Ravens coach John Harbaugh did not have much of an update Monday on the health of wide receivers Jeremy Maclin (shoulder) and Breshad Perriman (concussion), but even after Sunday's 27-24 overtime loss to the Chicago Bears at M&T Bank Stadium, their teammates understood the impact of their possible absence in the near future.
"They're great receivers and leaders on offense," fellow wideout Chris Moore said. "So it hurts a little bit, but we still have a lot of great players that can still run this offense and still make plays."
Maclin was scratched before the game against Chicago, while Perriman left in the second quarter after taking a blow to the head and did not return. Without the duo, quarterback Joe Flacco had two passes intercepted and was sacked three times and held to 180 or fewer passing yards for the third time this season.
Moore, who had been inactive in three of the four previous games, led the Ravens in receiving yards with 44 on three receptions. Mike Wallace had three catches for 30 yards, Michael Campanaro (River Hill) added 24 yards on three receptions, and Chris Matthews caught one ball for 5 yards. The Ravens' younger receivers also reached season highs in snap counts, with Moore on the field for 34 plays, Campanaro for 33 and Matthews for 23.
Moore — who had a pass from Flacco bounce off his chest and into the hands of Bears safety Adrian Amos (Calvert Hall), who returned the interception 90 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter — said being suddenly thrust into the game did not affect his play.
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"We're expected to be ready at all times and go out there and make plays," he said. "There's supposed to be no drop-off from the ones and whoever the backups are. I don't put a lot of pressure on myself. I just want to go out there and make plays."
Coach John Harbaugh declined to place all of the pressure for an improved aerial attack on Moore, Campanaro and Matthews.
"We've all got to do a better job of finding a way to get the passing game going," Harbaugh said. "We're running the ball pretty well. We want to run the ball better, certainly. We want to do everything as well as we can. But we've got to find some yards in the passing game."
Campanaro acknowledged that the offense struggled without Maclin and Perriman, but emphasized that the rest of the receiving corps has to fill the void.
"It's tough," he said. "Those are two huge playmakers for us. There are guys that have to step up and make plays. We just struggled today a little bit. A few tipped passes when we were driving — there are things as an offense where we have to protect the ball."
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