OTL: While Ravens Feast, AFC North Foes Have a Rough Day

Don’t look now, but it’s a happy Monday this time. The Baltimore Ravens celebrated their 30th season and handed the Browns a 41-17 loss. Lamar Jackson tossed four touchdown passes as Roquan Smith turned defense into offense, and Joe Flacco had a rough day at M&T Bank Stadium. The former Ravens franchise quarterback finished 25-45 for 199 yards, a touchdown and an interception. The Browns gave Dillon Gabriel a garbage time test drive and the Ravens surrendered his first touchdown pass in the league. After a slow start, the Ravens steamrolled their division foes.

The Ravens had some struggles in this game that will get lost in the end result. The Ravens won in spite of their run game lagging behind the normal standard. In his Report Card here at RSR, Darin McCann gave the running backs a D+:

They didn’t have a lot of room to work, as Cleveland attacked the interior of the Ravens’ line all game and outside runs never seemed to stand a chance with that initial penetration throwing everything off. Derrick Henry mustered only 23 yards on 11 carries, but did seem a little better in the second half than the first. He also put the ball on the ground again. Justice Hill only had seven yards on three carries, and nearly got his quarterback killed with some pass-block mistakes – or really bad assignments, if that was the case.

The positive here is that the Ravens won a game where their standard MO was almost off the table. There was a time when the Ravens couldn’t function without a strong run game. You remember the narrative, the idea that the Ravens want to stay in their ground game comfort zone or that Jackson couldn’t come from behind. The Ravens were able to separate from the Browns with their passing game. Jackson had four passing touchdowns and a handful of big plays down the field.

The running backs shouldn’t receive too much criticism as their performance linked heavily to the struggles of the offensive line. The Ravens lost the battle at the line of scrimmage when they tried to run the ball. If Jackson wasn’t the Baltimore quarterback that offensive line would have given up much more than three sacks, especially considering how well Myles Garrett did off the edge. It is starting to become surprising that Daniel Faalele remains the starting right guard.

Without much film study or leaning on PFF style data, it’s easy to see that the right guard spot is the weak link of the offensive line. Should the Ravens put in Ben Cleveland? Could it be much worse? It’s something to think about as Faalele hasn’t gotten better. Now I’ll throw a rhetorical question into the crowd: What happens when you do not get better and you weren’t that good in the first place?

McCann was much more forgiving to the wide receivers, who did the bulk of the work for Lamar Jackson’s offense. He gave the group an A:

It wasn’t a huge output in terms of yards, but four touchdown catches from this room and a few terrific individual displays gives them the offensive unit of the week award. Zay Flowers picked up where he left off in Buffalo, producing 75 yards on seven catches and basically getting open with ease. DeAndre Hopkins continues to play his role exceptionally well, hauling in two contested catches, with one counting as a touchdown and one falling on the shadow of the goal line. Tez Walker caught two passes for two touchdowns, giving him a crazy three touchdown catches on his first three career receptions. Tylan Wallace did what he does — making plays when given a chance. He also recovered a Henry fumble. Rashod Bateman is off to a quiet start, but had a nifty catch-and-run. Mark Andrews is not producing yet, and had a drop in the end zone — or at least had a touchdown ripped away from him, if you want to be generous.

Isn’t it refreshing to have this much talent at wide receiver? I have two takeaways from what we saw from this position group on Sunday. First, DeAndre Hopkins needs to be a more involved member of this offense. We haven’t seen much in terms of volume and he’s got two touchdowns and a big reception that put the Ravens against the shadow of the pylon. The Ravens have targeted Hopkins sparingly and he’s arguably their most exciting receiver; let the 33 year old receiver cook. Baltimore can get more out of Hopkins without overworking him, in fact the results burn the notion that he’s washed up like he’s left the cornerbacks trying to cover him.

Secondly, the Ravens youth at receiver is starting to pay dividends. Tez Walker has three NFL receptions and they were all touchdowns. Two of these receptions were against the Browns. Walker is transitioning from a player with untapped potential to a player the offense can genuinely count on. Tylan Wallace got the Ravens first touchdown, after an invigorating blocked punt by Jake Hummel. Wallace doesn’t get a ton of opportunities yet you can list his highlights, which speaks to Wallace as a player and the way the Ravens are utilizing their wideouts. The Ravens have receivers for different tasks and different type of attacks. It is no longer a held together by a purple string they bought for a couple nickels at Joann Fabric in 2002. The Ravens have not only invested in the receiver position, but they have made a diverse receiver corps that can complement the skillset of their MVP quarterback.

