3 Broncos to blame for the team's brutal loss vs. Ravens in Week 9

The Denver Broncos went into Baltimore and got absolutely wrecked by Lamar Jackson and the Ravens. It was so bad that we barely even saw Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely get involved for the Ravens' offense, and Lamar Jackson finished with a perfect 158.3 quarterback rating.

The Broncos' performance against the Ravens was not encouraging by any means, but the team is still 5-4 and has a chance to get back on track with a road game against the Kansas City Chiefs coming up next, their first game against the reigning champs this year.

Every loss tells us a story or two, and there are always people to blame within each loss. And when you get whooped like the Broncos did against the Ravens, there are a lot of dirty hands. But who deserves the lion's share of blame from this blowout?

3 Broncos players who deserve blame after the team's ugly loss to Ravens

1. Lil'Jordan Humphrey, wide receiver

Lil'Jordan Humphrey has been a favorite of Sean Payton's for quite some time. Dating back to Payton's final year coaching the Saints in 2021, Humphrey has been a much bigger part of his offense than anyone probably would have anticipated.

Humphrey is what we would call one of "Payton's guys" from the outside looking in. And not only is he on the roster for gameday, but he's getting featured in the passing game for the Broncos. Which has become part of the issue.

While we have to give credit where it's due and let you know that Humphrey has certainly made his fair share of plays, it's fair to say that he's had a bit of a rough stretch lately and has made an unfortunate habit of making some rough mistakes.

Against the Panthers, Humphrey dropped a touchdown pass and also had a fumble that resulted in a touchdown for the Panthers. Against the Ravens, Humphrey tipped a pass that he should have caught up in the air which was picked off by Baltimore. He also didn't extend his arms out for what would have been a touchdown pass later in the game. Fans were livid during the game with Humphrey's performance, which he answered to after the game in the locker room.

The involvement and unfortunate struggles of Lil'Jordan Humphrey speak to bigger issues with the Broncos' personnel right now. The fact that he's being so heavily utilized is indicative of this team desperately needing help in the playmaker department.

2. Devon Key, safety

The Broncos seem to have found a gem in safety Brandon Jones, who was acquired in NFL free agency from the Miami Dolphins. Jones was under a lot of pressure due to the fact that he was seemingly the direct replacement for longtime Bronco Justin Simmons.

PJ Locke was the other guy the Broncos brought back in the offseason at safety, and Locke has missed time each of the last few seasons due to injury. That has unfortunately continued in 2024 and it's been costing the Broncos lately as replacement Devon Key has been consistently out of position on the back end of the defense.

Against the Ravens, Key was consistently caught out of position on some of the Ravens' biggest plays and as the last line of defense, where was he on some of the huge plays from Zay Flowers? Ultimately, it's very early in Key's career, but he's being called upon in a big spot and trusted with a massive role, and it's not working out. There's no way JL Skinner or Keidron Smith would be unable to do what we've seen from Key in the last two games.

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3. Broncos cornerbacks

For really the first time this season, we've got to roast the cornerbacks a little bit. And maybe this should go hand-in-hand with the defensive front and the lack of pressure they were creating. Lamar Jackson, who didn't practice the first two days of this past week, was able to sit back in the pocket and knit sweaters. And after he was done knitting his sweaters, he was easily able to find his receivers for big plays.

After the first half, Jackson was averaging 17.3 yards per attempt. It was bonkers. He was playing on "Rookie" level.

Why were the Broncos' star cornerbacks not able to get their hands on the football and break up any of these passes? Well, part of it is because the pass rush wasn't getting home. But the Broncos corners were once again grabby in this game, and they allowed far too many chunk plays by the Ravens' receivers.

Some of this felt like poor scheming by Vance Joseph. There's only so much you can do with a quarterback as dynamic as Lamar Jackson, and you can't hold coverage forever, but why was Pat Surtain II not covering Zay Flowers consistently? It was an off day for the entire defense but we all have come to expect more out of the corners.