A strong postseason run felt like the bare minimum for the Baltimore Ravens heading into 2025, but it ended with John Harbaugh’s team not even making it to January. A lot went wrong, and there was certainly a lot to pin the blame on, and tight end Isaiah Likely has a clear idea of where exactly it all went wrong for the Ravens.

“I’d say really just little details,” he said while speaking with Jon Gruden when asked about what went wrong. “Like, having a lead like we did as much as we did in Buffalo. I feel like that was just the mantra of our season, just not finishing. And I felt like, when we were out there, it’d be like a drive where we have explosive plays where we get explosive touchdowns where either [Derrick Henry] runs for 60, [Zay] Flowers catches the ball and goes for 60, you know, Lamar just doing magic back there. And then we’ll have drives where it stalls out.”

When an offensive player blames the lack of finishing, it subtly falls on the quarterback, but there was a lot more that went wrong for the Ravens this season. It’s interesting to think about how the season would’ve turned out had Baltimore come out on top against the Buffalo Bills in the season opener.

The Ravens fumbled an eight-point lead with just three minutes remaining, and running back Derrick Henry fumbled the ball, which ended with the Bills’ touchdown. The offense went three-and-out in the next possession, giving the ball back to Buffalo, who closed the game. It can be argued that every single unit was at fault.

“Like we’ll have a three and out, we’re punting, we’re not really clicking on offense, we’re not helping the defense, you know, if they get a three and out, we’re just kicking the ball back to him.” Likely added. “So, I feel like it was just wasn’t clicking on all ends where it was just we was jelling as a team. And I felt like that was just the mantra of our season.”

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The Ravens never really found much rhythm after the 41-40 loss to Buffalo. They picked up a win against the offensively dysfunctional Browns but lost the next four games, thanks to one of the worst defenses in the league, with the unit conceding 136 points in that losing stretch.

In fact, before the hamstring injury in Week 4 against the Chiefs, Lamar Jackson was doing everything he could to outscore the opponent, scoring 9 touchdowns in his first three games. Fortunately, amid Jackson’s injury, John Harbaugh’s team faced a relatively easier stretch and won the next four games against the Dolphins, Vikings, Browns, and the New York Jets.

Things went downhill after that run, with the defense going back to its old ways, and Lamar Jackson never finding his early-season form. The quarterback, despite recovering from the hamstring injury, never seemed 100%, facing knee, ankle, and toe issues as the season went on.

Baltimore still competed for the postseason till the very end, but their hopes ended when rookie kicker Tyler Loop missed the field goal against the Steelers. Jackson ended the year with 2,549 yards and 21 touchdowns, running back Derrick Henry had four fumbles, and besides WR Zay Flowers, no receiver stepped up.

Isaiah Likely’s blame stretches across every offensive unit, and rightly so. The finger-pointing extended to the coaching staff as well, and the tight end already had a feeling there would be changes.

Isaiah Likely knew coaching changes would come

The front office parted ways with longtime coach John Harbaugh after 18 years of service, putting an end to a run that included a Super Bowl ring, a .614 winning record, and multiple conference titles. The franchise believed that Harbaugh underachieved with respect to the talent at his disposal, prompting a change. Isaiah Likely knew it was coming.

“When you have a coach in Baltimore for 18 years, I feel like it’s a shock to everybody but we had a great team, so I feel like when you have a great team as we do, where everybody’s putting you on the stratosphere of Super Bowl or bust, it starts getting a little heated in conversations when you don’t make the postseason,” he said.

“So I feel like change was obviously coming. Nobody knew how drastic it was going to be, but I felt like everybody knew in the air that something was going to happen.”

Five postseason trips in Harbaugh’s first five years, four AFC Championship games, and a Super Bowl in 2012 weren’t enough, primarily because the front office believes they have to roster to win a lot more. Going by Isaiah Likely’s words, he believes it too. The team ignited a coaching shuffling soon after, giving the assistant staff an entirely new look for next season.

Baltimore brought in Jesse Minter from the Los Angeles Chargers, making him only the fourth head coach in franchise history, and the new man at the helm didn’t take too long to organize his staff. He brought in Declan Doyle as offensive coordinator and Anthony Weaver as defensive coordinator and completed his 25-member coaching roster.

For a team that ended the 2025 season with 354.5 yards allowed per game and 349.4 yards scored, there are multiple issues to solve for the new staff, but a change was definitely needed.