BALTIMORE — Left tackle Ronnie Stanley likes the addition of Jacoby Brissett, but he knows the veteran quarterback isn’t the cure-all for the Baltimore Ravens.

“There are a lot of things that we need to fix on our end,” said Stanley, an 11-year veteran. “I don’t think anyone can just come in and fix all the problems.”

He is right about the false-start and offside penalties, but the Ravens also have halftime issues. They make few, if any, adjustments.

Part of the problem might be offensive coordinator Declan Doyle, who just completed his ninth game as a play-caller. But coach Jesse Minter and defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver have no excuses. Both are proven play-callers in the NFL.

Personnel limitations may have hurt both sides of the ball, but the Ravens (4-5) have made some bizarre calls on offense and defense during their four-game losing streak.

For instance, the Ravens led 13-0 at the break against Cincinnati, and the Bengals had only 59 yards of total offense in the first half. We all knew receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins would throw tantrums at halftime, but the Bengals scored five straight touchdowns in a 35-13 victory.

The response was expected: Cincinnati would go to max protection because the Ravens were coming up with creative blitzes with their cornerbacks and safeties. We also knew quarterback Joe Burrow would throw quickly to offset the Ravens’ pass rush as he locked onto both Higgins and Chase.

But where were the Ravens’ adjustments?

Why didn’t cornerbacks Marlon Humphrey or Nate Wiggins come up to press the receivers to at least disrupt the timing patterns on quick outs and slants? Was it because Humphrey has been getting beat often on deep throws, or is it because Wiggins is just an average player after being drafted in the first round out of Clemson in 2024?

We saw a similar defensive meltdown in Buffalo in a 36-10 loss, but at least in that game the Bills went on a long scoring drive that ended with a 5-yard touchdown run by James Cook to put Buffalo up 23-10 with 8:59 left in the third quarter.

The 33-10 loss to Jacksonville on Thursday night felt different.

Undrafted rookie and No. 3 quarterback Joe Fagnano played with a heavily bandaged right ankle and was forced to make his first start because of injuries to starter Lamar Jackson (thumb) and backup Tyler Huntley (turf toe).

The Ravens came out in the Wildcat offense, with running back Derrick Henry taking 10 direct snaps and Fagnano throwing many short passes. It was ideal because it kept Jacksonville and quarterback Trevor Lawrence off the field for most of the first half. Then it fell apart with 58 seconds left in the second quarter as Lawrence completed a 50-yard touchdown pass over the middle to Parker Washington to put the Jaguars up 17-3.

That wasn’t surprising because the Ravens needed to gamble, even though it left safety Malaki Starks alone with Washington over the middle.

“Everybody kind of realized where we were at with the quarterback situation,” Minter said after the game. “I thought the team was ready to play from a competitive standpoint. I really think the explosive play before the half really kind of broke the game open. At the same time, [I] was trying to be really aggressive there because you almost felt like — with the offensive situation — a score there puts it in a tough spot. We’re not really maybe built in tonight’s game to be able to chuck the ball and throw it all over the yard and come back. [I] tried to play that situation probably a little aggressive to keep the score where it was at — that was the goal there — and they made a nice play.”

Now, here is the problem: In the second half, the Ravens stayed with the same game plan. They kept running Henry in the Wildcat on certain plays, sometimes faking handoffs to slot receiver Zay Flowers. It was straight out of the Pop Warner and high school playbook, with no offense to the high schools.

Downright boring.

Fagnano was still bad, misfiring on several short passes, two of those intercepted, but I didn’t understand why the Ravens kept playing small ball. Why not put Fagnano in the shotgun and heave it downfield? The Ravens have a lot of speed with Flowers, and rookie receiver Ja’Kobi Lane can go up and bring down receptions with a strong vertical leap. Rashod Bateman isn’t the greatest, but give him a shot, too.

Yet, the Ravens stayed with this offense. What difference does it make to lose 33-10 instead of 55-10? A loss is a loss. Nothing changes.

“You can’t be circumstance-based,” Ravens middle linebacker Roquan Smith said. “So, regardless of the circumstances, you always just have to be in the response business, and I think about it [that way]. It’s that simple.”

Agreed.

This game is also about preparation. Halftimes are basically 10 to 15 minutes long, and few coaches have time to flip scripts. But there is also the anticipation of knowing what the other team might do because your team has been so successful.

I didn’t know what Cincinnati had prepared, but I could guess. I knew Jacksonville would shut down Henry and bring more defenders to the line of scrimmage because that was the right response.

I’m certainly not as smart as anyone on the Ravens’ coaching staff, but the good coaches are always a step ahead.

It’s all part of the game inside the game.

The Ravens have to get better.

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