Scattershot of Grades in Wild Win

Look, this was a remarkable game, featuring some season-defining plays from some of the top players the league has to offer in Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, Derrick Henry, Tee Higgins and Justin Tucker. In short, the stars shined.

At least, the offensive stars shined. The defenders largely struggled against these stars, and some of these grades will reflect just that.

What we can all agree on is that was one of the most-entertaining games the NFL has had in recent years to showcase its game.

Let’s get to the grades.

Offense Overall: A

There was a costly fumble in overtime, and some concerning possessions in the first half that featured some of the inconsistencies we’ve seen in this team at different points of the season. But that’s quibbling. This was a clutch, dominant performance on the road against a desperate team. The Ravens totaled 520 yards, went 10-15 on third downs and scored 27 points in the second half and overtime. The run game sputtered for much of the time, but busted loose a big one at just the right time. The star quarterback was awesome, and that masked a few flaws up front, but that’s why the stars make the big bucks, right?

Quarterback: A

This was Jackson’s third game of the first four against a big-name quarterback, and the Ravens’ third straight win. Jackson was magnificent. He was 26-for-42 for 348 yards and four touchdowns, and rushed for another 56 yards. Those are amazing numbers, but they don’t begin to tell the story. He converted big third down after big third down, did a terrific job re-discovering Mark Andrews, feeding Zay Flowers and finding guys like Tylan Wallace and Charlie Kolar when he needed them. The play to Isaiah Likely in the fourth quarter will run on highlight clips for perpetuity, and it should — but it shouldn’t overshadow this gritty, brilliant performance. He looked like a two-time MVP.

Running Backs: B

This wasn’t the performance we’ve seen from this group the past few weeks, but they were plenty good, and Derrick Henry put the team on his back in overtime and delivered an enormous 51-yard run to set up the winning kick. Both Henry and Justice Hill picked up a pair of third-and-shorts in the game, and Hill is really, really good at helping out in pass blocking. He impresses every week in one way or another. Patrick Ricard had a huge block on that Henry run in overtime, but whiffed on one on the safety against Henry.

Receivers: A

This was their best performance of the season. Zay Flowers looked like the featured guy many of us expected this season, with seven catches for 111 yards. He had two big plays of 20-plus yards in the first quarter, and had a great toe-tap midway through the fourth. Rashod Bateman was really good, with four grabs for 58 yards, including a touchdown catch. Mark Andrews and Charlie Kolar were the more-targeted tight ends, and they delivered with seven catches for 119 yards and a touchdown between them. Isaiah Likely still contributed in a big way, with two touchdowns among his three catches, including that great high-point on Lamar’s highlight play. Tylan Wallace snagged two big catches for 31 yards, including converting a third-and-10 late in the fourth quarter.

Offensive Line: C

They weren’t pushing around the Bengals’ over-stacked front, and they gave up seven quarterback hits, but they rarely got overwhelmed, and I thought they held up well when the Ravens went to a faster-pace. It felt like they were starting to lean on the Bengals front after a while. Ronnie Stanley had a terrific block on Henry’s overtime run, and Tyler Linderbaum had a few nice blocks, as well. Roger Rosengarten struggled a few times, but battled, and Patrick Mekari, in my opinion, looked better at left guard this week. Daniel Faalele had a holding call in the fourth quarter, but also got in on a nice block on a Henry run in the second quarter.

Defense Overall: D

The Bengals produced 442 yards of offense, and Joe Burrow, Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase looked every bit like the superstars they have shown to be in the past. There were times when Chase Brown was finding some room in the run game, but I thought they largely held up on that front, only allowing 3.1 yards per carry on the day. This was a struggle, and the Ravens showed some of the same problems that haunted them the first three weeks of the year.

Defensive Line: B-

There was some stuff to like here, as they did a nice job in the run game, and Nnamdi Madubuike probably had his best game of the year, registering that huge sack, two quarterback hits and four tackles. Michael Pierce was good on run D, and Odafe Oweh had some impactful plays, but also a pair of penalties. Tavius Robinson had a big sack to kill a second-quarter drive on third down. They didn’t get consistent pressure with the four-man front today, however, and I thought it allowed the talented Bengals’ receivers to find holes in the zones.

Linebackers: C

Roquan Smith had 14 tackles — eight of them solo. He looked really good at the start of the game, blowing up a third-and-one run in the first quarter, and grabbed Brown by the shoelaces to stop a long run. But he was trailing on a ton of completions again, and he got beat pretty cleanly by Higgins on the Bengals’ first touchdown of the day. Trenton Simpson flashed a few times, blowing up a short pass to Chase for a four-yard loss and breaking up a pass in the third quarter. But he got beat for a touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter.

Secondary: D-

Marlon Humphrey had that gigantic pick when he beat Chase to a spot on a slant, helping the Ravens in their comeback hopes, but he was also one of the defenders in coverage on that long Chase touchdown at the end of the first half. He was also seal-blocked on chase’s other touchdown, when he took a short pass and ran upfield for a 70-yard score. Nate Wiggins was a little up-and-down again, and probably got away with a PI on Chase in the second quarter, but he also broke up a pass in the fourth quarter on a big play. Kyle Hamilton was good, and the Bengals seemed to only find success on plays not near number 14. Marcus Williams was also involved on that deep Chase play, and he seemed to be in coverage a few times on chunk plays — to what degree, nobody knows without knowing the specific responsibilities of each play. Ar’Darius Washington had a great open-field tackle in the Ravens’ red zone early in the second quarter.

Special Teams: C

This would have been an easy “A” of it wasn’t for that decision to let the punt roll down to the Ravens’ 2 on what turned into a safety on the next play. They also gave up a 27-yard kickoff return. Oh, and that return by Chris Collier that resulted in the Ravens having to start their drive at the 8-yard line late. Other than that? Not bad at all. Justin Tucker exorcised his demons, hitting a huge 56-yarder to essentially send the game into overtime. That was great to see. Punter Jordan Stout was effective as well, landing an early punt at the 15 on a nice directional kick, and booming his other punts over 67 yards each.

Coaching: C

There are real issues in this secondary, and we keep seeing it every week — huge holes and linebackers chasing star receivers in the open field. For 90-percent of the game, this defense looks good, but that other 10 percent will destroy a season in a hurry. It’s not all bad, and they do appear to genuinely confuse quarterbacks sometimes, but the leaks must get plugged, and sooner than later. I liked the offense going to a quicker tempo, and I also liked the timeout the coaches called in the 2:00 drive that saved them from a penalty. There was plenty of time left, and those five yards meant more than the clock at that point. If there’s a real bright side to this offense, and how quickly they seem to adjust during games this season, it’s that they are built to play however they need to — slow and powerful, or fast and going east and west and north and south.

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Source: https://russellstreetreport.com/2024/10/06/report-card/scattershot-of-grades-in-wild-win/