The Ravens rely on stealthy defenses. Nobody was deceived.

The best thing the Ravens defense did on Sunday appeared to be one of the worst things it did on Sunday – until the end, anyway. Then things tend to fall apart. This is where a pass defense that was one of the best in the NFL a year ago now looks like one of the worst.

In the Ravens’ stunning 29-24 loss to the Cleveland Browns, the two plays took place about a quarter apart. Strategically, defensive coordinator Zach Orr’s play orders had similar intentions: to displace the offense’s pass defense duties with an intense look at the line of scrimmage. Move defenders to the second level to prevent quick releases in the middle. Move a deep safety at the snap to confuse the quarterback’s initial read.

The first piece worked like a dream. Late in the second quarter, safety Kyle Hamilton timed his blitz attack perfectly, pivoting unmarked around the left side of the Browns’ line while cornerback Arthur Maulet, who had faked a blitz look from the right side, ducked into coverage. Quarterback Jameis Winston barely had time to reach the end of his drop before Hamilton slammed him in the back, sending the ball loose and forcing a turnover. The Ravens recovered at the Cleveland 25-yard line and scored a touchdown less than a minute later.

But the other piece? A nightmare. Late in the third quarter, when Cleveland faced third-and-5 at the Ravens’ 22, the Ravens mistakenly lined up without an edge rusher over Browns left tackle Dawand Jones. As full-back Odafe Oweh rushed in, Winston grabbed the ball. Maulet’s attack from his blind side was unmarked, but that didn’t matter. Winston quickly threw himself into the gap that safety Eddie Jackson had just vacated as the defense mutated from a two-high coverage cover to a one-high look. Wide receiver Cedric Tillman caught the in-break 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 shake up the image of opposing quarterbacks. This can be difficult if not everyone on defense is on top of things.

“We’re trying to keep people guessing,” Harbaugh said Monday. “It’s a big part of our defense and the execution was good for the most part, but there were a lot of times where it wasn’t good.”

Sunday marked a new low for the Ravens’ defense, which allowed 334 yards to the NFL’s worst aerial attack under missed starter Deshaun Watson. Needing one last stop to maintain their late Cleveland lead, the Ravens allowed 74 yards on the Browns’ final possession, the final 38 coming on Winston’s last-minute touchdown strike to Tillman.

The Ravens enter Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos at the top of a series of uncomfortable leaderboards. 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 confusion were quantifiable, the Ravens would probably lead the NFL in it, too. Coverage losses have derailed the defense in nearly every game, a trend made even more exasperating by the relative continuity in the team’s defensive system. When up-and-coming coordinator Mike Macdonald was named head coach of the Seattle Seahawks last offseason, Harbaugh personally selected Orr, then the Ravens’ inside linebackers coach, to be the unit’s new play-caller.

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

For eight weeks Orr adopted the characteristics of Macdonald’s plan without achieving the same success. The presnap tricks that stunned quarterbacks last year aren’t really fooling anyone this year.

However, it’s not for lack of trying. According to Field Vision, the 2023 Ravens obscured their coverage on 41.3% of their plays – typically showing a two-high look before switching to a one-high just before the snap, or vice versa – one of the highest rates in the world League. The Ravens 2024 are at 41.5%.

The 2023 Ravens ran a simulated pressure on 27.4% of their plays – where the threat of five or more pass rushers forces offenses to adjust their protections and leave blockers in, only for the defense to only four pass rushers. Rusher sends after the quarterback. also one of the highest odds in the league. The 2024 Ravens are at 26%.

“You can’t just compete against these guys too many times and just show them what you’re made of,” Harbaugh said. “You do that with (Joe) Burrows and those guys, it’s tough, so we’ve always done that. We were a big disguise team. We were a large (simulated pressure) team. We flashed from both sides. We showed flashes one way and flashes the other way and ran. We showed a path and walked that path. We showed the edge and got to the middle. We’re trying to keep it moving.”

Imitation didn’t lead to duplication for the Ravens, but not because they were suddenly unable to deceive quarterbacks. A review of the 59 “explosive” pass plays (gains of at least 16 yards) allowed by defenses this year, by far the most in the NFL, found disguise-related coverage breakdowns in only about a dozen. The rest were more standard execution errors: lost one-on-ones, blown zone holes, missed tackles in the open field, chaos allowed outside of structure. An inconsistent pass rush also hasn’t improved across many holes.

Still, the Ravens’ difficulty changing the picture is telling. No one on the backend was immune to errors. In Week 1, Hamilton never fell into his assigned zone, freeing Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy for a wide-open 35-yard touchdown.

In Week 3, safety Marcus Williams’ issues with his positioning after late coverage rotations contributed to Dallas Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson opening up a few throwing lines.

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 a one-high, giving Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase the runway he needed to run under a 41-yard. Yard touchdown pass.

In Week 6, inside linebackers Roquan Smith and Trenton Simpson landed in no man’s land with a covert attack 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 carry over to the game,” Jackson said after Sunday’s game. “The coach puts us in a position to make these plays. We just need to get out of this mess we’re in.”

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

On paper, this Ravens team has a more talented defensive core. It also has a far stronger offense. But now it’s Orr’s show. 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 better and better at it, 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.”