Welcome to Loose Feathers, a regular round-up of all of the latest news and analysis about the Baltimore Ravens. In today’s edition, we cover Lamar Jackson’s way-too-high pressure rate through two games, a few mitigating factors for the team’s offensive collapse vs. the Saints, and Let’s dive in!
Lamar Jackson begins 2026 season among NFL’s most-pressured QBs
Pass protection has been the undoing of the Ravens offense for multiple years, and the first two weeks of the 2026 season prove that old habits die hard. The unit has been excellent in the run game, ranking
first in ESPN’s win rate and second in PFF’s grading, but they fall to 30th and 32nd in each service’s respective pass-blocking metrics. Plenty of other teams have disparities of their own, but none are nearly as severe as Baltimore’s.
As a result, Lamar Jackson has been feeling the heat to start the season. He has faced pressure on 41.2% of his dropbacks (via Next Gen Stats), the sixth-highest rate in the league. And despite different collection methodology, Pro Football Focus also ranks the two-time MVP as the sixth-most-pressured quarterback in the league:
NFL quarterbacks facing the highest pressure rates through Week 2 – Mark Chichester (Pro Football Focus)
6. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
42.6% pressure rate | 47.1 PFF grade under pressure | -0.280 EPA per play under pressure
Jackson has faced pressure on 42.6% of his dropbacks, the sixth-highest rate among qualifying quarterbacks. His results in those situations have been mixed: His 8.6 yards per attempt under pressure ranks sixth among 32 qualifiers, but he has taken five sacks and produced two turnover-worthy plays. Jackson’s 6.5% turnover-worthy play rate ranks 10th-highest at the position, helping drag his production down to -0.280 EPA per play despite his ability to generate yardage when pressured.
Next Gen Stats has Jackson producing -0.31 EPA/play under pressure, again aligning with PFF’s numbers and indicating a major drop-off in his performance in such situations. He struggled last year due to his injuries, but in 2023 and 2024, he ranked among the league’s best passers against pressure – and that is without accounting for his scrambling ability.
There are schematic elements at play here. The Saints countered the Ravens’ under-center offense with linebacker blitzes that closed the distance to Jackson while his back was turned and disrupted Baltimore’s rhythm. Offensive coordinator Declan Doyle and offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford can be better-prepared for similar strategies in the future, while Jackson and his blockers will have to sharpen up their pre-snap adjustments at the line of scrimmage. If center Jovaughn Gwyn continues to struggle in pass protection, the Ravens may consider inserting veteran Ethan Pocic into the starting lineup to stabilize the middle of the unit.
Derrick Henry won’t solve all of the Ravens’ late-game problems
Seven things Solak thinks entering NFL Week 3 – Ben Solak (ESPN)
The Ravens never entered salt-the-clock mode against the Saints because they never got to that game state. They weren’t up by two scores in the fourth quarter. They lost Zay Flowers (and Ja’Kobi Lane) at wide receiver, and left tackle Ronnie Stanley left the game in the third quarter (toe) after struggling against Chase Young. The Saints were also run-blitzing in the second half in an effort to take Henry out of the game plan, and coordinator Declan Doyle had some good calls to beat those looks, but pass protection failed across the board…
…Could the Ravens have funneled more runs to Henry? Sure. The larger issue is that they never put the Saints to bed in the bulk of the game; the Ravens were too lacking in talent on offense, and defensively, their dam burst as the Saints made second-half adjustments. I still like the Ravens from a season-long perspective, but this is a growing team. The Ravens get an unbelievable soft stretch of defenses over the next three weeks (Cowboys, Titans and Falcons) with a potential return of Flowers. This is good soil from which to grow confidence and cohesion on offense.
Rio field conditions still under question
NFL intends to proceed with Ravens-Cowboys in Brazil, but field will look bad on TV – Mike Florio (Pro Football Talk)
On Sunday, the Ravens will face the Cowboys at Maracaña Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. Despite concerns regarding the quality of the field, the NFL does intend to proceed.
It’s our current understanding that the game is “likely” to happen as scheduled. If/when it does, expect the field to not look great on TV.
Also, it will be very important for the teams to get early access to the field so that the players will be able to make the right decisions about footwear for the game.
