Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken on the field before the game against the Washington Commanders at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

Ravens OC Reveals Biggest Need for Improvement

Originally posted on Baltimore Ravens on SI
By Jon Alfano | Last updated Sep 13, 2025 11:00 AM ET

Among the many offensive stats the Baltimore Ravens led the NFL in last season, their red zone prowess may be one of the most impressive of the bunch.

The Ravens scored touchdowns on a staggering 74.2 percent of their red-zone drives last season, leading the league by a significant margin (Buffalo Bills finished second at 71.6 percent). Not only that, they had the highest touchdown rate in the red zone since 2020, when Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers found the end-zone on 80 percent of their red-zone drives.

Unfortunately, the Ravens' red-zone offense didn't look anywhere near as good in the red zone in Sunday night's loss to the Buffalo Bills. In fact, it looked quite bad at times.

Baltimore scored a touchdown on just one of its three red-zone trips - when Lamar Jackson rushed it in from 10 yards out early in the second quarter - and actually went backwards on the other two.

Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

On the first drive of the game, the Ravens made it to the Bills' 12-yard line before a penalty and a sack set them back a whole 20 yards, forcing them to settle for a Tyler Loop field goal. Then on their final drive of the first half, they made it to the Bills' 17-yard line before a recovered fumble threw them out of rhythm and forced them to once again settle for a field goal. The second one was especially tough to swallow, as it gave the Bills enough time to kick a field goal of their own before halftime.

Heading into Sunday's home opener against the Cleveland Browns, offensive coordinator Todd Monken knows his team has to be far better at taking advantage of opportunities.

"Well, we got into the red zone, and we had lost-yardage plays," Monken told reporters Thursday. "Let's say it like it is. ... It basically took us out of ... Everything after that was trying to get us into manageable field goal range. At that moment, when you talk about the swing before the half, it went from possible touchdown to now we have to get a field goal, and then they get a field goal coming back. That was huge. Now luckily, to start the second half, we scored to kind of take that momentum back.

"But those are the things that we need to improve on – when we get in the red zone, we can't go backwards. We can't put ourselves in those positions where you've done everything right up until that point."

The Ravens' offense still had a strong showing overall against the Bills (at least for the first 55 minutes of the game), as Jackson, Derrick Henry and Zay Flowers all dominated. However, their red-zone success helped them reach new heights in 2024, and they'd like to get back on track as soon as possible in 2025.

This article first appeared on Baltimore Ravens on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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