Report Card: Offense Finds Itself in Win Over New York

The Ravens came out from their bye week looking explosive and dangerous — while still clinging to their propensity for costly penalties — in a 35-14 win over the Giants that spices up the last three weeks of their regular season.

Let’s look at some grades.

Offense Overall: A

Their first snap of the game came at the Giants 37-yard line after a big kick return by Justice Hill and Zay Flowers hauled in a 10-yard catch for a first down. Lamar Jackson then ran for 15 yards, but fumbled away the ball to the Giants at their own 12-yard line. The next drive, the Ravens let the clock run out on a 4th-and-1 and punted the ball on a curious note. And, then, well, the next five drives went Touchdown, Touchdown, Touchdown, Touchdown, Touchdown. That’s an A, and averaging 7.5 yards per play cements it. Terrific showing today.

Quarterback: A

The only reason this isn’t an A+ is that aforementioned fumble. Other than that, just a tremendous job. The stats will tell you Jackson was 21-25 for 290 yards and five touchdowns, with another 65 coming on the ground, but that still doesn’t even tell the whole story. The fierce stiff arm after a 15-yard run in the first quarter kind of set the tone for Jackson’s aggressive day, and picking up 21 on another run at the end of the half, while hiking up his trousers, will be shared online about 37 zillion times this week. He showed great zip on touchdown throws to Mark Andrews and Devontez Walker, and delicate touch on that second touchdown toss to Rashod Bateman and on a 26-yarder to Nelson Agholor in the fourth quarter.

Running Backs: B

Derrick Henry had some physical runs and particularly asserted himself in the third quarter. He finished with 67 yards on 14 carries. Justice Hill had two carries for seven yards, but one was a physical six-yarder on 3rd and 1, and he added 61 yards and a touchdown on five catches. We got a chance to see Rasheen Ali with some extended opportunities, and he was as advertised, looking good cutting upfield and he picked up 32 yards on eight totes.

Receivers: A

These guys showed out, with Rashod Bateman registering 80 yards on three catches, with two impressive touchdowns. The first found Bateman breaking open downfield, making the catch and making two defenders miss. The second one came with Bateman attacking vertically and getting his feet down in the back of the end zone. Zay Flowers was good all day, with six catches on seven targets for 53 yards. Andrews only had two targets, but he made them count with a touchdown and 24 yards on two catches. Isaiah Likely only had two catches, as well, but one saw him be physical after the catch to pick up a first down. Rookie Devontez Walker made a great toe-tap touchdown for his first NFL catch. Eight guys made a catch and the Ravens only threw 25 balls. That’s a lot of sharing the wealth, and they all contributed today.

Offensive Line: B

The Ravens gave up three sacks, but they were only for 15 yards, and there were a couple false starts. And, if we’re being picky, the running lanes just weren’t there all day for the backs. But I thought they largely built good pockets, did usually win at the line even if they struggled to get to those second-level blocks consistently and you just don’t average 7.5 yards a play without a little help up front. The Giants are a depleted team, and not at their peak, but I thought the line largely won at the snap. That’s a win.

Defense Overall: B

The Giants are not a healthy offense, and their quarterbacks do not offer the same challenges as say, the Bills or Bengals. The offensive line is battered, and their running backs are good players, but not terribly explosive. So, this wasn’t the biggest challenge the Ravens faced on paper this year. And there were way too many penalties, yet again. But there was some stuff to like, as well, and it was a good performance today.

Defensive Line: B+

This was probably the best unit of the day on this side of the ball. They only allowed 2.8 yards per rush, and Nnamdi Madubuike was particularly disruptive, blowing up a fourth-down sneak early in the second quarter and stuffing a 3rd-and-2 run later that half. He did pick up two flags on the day, contributing to that year-long nightmare. Michael Pierce was a welcomed returnee, and he just seems to move the line of scrimmage backwards time and time again. David Ojabo picked up a sack late in the first half. Odafe Oweh had a great run stop late in the third quarter, but also earned a flag.

Linebackers: B

Kyle Van Noy was another nice returnee this week, and he had a sack in the second quarter. Roquan Smith impacted the Giants’ run game early, and did get beat on a pass in the second half, but he returned the very next play to knock one down for an incompletion. Malik Harrison continued his recent good play and had eight tackles, a sack and two quarterback hits. Chris Board is playing solid football when given opportunities.

Defensive Backs: B-

Brandon Stephens had another tough day, picking up two pass-interference flags deep in Ravens’ territory. He did break up a third-down pass in the fourth quarter, but it’s been a rough season. Ar’Darius Washington continued his great play, however, with five tackles and an interception. Nate Wiggins drew a flag for PI, but also had a great play on a pass to fellow first-rounder Malik Nabers in the end zone on the last play of the third quarter. Kyle Hamilton is providing great coverage on the back end, and destroyed a run on the first play of the second quarter. Desmond King II was pretty active, and did have a PI on a fourth-down pass in the fourth quarter, and was beaten by Nabers on his fourth-quarter touchdown catch.

Special Teams: A

So, since I was just a little critical of King, let’s remember this: he had a great 22-yard punt return in the first quarter. Justice Hill had that explosive 59-yard kick return to start the game, Justin Tucker made all five of his kicks and Jordan Stout landed both of his punts inside the 20, averaging 46 yards a boot in the process. They did give up a 30-yard kick return, but let’s give them this one. Special teams needed a good one today.

Coaching: A

When you out-talent a team by a significant amount, don’t get crazy and don’t give them anything easy. The Ravens played a fairly conservative game, eventually went red-hot on offense and continued to batter with the run game while mixing in play-action. On defense, they played smart, were beaten a few times in holes in zone coverage, but continued to send different looks at the Giants’ overmatched quarterbacks.

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