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Ravens red zone offense stalls against Chargers

The Ravens had to settle for four field goals inside San Diego's 20.

Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports

Yes, the defense played poorly in Sunday's 34-33 loss to the Chargers. And when an offense is good enough to score 33 points in a game, it should be able to come away with a win.

However, there was one glaring trend that stuck out through the course of the game and that was the fact that four red zone drives ended in field goals. Whenever you have a kicker like Justin Tucker, you want to utilize him when drives stall outside of the 20. When you get inside the 20, you want to score touchdowns. On four occasions, the Ravens were unable to.

In the first quarter, the Ravens got to the Chargers 15-yard line and settled for a field goal. The second quarter saw the Ravens get down to San Diego's 3 and 11. Those drives ended in field goals. Then there was the late drive the Ravens had down to the 13 that ended with a field goal in the fourth quarter.

When you're that close, you need to end those drives in touchdowns more often than not. That will be something the Ravens need to address this week in practice.

"Obviously it made a difference — settling for threes instead of getting sixes," tight end Owen Daniels told reporters after the game. "So, we need to look at that. They actually weren't very good of a red zone team defensively. They're a good defense, but not quite as good down there in the red zone. So, we've got to take a look at some stuff obviously."