John Harbaugh offers explanation for lack of run game in conference championship

Shortly after the Baltimore Ravens fell to the Kansas City Chiefs by a score of 17-10 in the AFC Championship Game, questions arose about John Harbaugh’s offensive game plan.

Much of the criticism stemmed from the lack of a ground game. The Ravens ran the ball just 16 times in total with just six of those going to running backs Gus Edwards and Justice Hill. 

Quarterback Lamar Jackson accounted for eight rushes, only two of which were designed. The other six were scrambles and the team’s final two rushing attempts were given to wide receiver Zay Flowers.

Baltimore amassed just 81 total yards on the ground and lost the time of possession battle, 37:30 to 22:30.

During a season-ending press conference on Friday, head coach John Harbaugh lamented the lack of runs but attempted to explain how that came to be.

“That’s not the number you want to have,” Harbaugh said, via Baltimore’s official website. “When it’s all said and done and you look back on it, that’s not really going to win us an AFC Championship game, for sure. It’s more than just calling plays.”

Harbaugh also suggested that the lack of rushes was determined by Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and how his group approached the game.

“A lot of what we were doing was directed at the line of scrimmage by what the defense gave us. And the defense was lined up to take away the run, “Harbaugh said. “The next thing would be to bring it in tight and run the ball out of heavy formations and wide receivers blocking the edge and protecting the edge that way. We could have done it that way, but we were down. We wanted to keep the formations open and give ourselves the best chance to try to move the ball and score points.

“[We] had the ball for nine minutes in the first half. So those two long drives [by the Chiefs] took us out of the opportunity to call any kind of plays. Then, we didn’t convert. We had mistakes. They stopped us. They made plays. We were off the field right away after that first drive. I think all those things played into it.”

While many believe the running game is overrated in the modern NFL, it still has its place. And if the Ravens had more time and were able to execute at a higher level, perhaps they’d be taking on the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII.