'One of the worst plays ever': Aussie NFL player under fire as Baltimore feels heat

Aussie NFL player Daniel Faalele has been caught in the eye of the storm for his involvement in an underperforming team, with one of his misses described cruelly as "one of the worst plays ever" by a player in his position as his Baltimore Ravens stare down a 1-3 start.

Usually one of the better teams and with a talented roster, the Ravens have had an uninspiring start to the year, with their defence leaking points at a record level and their offensive line criticised for failing to protect star quarterback Lamar Jackson.

Such was the ineptitude of the O-line play in the 38-30 loss to the Lions last round, Jackson was sacked seven times, tying a franchise record. Naturally, fans and pundits looked to lay the blame, and Faalele was caught in the crosshairs.

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Faalele, a fourth-round pick from the University of Minnesota, has impressed Ravens staff with his size and has steadily found his feet at right guard. Yet the cut-throat nature of the NFL and high expectations from fans means any mistake is going to be blown up and analysed.

Detractors have labelled him the weak link in front of Jackson and numerous clips have been posted of his mistakes this season and last.

He recently was under the microscope for a play in the opening week loss to the Bills. Yet the Ravens believe they've found their answer at the position and say that with some more work, Faalele will prove it.

Faalele has thrived in pass blocking but has shown some vulnerabilities in run blocking, says Ravens coach John Harbaugh.

"I think he's been doing a real good job in pass protection for the most part," Harbaugh said.

"Run blocking has been good but he's got to be more consistent in both areas. He's had some bad plays that haven't looked great but he's a good football player and he's getting better.

"He's young and hopefully he'll continue to improve. I know one thing, we're coaching him up really hard every day and we expect him to go out there and play his best football game on Monday night."

Harbaugh's thoughts on Faalele's progression are on the mark according to The Baltimore Banner's Jonas Shaffer.

"On his worst plays, he still looks out of place on an NFL field. But on the rest of his snaps, he generally keeps his head above water," Shaffer wrote.

"Of the 60 guards who've played at least 100 offensive snaps this season, Faalele ranks No.30 overall on PFF, far more accomplished as a pass blocker (No.1) than a run blocker (No.47).

"He's allowed one sack on two quarterback pressures, both coming in Week 1, and has built on his strong showing protecting Jackson late last season.

"The Ravens' other starting guard, meanwhile, is still looking for consistency wherever he can find it. Left guard Andrew Vorhees ranks No.59 overall on PFF through two weeks, with bottom-five marks in pass blocking (three pressures allowed) and run blocking.

"According to SIS (Sports Info Solutions), he has by far the highest blown-block rate among guards with at least 100 snaps this season (8 per cent), eight times higher than Faalele's (1 per cent)."

Jackson was also asked about the criticism targeting Faalele.

"He's an NFL guard," said Jackson.

"Every position in the NFL is hard to play. It's easy to just watch and tell somebody you should be doing this. It's easy to direct someone, but it's hard to do. I'll leave it at that."

In 2024, Faalele logged the 11th most offensive snaps in the NFL with 1,107 and the most run-blocking snaps at 529, playing 99 per cent of the snaps on the season.