With the Ravens out of playoff contention for the third time in the past four years, calls for change are growing louder and stronger. Some of the focus is on coach John Harbaugh's staff.

Offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg is one member who might be in a new role or organization. He succeeded Marc Trestman after the team's 16-10 loss to the Washington Redskins on Oct. 9 at M&T Bank Stadium, but the unit is only marginally better under his direction.

The offense has improved from 22nd in Week 5 to 19th in the NFL in points per game, 22nd to 18th in total yards, and 22nd to 11th in passing yards. But the unit has dropped from 17th to 26th in rushing yards, 24th to 26th in third-down efficiency and 16th to 18th in red-zone offense.

But if Mornhinweg is worrying about his job security, he is not sharing his concerns. During his weekly news conference Thursday, he dodged a question about whether Sunday's season finale at the Cincinnati Bengals can be viewed as an audition for him.

“This is an important game for a lot of people now,” he began. “First of all for the team, we've got an opportunity here to go 5-1 in the division. Shoot, we've got a chance to sweep. We've got a chance to go 9-7, and there's a lot of important things individually. I don't like to talk individual numbers very much, but there's more than a handful of guys that with this last game — and hey, when you're evaluating NFL free-agent type guys or anybody, this is a game you're going to look at. So this is an important deal for everybody.”

Pressed on whether the offense has made enough progress to solidify his position in the offseason, Mornhinweg still proved elusive.

“We'll look at all that,” he said. “We've talked about this before. The past, that's important to learn from, and in the future, the planning part is important. But all of our focus right now is on Cincinnati and this road trip. It's a business trip. That's all of our focus right now.”

Hurst to start? With right tackle Rick Wagner missing his second straight practice because of effects from a concussion suffered in Sunday's 31-27 loss at the Pittsburgh Steelers, James Hurst is in line to make his second start of the season in Cincinnati.

Hurst filled in for Wagner in the fourth quarter of Sunday's game and has been working with the starting offensive line in practice this week. If Hurst does start, it will be the offensive line's eighth different configuration this season.

“Whenever a guy isn't out there for whatever reason, you're getting the reps with the ones and going through the game plan and getting all of those plays, which is really good in any situation,” Hurst said. “Obviously, you don't want anyone to get hurt, but any time you get to go out there with the ones and work through the game plan and communicate with the guys is a great opportunity, and that's how I'm viewing it.”

On Wednesday, Harbaugh said Hurst or rookie Alex Lewis could play right tackle for the first time this season. “One of those guys will be doing it,” he said. “We'll just see how it plays out during the week.”

But Lewis has sat out the past six games after suffering a high right ankle sprain in a 28-7 victory over the Cleveland Browns on Nov. 10. He has been a healthy scratch for each of the past two games.

Pees says defense has to grow: The Ravens gave up 10 early points to the Steelers, shut them out over the second and third quarters, and then allowed them to score 21 points in the final quarter.

The defense's Jekyll-and-Hyde routine is still puzzling to coordinator Dean Pees. But one thing he pointed out is that the unit continues to struggle at finishing off opponents, and some of that, he said, has to do with the youth on that side of the ball.

“I think a little bit sometimes with our guys, we've got some young guys, and when you haven't had a ton of success in those situations, sometimes it's all of a sudden like, ‘I don't want to be the one that makes the mistake,'?” Pees said during his weekly news conference. “And when you play like that, that's generally when you make the mistake. All of a sudden when you were up there playing tighter coverage, you were great. Now all of a sudden, you're like, ‘I don't want to be the one to give this up.' So you play a little looser and then all of a sudden, something else happens.

“I just think we've got to grow through that and become a confident team, and the only way you become confident in anything you do is have success.”

End zone: Kicker Justin Tucker was voted by reporters who regularly cover the Ravens as the team's Most Valuable Player. Tucker, who won the award in 2013, has converted 37 of 38 field-goal attempts, is the most accurate kicker in NFL history with an 89.8 success rate on field goals, and tied former Minnesota Vikings kicker Blair Walsh's NFL record of 10 field goals of at least 50 yards in a season. “I obviously couldn't do any of the stuff that I do on the football field without [long snapper] Morgan Cox, [holder] Sam Koch, [kicking consultant] Randy Brown, [special teams coordinator] Jerry Rosburg and all of the rest of my coaches and teammates,” said Tucker, who last week was named to his second Pro Bowl. “We've got a great group around here, and I can't brag on them enough. So to be able to turn our hard work into accolades is really cool.” … Zachary Orr was named the media's Good Guy for his accessibility and professionalism with reporters. Orr follows in the footsteps of predecessors such as quarterback Joe Flacco, outside linebacker Jarret Johnson and defensive end Anthony Weaver. “I know [Weaver] on a personal level,” Orr said. “That was my linebacker coach in college my sophomore year [at North Texas] and just knowing the great guy that he is and for him to win this award and for me to come here and win this award, it's just a great thing.”

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