LONDON -- It was not lost on many Baltimore Ravens players that they won in England, where soccer is king, by scoring nearly all of their points with their feet. Justin Tucker's six field goals proved to be the difference in the Ravens' 24-16 win over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.
"Obviously, this is a place in the world where they love kickers of balls," Tucker said with a smile.
While it was enough to win against a struggling opponent, the Ravens know they need more offense to accomplish their goals back home. Baltimore (4-2), which is in first place in the AFC North, has scored one touchdown in its last seven quarters and went 1-for-6 in the red zone Sunday.
The Ravens' five field goals after reaching the red zone are the most by any team since the 2020 Panthers, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
"A lot of frustration from everyone on the offense," Ravens left tackle Ronnie Stanley said. "We know we're going to have to score in those situations to be the team we know we can be. We can fix it, and we have the guys to fix it. We have to hold each other accountable."
The peculiar part is how there is no middle ground for quarterback Lamar Jackson and Baltimore inside the 20-yard line.
In the first four weeks of the season, the Ravens were the NFL's top red zone offense, scoring touchdowns 80% of the time (12-of-15). Baltimore was unpredictable with Jackson running for as many touchdowns (four) as throwing for them.
Over the last two weeks, Baltimore has reached the end zone on 22% of its trips inside the 20 (2-of-9). The players understand that type of efficiency is not going to cut it against the top teams in the NFL such as the Detroit Lions, who bring an offense that is averaging 28 points per game to Baltimore on Sunday (1 p.m., ET, Fox).
"How far we can go this season, the sky's the limit, as I've been saying all season," Jackson said. "But we have to finish in the end zone. We need to find a way to score points. And I believe that's what is slowing us down. We drive the field, no problem. It's been happening every game, but it's the red zone part [where] we need to find a way to punch it in, and we'll go from there."
Baltimore ran 16 plays in the red zone on Sunday and got one touchdown out of it. The Ravens continually failed to get anything out of their running game. Baltimore's 13 rushes (nine designed runs and four scrambles by Jackson off passing plays) totaled 35 yards (2.9-yard average). The Ravens ran six plays inside the 10-yard line and couldn't crack the goal line.
"The best way to put it in the end zone and the red zone is to run it in," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. "We haven't been as successful the last two weeks as we were the first three weeks. That's kind of how it works. It's a week-to-week league. We have a quarterback that can do a lot of things in the red zone, [who] can make plays in the red zone. We have receivers that can do it. We're capable of it."
Harbaugh added, "I am really thankful for Justin. He made all those kicks. It's probably fun for the crowd here to see, but we need to score [touchdowns]. That could have been a much more comfortable game for us if we'd done that."