In a potential letdown game after a massive win in Rio, the Ravens managed to control the Titans for nearly their entire matchup on Sunday. But, in accordance with franchise tradition, Baltimore’s victory was far from pretty. There was a lot of good, bad, and ugly to go around.
The Good
Lamar Jackson-Zay Flowers connection: There might not be a better quarterback/wide receiver duo on the planet right now. Despite both missing time in the first four weeks, the duo is operating at an otherworldly level. Sunday’s
win was a perfect example: Jackson threw for 222 yards in the first half, over 100 of which went to Flowers. That built enough of a lead in the second half for the Ravens to close out the game. Unfortunately, the South Florida natives are going to continue to have mirrored seasons. After Jackson had to work without Flowers in the second half of Week 1 and all of Week 2, Flowers played without Jackson in the second half of Week 4 and likely all of the next game as well.
Defensive improvements: The Ravens defense still needs work, and the Titans offense is maybe the worst in football. That being said, I am going to give Jesse Minter’s unit their due after this one. Outside of Tennessee’s first and last drive, this defense did exactly what they needed to. In a game where Lamar Jackson left and the offense put up a big goose egg in the second half, the defense kept the Titans at bay. It wasn’t perfect, and they did let up the late touchdown drive, but they are showing improvement, and that’s what matters. For all the comparisons that Jesse Minter-Mike Macdonald comparisons, it’s important to remember there isn’t a magical button that makes the defense suddenly understand Minter’s vision immediately.
Pass blocking: A big talking point heading into this game was how the interior offensive line oculd struggle against Jeffery Simmons, one of the best defensive linemen in the league. But they beat expectations and allowed just six pressures on Lamar Jackson’s 23 dropbacks and one on Tyler Huntley’s 11 dropbacks, according to Pro Football Focus. Seven pressures across 34 dropbacks (20.5%, a season low) while backups are playing and a rookie guard is out of position is an outstanding effort, especially with Simmons on the other side. It was noticeable that Jackson had a lot of clear pockets to work from on Sunday.
Pressure numbers: While the Ravens’ offensive line got after it in pass protection, their pass rush responded kind. While they only converted one sacks, they were in the backfield all day and clearly made Cam Ward uncomfortable, forcing him to move and throw the ball away multiple times. The unit as a whole totaled 18 pressures; Mike Green and Nnamdi Madubuike particularly stepped up in a big way with Trey Hendrickson out for this game.
The Bad
Second-half offense: I understand that Lamar Jackson was out for the second half of the game. I understand that Jesse Minter specifically said that Tyler Huntley operated in a way that allowed the Ravens – up big already and with the rain coming down – to win. But putting up zero points in the entire second half against the Titans is not something to stand on. The defense did their job by not allowing Tennessee to get momentum, but the offense is going to need a better game plan Sunday night against Atlanta without Jackson. I like Huntley, and I think with a week of preparation Declan Doyle can draw up a way for the Ravens to win another one of his starts.
Run blocking: While I noted how well the pass blocking was for the offensive line, they struggled to open lansin the run game. Derrick Henry only averaged 3.2 yards per carry despite getting 23 attempts. Only 25 of Henry’s 73 yards came before contact. 25 yards before contact on 23 attempts is not a stat you want to see if you are the offensive line. They got pushed around up front. They are going to have to be better so they can lean on Henry against Atlanta with no Lamar Jackson sidelined.
Sack conversions: While the pass rush was good on Sunday, the Ravens only converted one pressure for an actual sack. It came late in the game from undrafted free agent Ethan Burke. When players like Mike Green and Nnamdi Madubuike are getting five and six pressures in the game, they need to gets hands on the quarterback and impact the play. In fairness to Green, one of his first pressures forced Cam Ward into making an unadvised throw that was rifled in hard to his running back, which bounced off for Trenton Simpson’s interception. But only one sack against this Titans team is a poor effort.
The Ugly
Penalties: Talk about ugly. I don’t know if there’s anything much uglier than the flag pandemic going on in the NFL this season. The Ravens certainly have their own discipline issues to work out and plenty of pre-snap penalties that prove that. I’m not absolving them of any of that. But I throw that stuff on the back burner after watching the ridiculous show on Kyle Hamilton unsportmanlike conduct and all of the soft holding and pass interference calls. It’s not just a Ravens issue. Twelve teams had double-digit penalties in Week 4. It’s a league-wide problem and it’s getting noticed.
Injuries: Heading into Sunday’s game, the Ravens already had all three of their centers on injured reserve along with four other would-be contributors. Leading pass rusher Trey Hendrickson was out as well. Then, during the game, Baltimore lost quarterback Lamar Jackson, cornerback Marlon Humphrey, backup guard Andrew Vorhees, and tight end Durham Smythe to injury. Smythe is already confirmed to be out for the season with a torn Achilles and a subsequent placement on IR. The other three didn’t practice on Wednesday but aren’t considered to be IR candidates. The Ravens are looking at their backup quarterback, their fourth option at center, their second backup guard, and a suddenly-thin outiside cornerback corps to play Sunday Night Football. They have since made a trade for center Cam Jurgens that would slide Vega Ioane back to guard but he won’t be ready for Sunday as he works to clear concussion protocol and learn the offense.
