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          NFL Nation

          Marty Mornhinweg likes when heat is on the Ravens' offense

          • Jamison Hensley, ESPN Staff WriterOct 22, 2017, 10:01 AM
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              Jamison Hensley is a reporter covering the Baltimore Ravens for ESPN. Jamison joined ESPN in 2011, covering the AFC North before focusing exclusively on the Ravens beginning in 2013. Jamison won the National Sports Media Association Maryland Sportswriter of the Year award in 2018, and he authored a book titled: Flying High: Stories of the Baltimore Ravens. He was the Ravens beat writer for the Baltimore Sun from 2000-2011.
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          MINNEAPOLIS -- Offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg was asked how he handles the pressure as the Baltimore Ravens struggle to get the ball in the end zone.

          “Look, I’ve been a part of some great teams, some medium teams, some poor teams," Mornhinweg said. "I’ve been through it before. You pull your boot straps up and some guys -- the players -- handle it really well. I kind of like it when the heat is on. ‘Hey, let’s bounce back!’ The fellas did it a week ago in Oakland; they bounced back pretty well. So, that’s what we’re looking for."

          Mornhinweg is correct that the Ravens showed resiliency two weeks ago when Joe Flacco and the offense scored on five of eight drives in Oakland. But, before you could start believing the offense turned the corner, Baltimore went back to its lethargic ways, failing to score an offensive touchdown in a surprising loss to the Chicago Bears last Sunday.

          Ravens coach John Harbaugh deflected some of the criticism away from Mornhinweg this past week, saying it was "nonsensical" to put the blame on one person. But this wasn't an unequivocal defense of Mornhinweg.

          The Ravens rank No. 29 in total yards and No. 24 in points per game. Baltimore is going against the Minnesota Vikings and the NFL's No. 5 defense before returning home to play the Miami Dolphins on Thursday night.

          Over the next three weeks, Baltimore will have an extended break after next Thursday (10 days between games) and during the bye that begins Nov. 6. Harbaugh would have time to make his third change at coordinator in six seasons if he chose to do so.

          "When things are going good, you better work, or you’re not going to stay there and get even better," Mornhinweg said. "When things are going medium, you better work. When things go bad, you better go to work. So, that’s our mentality. We’ve talked about this before: No. 1, if we can just get better every day, [then] good things tend to happen -- that’s our mindset. My wife doesn’t like it very much."

          Here are some notes from ESPN Stats & Information:

          • The Ravens are 15-3 under John Harbaugh in games when they enter at .500. The only head coach who has more such wins since Harbaugh became coach in 2008 was Rex Ryan with 16, but Ryan did it in 28 games.

          • Baltimore ranks 30th in yards per play at 4.51 this season, the team’s lowest rate through the first six games since they were at 4.50 in 2008, the first season with Harbaugh and Flacco in Baltimore.

          • The Ravens are using a designed rush on 46 percent of their plays, which would be their highest season rate since 2008, when they were at 54 percent.

          • Flacco has the league’s worst completion percentage on throws of 15 yards or longer this season at 22 percent. Flacco, Ben Roethlisberger and Deshaun Watson all have five interceptions in that situation, the most in the NFL.

          • The Ravens are allowing a completion rate of 41 percent this season when blitzing, the best mark in the NFL.

          • Baltimore is 2-1 on the road this season, winning at Cincinnati and Oakland. This matches the win total away from home in 2016, when the Ravens went 2-6.

          • The Ravens are one win away from the 200th in franchise history (including playoffs). They would be the seventh team since 1996 (the Ravens' inaugural season) with that distinction.