Ravens' secondary fell short against Chris Olave in key moments

Baltimore Ravens defensive back Marlon Humphrey and his teammates struggled to stop New Orleans Saints wide receiver Chris Olave on Sunday afternoon. Olave's eight receptions for 86 yards highlighted the Ravens' inability to get off the field on third down, hinting at the defensive unit's fatigue and attrition across 64 total defensive plays.

Humphrey and others, including defensive back Nate Wiggins, interchanged responsibilities of covering Olave throughout Sunday's game. Yet Humphrey, arguably the team's best cover guy, got trash talk from Olave early on. Olave's taunting penalty might've pushed the offense back 15 yards in the first half, but it also lit the fuse for his battery pack later in the contest. Olave was deployed excellently in Saints head coach Kellen Moore's strategy, and his gut-wrenching fourth-quarter 21-yard touchdown reception sent a wave of shock through M&T Bank Stadium Sunday afternoon.

Humphrey prides himself on providing defensive prowess, and for 45 minutes, the Ravens' defense held its ground. It's not that the Ravens played badly on defense, but that they were robbed of their honor because the offense couldn't sustain drives when it mattered most. Humphrey will inhale the stress of this humbling experience as his head coach Jesse Minter will be forced to recalibrate and assess ways to alter his generic blitz scheme. Saints quarterback Tyler Shough didn't play like an unstoppable force, but he used his brain to escape and target Olave in the game's most important moments.

Ultimately, Humphrey and the defense will need to go back to the drawing board, knowing a potential forced turnover might've given them leverage in week two. Instead, they'll have to assess the game film and watch Olave shred them repeatedly, a path to humility Humphrey will have to digest heading into week three.

This article originally appeared on Ravens Wire: Ravens' secondary fell short against Chris Olave in key moments