed tackles in the open field, chaos allowed outside the structure. A inconsistent pass rush didn’t close many holes either.

Still, the Ravens’ struggle with changing the picture is instructive. No one at the back is immune to blunders. In Week 1, Hamilton never dropped into his assigned zone, freeing Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy for a wide-open 35-yard touchdown.

In Week 3, Marcus Williams’ struggles with his positioning after late coverage rotations helped open up a few throwing lanes for Dallas Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson.

In Week 5, cornerback Marlon Humphrey and Jackson ended up defending the same patch of grass as the Ravens switched from a two-high shell to one-high, giving Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase the runway he needed to run under a 41 . -yard touchdown pass.

In Week 6, inside linebackers Roquan Smith and Trenton Simpson finally found themselves in no man’s land with one disguised look that ended with a 28-yard completion to Washington Commanders wide receiver Noah Brown.

“We come in every week, we work hard in practice – we just have to let it translate to the game,” Jackson said after Sunday’s game. “The coach puts us in that position to make those plays. We just have to get out of the rut we’re in.”

The Ravens have done it before. In 2022, Macdonald’s first year as coordinator in Baltimore, his defense allowed more passing yards through the first eight games (2,134) than all but four teams that season. But over the Ravens’ next nine games, buoyed by a midseason trade for Smith, they allowed the 11th-fewest passing yards.

On paper, this Ravens team has a more talented defensive core. It also has a much more powerful offense. But it’s Orr’s show now. The challenge is to figure out which of Macdonald’s magic tricks can still work for this defense. Only then can the Ravens develop a routine that works for them.

“We’re going to get it better and better and better, and I don’t know if we’re going to get it perfect, but we’re going to try,” Harbaugh said, “or we’re going to die. try.”