The Baltimore Ravens had trouble stopping the Kansas City Chiefs’ offense in the first half of their AFC Championship loss but pitched a shutout in the second half of the contest. Defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald made masterful adjustments and did his part after struggling early.
“I think [defensive coordinator] Mike Macdonald allows us to just be ourselves at the end of the day. He gives us such a unique plan [to] dissect offenses like it’s no other, like he’s a mad scientist in a sense, and then [he] gives it to us in a way that we understand it. That’s hats off to the entire defensive staff; from top to bottom, everybody that’s on the defensive side of the ball. I love it and being able to just hit you from any different angle. When you have it like that, it’s hard to complain. Everybody gets their one on ones, so it’s about winning your one on one once you get it. That’s what I think it is in a nutshell.”
Before Baltimore’s AFC Championship loss, inside linebacker Roquan Smith spoke to the incredible nature of Mike Macdonald as a play-caller. He called the defensive coordinator a “mad scientist”, and also gave a big hats off to the entire defensive coaching staff, each of who played a significant role in making the Ravens’ 2023 defense as dominant as it was.
