BALTIMORE -- After the Baltimore Ravens' 24-18 win over the Tennessee Titans, coach Jesse Minter didn't hide his frustration when asked about his team's increasing number of penalties.
"It's obviously unacceptable," Minter said, shaking his head. "At the end of the day, we have to get out of our own way."
The Ravens were flagged 13 times Sunday for 131 yards, which was their most in a game in six years and repeatedly kept Baltimore from pulling away from winless Tennessee.
In the first quarter, Nate Wiggins' illegal contact penalty gave a first down to the Titans in the red zone on the opening drive, which resulted in a touchdown.
In the second quarter, Lamar Jackson's 29-yard scramble was reduced to a 7-yard gain because of wide receiver Elijah Sarratt's holding penalty.
In the third quarter, Baltimore cornerback Chidobe Awuzie's 39-yard pass interference penalty was Tennessee's biggest play on a drive that ended with a field goal making it 24-10.
"It's very frustrating," offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley said. "And drives here, drives there got stopped by penalties or miscommunications. Those things can't happen. And I think those things kind of get overlooked because we're up two possessions, but those drives are very important."
Minter said two weeks ago that reducing penalties was a "major point of emphasis." But the problem has gotten worse.
The Ravens' 39 penalties are tied for the most by a Ravens team through four games since 2000. Baltimore's 329 penalty yards this season rank behind only the Green Bay Packers (344).
The Ravens' offense has accounted for 61% of the team's penalties with 24. Baltimore's 11 false starts are the second most in the NFL.
This shouldn't come as a major surprise. In early August, the Ravens were called for eight false starts in a two-hour training camp practice because quarterbacks were working on a different cadence.
Ravens left guard John Simpson said the issues with penalties are being addressed in practice.
"We've been doing as much as we can, just trying to bring it up on film and just talk about it," Simpson said. "For instance, our cadences, just reminding each other when we break the huddle what our cadence is and stuff like that so we're all on the same page."
The Ravens have chalked up some penalties to being either questionable or unfortunate. Last week, Wiggins was called for pass interference on Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb when it looked like Lamb was the one who interfered with Wiggins.
On Sunday, Baltimore safety Kyle Hamilton was flagged for unnecessary roughness when he sacked Titans quarterback Cam Ward after the play clock had run out. But the officials blew the whistle just before Hamilton hit Ward.
"That's just one of those plays. It is what it is," Minter said. "I do respect the fact that the league wants to protect the quarterbacks, so I want to start with that, because if that happened to our quarterback, I'd be sitting there saying the same thing."
This marked the 12th time since 2000 that the Ravens committed 13 or more penalties in a game.
"When you have penalties, you shoot yourself in the foot, and that lowers your chances," middle linebacker Roquan Smith said. "It takes all of us, not just one of us. It takes all of us, play in and play out, to play [with] clean technique and fundamentals. When we do that, things normally go in our favor. But obviously if we do not, we allow teams to stay around."
A high rate of penalties have produced mixed results for Baltimore. In the six seasons where the Ravens have totaled over 120 penalties, they didn't have a winning record three times (2005, 2015 and 2016) and they won the AFC North three times (2003, 2012 and 2024), including a Super Bowl title in 2012.
"If we can get out of our own way," Minter said, "I think there's a high ceiling for us."