Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Zach Orr has worked to rebuild tenacity on defense, and he is finally showing results. Sunday, Orr’s defense forced Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore into six punts, yielding four out of 12 on third downs, and allowed just 17 first downs on 54 plays.
“I think we improved. It’s good to see it start showing up in games… We’re just getting started where we need to be at.” DC Zach Orr pic.twitter.com/AECxs0roEj
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) December 3, 2024
Thanks to the work of Orr Sunday, offensive coordinator Todd Monken was afforded 71 total plays, yet he produced just 19 points. Monken’s game plan amounted to a six-for-15 ratio on third down, three sacks allowed, and four punts. Four other times, Monken settled for field goal attempts.
While fans might scorn kicker Justin Tucker, Monken equally squandered possessions in plus territory, finishing NFL Week 13 with a red-zone scoring percentage of 40%. Monken’s mastermind always seems to stray when the strength of competition increases. Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio had an answer for Monken, forcing the Ravens into holding penalties and loss of yards in key moments of the game and stuffing his schemes on third down.
All respect with these boys 🤝@JalenHurts | @Lj_era8 | @saquon | @KingHenry_2 pic.twitter.com/yQX1xVc7R0
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) December 2, 2024
Consider Orr holding the Eagles offense to just ten second-half points, hoping desperately that Monken would turn an offensive opportunity into a touchdown. Instead, Monken’s lack of production would have extended the Ravens’ 9-0 lead, which would have nullified the usage of Eagles running back Saquon Barkley. Instead, Orr had to use many packages and personnel to try to slow down the NFL’s leading rusher, all because he had no scoring lead to work with.
WE <3 ZACK BAUN@zackbizzaun | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/fU14nk6SQk
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) December 1, 2024
The Ravens’ strength this season was supposed to be their offense, yet the defense played better between the two units on Sunday.
