Ravens Blow One at Home to Raiders

The Ravens gave a graduate-level presentation on how to lose a game today, and they filled each chapter with individual tales of ineptitude and sadness.

Let’s look at the grades.

Offense Overall: C-

They had 383 yards, which is good. And they averaged 6.1 yards per play, which is good. They got their franchise running back going, which is good. Their MVP quarterback made some big plays and gave the team a chance, which is good. Everything else? Bad. Then worse. Then, sometimes, horrific. It was their second uneven showing in a row, which is concerning, but there are some things to like, too, for the future. Just out of sorts all day.

Quarterback: B-

Lamar Jackson was not the reason the Ravens lost today. He was their entire offense during a hard-to-watch-at-times first half, and, for a second there, I thought he might just take that last run to the house for a dramatic win. The pick was not on him at all. But there were a few missed throws I’m sure he’d like to have back, and the offense just couldn’t get anything going there at the end. Again, that’s not on him, but he wasn’t superhuman at the end, either, and they needed that today.

Running Backs: B

It was tough sledding there for a while, with an offensive line that appeared to be more of a nuisance to the Raiders’ front than actually offering any resistance for much of the first half. But Derrick Henry took over the Ravens’ offense for a good chunk of the second half and rushed for 84 yards and a physical rugby-style touchdown. Justice Hill is a really useful weapon, and made his typical two or three big plays today. Patrick Ricard was extremely effective in run blocking the second half, particularly on those runs to the edges.

Receivers: B-

Zay Flowers had a great first half, and had 91 yards and a touchdown catch. Isaiah Likely was not as impactful as last week, but still flashed and made a few big plays. Mark Andrews was more effective this week, with four catches, and Rashod Bateman had three receptions, but let a possible fourth bounce off him for an interception. Bateman got hit as the ball came, and it’s hard to pin all the blame there… but he’s just a magnet for odd plays sometimes. Nelson Agholor continued his pretty quiet start to the season, but nearly connected with Jackson on a long one that got tipped away at the end.

Offensive Line: D+

Let’s get this out of the way — as currently constructed, this offensive line is simply not capable of bottling up the likes of Chris Jones, Maxx Crosby, T.J. Watt or TJ Maxx. Patrick Mekari appeared to have a difficult time all day, and Daniel Faalele participated in a few big mistakes, as well. That being said, I thought Faalele stood out on a few plays, too. He and center Tyler Linderbaum combined on a double team to spring Justice Hill on his 14-yard run to open the second half, and Faalele later had a great seal block on a 9-yard run by Henry in the fourth quarter. I thought Roger Rosengarten battled, which was good, and Ronnie Stanley is drawing some flags early this season, but most of Henry’s big runs, and a clear blind side for Jackson much of the game, suggests he’s blocking pretty darn well. I think Andrew Vorhees is already a good player.

Defense Overall: C

I thought the defense was lights-out in the first half. Odafe Oweh was everywhere, they held the Raiders to 43 total yards, 1.7 yards per play and only allowed four first downs. But Devante Adams, Brock Bowers and… let me check this note… Gardner Minshew took it to them a little in the second half. The numbers look good, and there were some great performances from individuals out there today, but the defense holds a lot of the blame on this one. Not all of it… but a good amount.

Defensive Line: B

I thought this unit played pretty well. Nnamdi Madubuike was disruptive behind the line of scrimmage, and had a questionable facemask call. Brent Urban and Broderick Washington both made plays in the run game, and Travis Jones had his second consecutive impactful game — he had a tackle for loss and chased Minshew out of the pocket a few times.

Linebackers: A-

My best unit of the game today. Roquan Smith was back to looking like himself, with 11 tackles, a pass defensed and he forced an incompletion on third down with pressure to kill a first-quarter drive. Odafe Oweh was good all game, and it even showed up on the box score this week, as he had five tackles and 2.5 sacks. Trenton Simpson struggled some with Brock Bowers, who looks like an absolute beast. Kyle Van Noy was outstanding, picking up a pair of sacks, three tackles for loss and blowing up a third-and-goal play with instant pressure to force a field goal.

Defensive Backs: C

This is a weird one. Over and over again, I saw Marlon Humphrey and Brandon Stephens in tight coverage, and over and over again, I saw Davante Adams make a terrific catch on a perfect throw. Tough breaks, but the ball skills just weren’t up to Adams’ today. By the way, that sideline catch he made was ridiculous. Marcus Williams and Kyle Hamilton seemed to be in good position, but neither made huge impacts.

Special Teams: C-

The issue with Justin Tucker and his inability to hit 50-plus-yard kicks is actually becoming a problem. He has earned the benefit of the doubt as much as any player who has worn the purple and black, but it is getting concerning… and costly. Jordan Stout has been looking better this season, until that awful punt of 24 yards to give the Raiders a short field on their game-winning drive. Deonte Harty had a nice 15-yard punt return, but John Kelly Jr. made a poor decision to take a kick out of the end zone. It cost the Ravens 10 yards. Chris Board had a great open-field tackle on the opening kickoff, but later had a (questionable) penalty.

Coaching: C-

I loved when the offense adjusted, and started running to the edge behind Ronnie Stanley and throwing quick passes over Crosby as he was rushing upfield. I also liked seeing Jackson switch from under-center to shotgun and back, changing it up. I hated both challenges. I hated the fancy play call to put Charlie Kolar under center on third-and-one and I hated starting that drive with about 4:00 left in the game with a pass when Henry was gaping a seemingly-tired Raiders defense. Time to get back in the lab.

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