Mike Preston of the Baltimore Sun gave high marks to the secondary for their work against Flacco:

The Ravens weren’t challenged a lot on deep balls, only on short-to-intermediate passes. Cornerback Nate Wiggins picked off one pass from Flacco and returned it 61 yards to set up a touchdown. The Ravens were close to intercepting several other throws. They read the eyes of Flacco, who stared down his receivers. Rookie safety Malaki Starks led the group in tackles with seven while cornerback Chidobe Awuzie had five. Fellow safety Kyle Hamilton had five tackles while cornerback Marlon Humphrey had three. Grade: A

I saved Preston’s report card for the defense because for the most part the offense received grades that require a parent signature. What I am taking from the glowing remarks of the secondary (glowing marks that are infamously hard to earn from Preston) is that the Ravens last two first round picks are making a big impact. You can make the case that Wiggins is the most exciting player on the defense because he’s so incredibly fast and he could be in the beginning of an incredible career. Starks leading the secondary in tackles is a positive sign. Starks has not made the flashy play yet, however he tends to be in the right spot at the end of the play. For a rookie, that is a very good sign that things are going well. After Josh Allen carved the Ravens up in Week 1 the secondary receiving praise is a deeply needed positive step forward.

Preston also had plenty of praise for the special teams:

Rookie kicker Tyler Loop converted field goal attempts of 43 and 32 yards, but he had two errant kickoffs (one out of bounds and one short of the landing zone) that allowed Cleveland to take possession at the 40-yard line. That’s a no-no against quality offensive teams. Rookie LaJohntay Wester returned one punt for 23 yards and was a shoe-string tackle away from scoring a touchdown. Tylan Wallace had three kickoff returns for an average of 26.3 yards, including a long of 33. Linebacker Jake Hummel also blocked a punt in the second quarter, which set up a touchdown pass from Jackson to Wallace. This group was much more sound than a week ago against the Bills. Grade: A-

Loop does struggle with the landing zone, yet it’s hard to be mad at the special teams for anything. While Hummel’s blocked punt is going to get the most attention, I’d argue that LaJohntay Wester’s exciting return is my biggest takeaway. Wester, as Preston notes, was incredibly close to having his first regular season touchdown on the punt return. It’s not a matter of if, but a matter of when for Wester, he will score a special teams touchdown this season. Wester has made the Ravens look wise for giving him the punt return gig, as he has made good decisions through two games. That is half the battle for rookie return specialists, and with his speed and field vision Wester has the other half of the battle well taken care of.

Oh no. #Steelers rookie RB Kaleb Johnson appeared unaware of the new kickoff rules — and the #Seahawks took full advantage.

Result: an absolute gift of a TD.pic.twitter.com/fePBAHKjnf

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 14, 2025

Speaking of special teams, the Pittsburgh Steelers made a delightful blunder on kickoff team. For Baltimoreans, this is the kind of highlight you need to bookmark on X so you can watch it in your lowest moments. The Steelers gift wrapped a touchdown for the visiting Seahawks, who recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown. This makes me think of the old NFL Films productions of “Football Follies.”

The Steelers lost a game to the Seattle Seahawks they didn’t think they’d lose in Pittsburgh. This leveled their record to 1-1, while the Ravens dumped the Browns in an 0-2 hole. The Cincinnati Bengals won in a thrilling game against the Jacksonville Jaguars yet they paid a big price for it. Joe Burrow left the game with what is being reported as a turf toe injury.

#Bengals star QB Joe Burrow is feared to have suffered a Grade 3 turf toe injury, one that would require surgery and put him out at least 3 months, per me and @TomPelissero.

Burrow is still evaluating options, but the ones that would keep him on the field are dwindling. pic.twitter.com/UqYZejRoLa

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 15, 2025

While you hate to see injuries, especially to the stars that justify the expensive cost of going to the games, the loss of Burrow for a significant amount of time could take the bite out of the threat the Bengals pose to the Ravens. I can see Jake Browning doing okay for the Bengals if he’s needed for a handful of games because he has incredibly receiving talent around him. That said, if the Bengals don’t have Burrow for most of the season they are probably in trouble. Ravens fans should know the severity of turf toe. Not only did Kyle Boller go through it, but it essentially put the period at the end of Jonathan Ogden’s Hall of Fame career. It’s a small area of the body to injure, that has a big impact on every step.

The Ravens are 1-1 and they have gotten back on track. When you look at their schedule for the next few games, you’ll see the Ravens will need to be at the top of their game. A trip to Detroit is next followed by another fight in Kansas City. The Lions just scored over 50 points against the Chicago Bears, and while the Chiefs are 0-2, the Ravens don’t need a reminder of the challenge good ol’ Arrowhead presents.

Go forth and conquer this Monday. It is a victory Monday for Baltimore, hopefully the first of many this season.

The post OTL: While Ravens Feast, AFC North Foes Have a Rough Day appeared first on Russell Street Report.

Source: https://russellstreetreport.com/2025/09/15/out-to-lunch/ravens-burrow-turf-toe/