Report Card: Ravens Make a Holiday Statement

This Christmas road game looked an awful lot like last year’s Christmas road game for Baltimore, and the now-first-place Ravens look primed to be playing their best ball heading into the end of the season.

I looked back at this and felt like the grades were pretty high this week, but when you win 31-2 on the road against a team that has already clinched its division, you get high marks.

Let’s look at some grades.

Offense Overall: A

The Ravens committed no turnovers, had 432 yards of offense, and averaged 7.1 yards per play on the road against one of the best defenses in the National Football League. They were physical. They were explosive. And they were efficient, going 3-3 in the Red Zone and 4-9 on third downs. This was a really, really strong performance.

Quarterback: A+

It’s hard to imagine that a quarterback in today’s NFL who threw the ball 15 times and had four carries could possibly earn a grade this high, but Lamar Jackson was spectacular. He was 10-for-15 on those throws for 168 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and had 87 yards rushing, including a 48-yard sprint where he showed that he can still call on that rare speed when he needs to open it up. The improvisational scramble and throw to Mark Andrews for 67 yards late in the first half, and the staggering toss to Isaiah Likely on his touchdown reception after buying time were both remarkable. A great performance.

Running Backs: A

Derrick Henry was once again a force of nature, putting up 147 yards on 27 bruising carries and a touchdown. These were not easy yards, and Henry’s longest carry of the day went for 20 yards. But he broke through arm tackle after arm tackle and consistently fell forward. Keaton Mitchell only had 20 carries on 11 carries, but most of them were against stacked boxes when the game was in hand. Rasheen Ali only had one carry, and his status is to be watched. I thought Patrick Ricard was violent and impactful on several plays.

Receivers: B

It’s hard to give a huge grade here because their opportunities were severely limited due to the nature of the game. That being said, Mark Andrews had a gigantic 67-yard catch that lipped the field at a pivotal time, and Isaiah Likely did a great job on a scramble drill to work his way open for a touchdown. The two tight ends also had big blocks on Jackson’s touchdown run. Zay Flowers only had two catches, but one was a big 27-yarder that helped set up the Ravens’ first touchdown. They didn’t get a lot of targets, but this unit performed when called upon, and blocked when not called upon. Great team football.

Offensive Line: B

They faced a tough defensive front, and there were times those Texans defenders won their match-ups. But this unit helped pave the way for 251 rushing yards against that tough defensive front, and only gave up one sack. Patrick Mekari had a nice block on Henry’s 20-yard run, and Ronnie Stanley was in front of several positive carries. Tyler Linderbaum is great at crawling to that second level, as well as keeping things pretty clean up front.

Defense Overall: A

The Texans are playing with a depleted receiving room and an offensive line that… well, it struggles. But the Ravens suffocated Houston much of the game, limiting them to 211 yards of offense and 3.9 yards per play. C.J. Stroud certainly missed some passes you don’t expect him to miss, but I think the Ravens caused some of that by dropping deep into windows — certainly better than they were at the start of this season.

Defensive Line: A

They won this battle consistently, which is typically how defenses win in this league. The Texans averaged only 3.4 yards per rush and Stroud’s pocket seemed to evaporate quickly more times than not. Nnamdi Madubuike had a sack and three quarterback hits, and it felt like Odafe Oweh was all over the place, as he had a sack and two quarterback hits. Broderick Washington logged three tackles, and Travis Jones hurried Stroud into a short completion on third-and-long in the third quarter, forcing a punt.

Linebackers: A-

Roquan Smith has been playing really good ball since the bye, and continued that with eight tackles and a sack. He had some hard hits on several plays that helped set the tone. Kyle Van Noy continued his great season, registering a sack on third down to kill the Texans’ opening possession. Chris Board had a nice sack off the edge in the third quarter.

Defensive Backs: A

Kyle Hamilton had a great diving interception on the opening drive of the second half that really helped the Ravens put their stamp on this one, and I thought Brandon Stephens had one of his better games of the year, providing tight coverage on several sideline plays and making a great open-field tackle on the Texans’ first drive to force third down. Marlon Humphrey got an iffy pass-interference call, but also had a great break-up int he end zone that same drive. Ar’Darius Washington is growing from solid fill-in who plays his role to playmaker, and I am here for it. He got beat on a second-quarter throw where he didn’t see the ball, but had a big tackle of Joe Mixon at the 1-yard line, had a big hit on an incompletion and forced a third-down incompletion with great coverage in the fourth quarter. Nate Wiggins got beat by Nico Collins on an early slant, but also broke up a third-quarter pass and looked sticky most of the game.

Special Teams: B-

Justin Tucker appears all the way back since the bye week, and he drilled a 52-yarder, as well as going perfect on extra points. Jordan Stout was fine, putting two inside the Texans 20. Newcomer Steven Sims didn’t impress with his two punt returns, totaling seven yards, and the Ravens gave up a 45-yard kickoff return by Dameon Pierce. This unit still concerns me going forward, but Tucker’s comeback does help a good deal.

Coaching: A-

This team is really finding its form right now and that reflects well on the entire coaching staff. The fortifications on defense, including some hard-to-make personnel calls, have flipped that side of the ball around, and Todd Monken appears to be fully embracing Bully Ball. The decision to challenge the spot on the fourth-down pass by the Texans in the third quarter looked fairly obvious. Making the Texans punt again after that flag blew up int he Ravens’ face a bit with the ensuing safety, but it was the right decision at the time.

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