Report Card: Passing Grades, but Few Honors in Win Over Cleveland

If you liked last week’s any-win-is-a-good-win performance in Minnesota, we’ll, you absolutely loved this one. The Ravens used a 13-0 fourth quarter against the Cleveland Browns and a little creativity from what was once a predictable play to even their record at 5-5 and keep their playoff dreams alive.

Let’s look at some grades.

Offense Overall: C-

This grade got saved a bit in the fourth quarter, but it was not an encouraging performance — even when taking into account that the Browns’ defense is one of the best the league has to offer. The line struggled to open run lanes for much of the game, and offered little resistance if Lamar Jackson had to start going through his progressions. The receivers struggled to gain separation, and drops and turnovers are always a recipe to a sluggish day on offense.

Quarterback: C+

He was under a lot of duress, and the first interception went off a receiver’s hands, and the second was batted in the air because his pocket collapsed. Still, there were some misses, and he didn’t change the nature of the game with his legs. He also nearly threw another pick in the end zone. There were some positives, particularly on the drive that resulted in the Ravens tying the score at 16. He made two big throws to Zay Flowers on that drive, including one after one of his patented escapes from pressure. He was better in the second half than the first, and that’s what the Ravens needed from him today.

Running Backs: B

Derrick Henry fought and battled for 103 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. His 59-yarder came late in the third quarter when the Ravens were down 16-10 and needed something — anything, really — to happen. He also made a couple catches that helped the Ravens on a day when yards were in huge demand. Keaton Mitchell had an interception go right off his hands, but was effective in both the run and pass game. Rasheed Ali looked good on an early 15-yard catch-and-run. Patrick Ricard had a huge block on Mark Andrews’ touchdown run.

Receivers: C

Zay Flowers made some big plays, including that 45-yarder, and two big catches on a late scoring drive. He also bobbled a pass on the sideline that fell incomplete. Mark Andrews had a good game, catching three balls and scoring on that 35-yard run on 4th down that gave the Ravens the lead. DeAndre Hopkins s had a big catch late, and Charlie Kolar made a big block on Andrews’ run, after having some struggles blocking at different times.

Offensive Line: D

They got whipped pretty good all game, including a dominant first half by Myles Garrett, who destroyed Roger Rosengarten once, Ronnie Stanley once and the line as a collective another 10 times. Daniel Faalele got beaten badly on a third-quarter run, but did have a nice block on Henry’s big run. They didn’t give up immediate pressure snap to snap, as we’ve seen them do before, but they couldn’t sustain the integrity of the pocket or gain consistent run push for the majority of the game. It was a tough assignment. They didn’t do well.

Defense Overall: A

Look, neither Browns quarterback appeared able to provide any kind of sustained problems, but the Ravens played well, won the line of scrimmage for much of the game and appeared tough in coverage, when not allowing giant gaps in zones on occasion. They only allowed 187 yards at 3.5 yards per play, and the Browns didn’t convert a third down in the first half, going 2-14 on the day. Only allowing a field goal after a muffed punt was a huge factor in the game, and they had three sacks and a good amount of pressure.

Defensive Line: A

There were times that Browns running back Quinshon Judkins had some real success, but it was mostly due to him making plays, instead of the line being pushed around. Kyle Van Noy had probably his best game of the season, picking up an early sack with an explosive inside move and lighting up Shedeur Sanders on his interception to Nate Wiggins. He also blew up a third-down screen late in the first half to kill a drive. Brent Urban blew up a run for a loss of three, and Dre’Mont Jones made his presence felt when he forced Sanders into a Keyon Martin sack, and killed a drive with a third-down stop on a swing pass. John Jenkins has been a good addition, and he and Travis Jones pushed the Browns’ line backwards several times.

Linebackers: B

Roquan Smith wasn’t filling up the stat sheet this week, but he was in tight coverage on that final fourth-down stop and had a vicious run stop late in the third quarter. Trenton Simpson caused an intentional-grounding flag with a well-timed blitz, and Teddy Buchanan broke up a screen with great coverage and pressured an incompletion in the second half.

Defensive Backs: B+

Nate Wiggins had a terrific interception in the third quarter, and appeared to be in good coverage much of the game. Kyle Hamilton had a great second half, and had nine tackles, recorded a sack and destroyed several runs. He dropped a pick and drew a flag for kicking the ball afterwards, but we’ll take it. His ability to at least irritate the quarterback a dozen times a game is both commendable and priceless. Alohi Gilman is around the ball a lot, and does miss some tackles, but he usually still pursues and often gets back in the play. Chidobe Awuzie was good in coverage throughout, and made a great play to break up what could have been the game-tying touchdown. Malakai Starks had a tough first half, missing on a couple tackles, but he did well rushing the passer, and impacted a few throws. Martin had that sack and also broke up a third-down pass with a diving effort in the second quarter to end a drive.

Special Teams: C-

The good: Tyler Loop was a perfect 3-3 on field goals, including a high-pressure situation kick when he nailed a 44-yarder in windy conditions to tie the game at 16 in the fourth quarter. The horrific: LaJohntay Wester muffed a punt in the second quarter to give the Browns the ball inside the Ravens’ 10-yard line, and Jacob Hummel jumped offsides on a punt at the end of the first half, giving the Browns a first down and new life. Between those extremes, there were some nice returns by Wester, Mitchell and Ali, and Jordan Stout, while not as sharp in pinning kicks as in recent weeks, was still solid.

Coaching: B-

So… I’ve been killing the Mark Andrews tush push, and I have to give the nod to the coaches on today’s variation that resulted in a touchdown run. Terrific call. I loved the aggression on defense from Zach Orr, particularly against the young quarterbacks in Cleveland. And it was smart by Todd Monken to incorporate all of the running backs early, and to keep feeding Henry, even when the sledding was tough. The plan to handle Garrett in the first half was an absolute disaster, but it felt like they took their medicine at half time and came out with a more-bodies-on-95 approach. The red-zone stuff is still remarkably awkward and inefficient. The problems on the field today on offense were largely due to a combination of sloppy play and brilliant Cleveland defense, in my opinion.

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Source: https://russellstreetreport.com/2025/11/16/report-card/report-card-ravens-23-cleveland-16/