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Baltimore offensive coordinator Todd Monken is landing criticism for his play calling in the AFC Championship game. The Ravens‘ offense was stymied by the Chiefs in what ended up being a low-scoring affair.
Many believe he abandoned the run against a susceptible Kansas City defense.
The Chiefs entered the contest with the NFL’s 28th-ranked unit defending the run. Baltimore, meanwhile, came in with the league’s most potent rushing attack.
For some reason, though, the Ravens relied on the passing game throughout the matchup.
Lamar Jackson threw the ball 37 times – his third highest total this season. While some of that gameplan had to do with the team playing from behind in the second half, it shouldn’t have affected the play calling to that extent.
The Ravens were never down by more than 10 points, yet they totaled just 16 rushing attempts on the day.
Lamar Jackson had half of those carries, some of which came on scramble plays. Baltimore running backs, meanwhile, combined for just six attempts and 23 yards.
What makes the decision more head scratching is that the Ravens were actually having success on the ground. Jackson averaged 6.8 yards per carry while Gus Johnson averaged 6.7.
A number of notable NFL personalities pointed the run-pass discrepancy out throughout the contest.
this is THE stat you need to know:
in the ENTIRE GAME the Ravens had THREE early down RB runs
3!!!
THREE!!!!!
they gained 17 yards
against the NFL’s #28 run defense
what was Todd Monken doing
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) January 28, 2024
Sharp added to his criticism by saying, “I do not understand this gameplan by Todd Monken AT ALL. Not attacking the KC run defense and not getting Lamar in any rhythm. TOTAL INSANITY!”
He was far from the only critic, though.
Former pro players Ryan Clark and Marcus Spears expressed their disbelief on social media, too.
“Hey Todd Monken, the Bills ran it for 182 yards [last week],” Clark wrote while Spears commented, “Todd Monken has been as bad as any player for the Ravens.”
All of humanity right now to Todd Monken: pic.twitter.com/GFSXhwhgV0
— Kyle Yates (@KyleYNFL) January 28, 2024
For a team that was built on the run game, using its offensive dominance to beat opposing defenses into submission, it was certainly in interesting plan for the biggest game of the season.