The Baltimore Ravens won a thrilling matchup against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 3, emerging victorious from a high-scoring affair by three points. A game-winning field goal lifted the Ravens to a 34-31 advantage following some heroics in all three phases.
Here are report card grades for each position group from the miraculous win.
Quarterback: B
The Ravens made a concentrated effort to stick with the run in this game, which led to Lamar Jackson attempting just 20 passes. He completed 15 of them (75%) for 185 passing
yards with two touchdowns and another 50 rushing yards on just six carries. Jackson had less than 100 passing yards entering the fourth quarter but was efficient overall and made key plays late in the game. He had more passes that were off-target this game than in the previous two, including an underthrown deep attempt to Devontez Walker, but only having five incompletions in total is hard to scoff at. Jackson’s passer rating of 136.7 was his best mark of the season thus far. His decisiveness and late-game decision-making help elevate this grade.
Running Back: B–
Derrick Henry was surprisingly bottled up pretty well by the Cowboys’ defense, as he averaged only 3.4 yards per carry on 26 rushing attempts. Henry was stuffed on multiple third-and-short and fourth-and-short tries. He did score two touchdowns again and had a long run of 29 yards. Justice Hill made an impact with five carries for 33 yards on the ground. Hill had multiple good runs as a change-of-pace to Henry’s bruising downhill style. Neither running back was a factor in the passing attack in this game.
Wide Receiver: B–
Zay Flowers’ return to the lineup proved to be a saving grace for the Ravens offensively. Despite playing less snaps than usual, he led the team with five catches for 84 yards on six targets. Flowers made the biggest catch of the game for a 27-yard gain with only a few seconds remaining in regulation. He also had a 20-yard run where he fell just short of scoring a touchdown. Rashod Bateman caught two passes for 37 yards and Chris Moore reeled in a short four-yard touchdown catch. Devontez Walker was targeted twice on two long deep shots, neither of which were completed — but the first attempt drew a pass interference call that set up a rushing score.
Tight End: C
Mark Andrews suffered a hand injury in the middle of the game that sidelined him for a little bit before he returned. Andrews caught three passes for 24 yards, as his target share dipped with the return of Flowers. Both rookie tight ends were more involved this week. Matthew Hibner had a long 21-yard catch-and-run reception and caught the go-ahead score late in the fourth quarter. On that play, Hibner was uncovered in the slot and did a good job making himself available for Jackson. Josh Cuevas also caught a 14-yard pass on a crossing route for a nice first down pickup. In the blocking game, this group’s performance left much to be desired, as they struggled to hold the edge and missed multiple blocks.
Offensive Line: C
The Ravens surrendered some pressure in this game, but Jackson was not sacked and the Cowboys only recorded one quarterback hit. Carson Vinson appeared to fare pretty well in his first career start at left tackle and Vega Ioane had a cleaner performance than in Week 2 Ioane stepped up to take snaps at center late in the game after both Jovaughn Gwyn and Ethan Pocic exited with injuries. John Simpson was victim to multiple negative plays, and the Ravens did have a few offensive line penalties again. They also weren’t very effective run blocking in short-yardage situations, where the Ravens failed to gain one yard when needed on multiple conversion attempts.
Defensive Line: C+
The Ravens were surprisingly gashed on the ground by the Cowboys’ rushing attack, particularly on the opening drive of the game. They settled in better later in the second half and game script helped with that. The Ravens seemed content with ceding rushing success in lieu of the Cowboys unlocking explosive plays through the air. In total, the Ravens allowed 148 yards, two touchdowns and 4.9 yards per carry. Nnamdi Madubuike had three tackles in over 40 snaps in his return to action. Calais Campbell was a force in this game with a team-high three quarterback hits. Travis Jones had two tackles for loss. The Ravens still need to start getting more consistent interior pressure from their front seven.
Edge Rusher: C
The Ravens were only able to get home for one sack in this game, which didn’t come from an edge rusher, but did have seven quarterback hits on Dak Prescott. Trey Hendrickson had two and Tavius Robinson had one as well. The rest of team’s pass rushing production came from other position groups. Hendrickson continues to rack up pressures and come up just short of finishing with sacks. Zion Young and Mike Green showed some good physicality but weren’t able to win pass rushing sets with consistency.
Linebacker: B-
Roquan Smith had a solid all-around game with eight tackles, a sack, tackle for loss and quarterback hit. Smith’s sack came early in the game. Trenton Simpson also made an impact again with two impressive tackles for loss, including one where he blew up a screen play by himself. Teddye Buchanan returned to action but played only a handful of snaps. Simpson seems to have a strong hold on the starting job opposite Smith right now, so it will be interesting to see how Buchanan can factor into the mix over the coming weeks.
Cornerback: C
The Ravens faced a tall task of matching up with CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens in pass coverage, and the results weren’t spectacular. They did a good job of limiting big plays for most of the game, but the Cowboys’ wideouts began to have their way in the fourth quarter. Marlon Humphrey in particular was picked on a bit and allowed multiple long passes in coverage, and Nate Wiggins was challenged too especially as a tackler. Lamb and Pickens each had seven catches on a combined 19 targets and totaled 194 yards together. Chidobe Awuzie factored into the cornerback rotation in this game, as did Chandler Rivers again in the slot. Wiggins was flagged for a questionable defensive pass interference on the Cowboys’ final drive of the game but responded with back-to-back incompletions while in coverage in the end zone.
Safety: B-
Malaki Starks and Jaylinn Hawkins improved from last game and open-field tackling from the team’s safeties appeared to be better. Hawkins had eight tackles and Starks had six tackles. Kyle Hamilton was a force in this game with eight tackles, two passes defended and a tackle for loss. He was involved in multiple plays around the ball at the line of scrimmage and also covered well. The Ravens played a lot of two-high safety looks in this game to keep a lid on the top of the field to eliminate big plays and keep everything in front of them.
Special Teams: A
Tyler Loop was the hero of the day, nailing a 56-yard field goal to win the game as time expired. That was the best kick of Loop’s young career. He made his other field goal attempt as well and all four extra point tries. LaJohntay Wester had a 24-yard punt return and Ryan Eckley’s three punts averaged 49.7 yards. Keondre Jackson was another special teams standout, blocking a field goal in the third quarter. The Ravens wound up winning by only three points, so Jackson’s blocked field goal was a huge game-defining play.
