The Baltimore Ravens limped out of Week 4 with a 24-18 victory over the Tennessee Titans and injuries to several key players, including Lamar Jackson. Here are Baltimore Beatdown’s instant takeaways:
All eyes on Lamar Jackson’s ankle
It’s hard to come away from this game with any other takeaway than how important Lamar Jackson is to this offense. Jackson was having his way against the Titans in the first half before leaving the game with an ankle injury. Tyler Huntley was unable to keep the offense moving at a similar pace in the second
half, scoring zero points in the final two quarters. Zay Flowers seemed to disappear after a monster first half as well once Jackson left the game. Hopefully Jackson’s injury is not one that will linger and affect him much going forward or cause him to miss any games. – Dustin Cox
Kyle Hamilton should be in the DPOY conversation
The NFL’s year-end awards tend to be driven by stats, and Kyle Hamilton’s unique role will keep him from racking up the kind of sack and interception numbers that typically lead to hardware. But I’m not sure any single defender in the league is as impactful on a play-to-play basis and capable of moments of such individual brilliance. Watching him chase down and strip Carnell Tate from behind was a thing of football beauty. In that way (and a few others), Hamilton is a defensive Lamar Jackson – but he’ll never get recognized as one. – Nikhil Mehta
Vega Ioane held up at center
One of my main takeaways from this game was how prepared Vega Ioane seemed to be making his first start at center. Jeffery Simmons was a major worry against Baltimore’s interior offensive line entering the game, but the unit kept the superstar defensive tackle from taking over the game. I did not notice any obvious issues with snaps either from Vega. The Ravens may have found something with their first-round pick moving to a new position. – Dustin Cox
Minter owns money downs
Jesse Minter’s defense has not been the world-beating unit most expected to start the year. They have especially struggled against opposing scripted drives and gave up a touchdown on Tennessee’s opening drive. On that possession, the Titans did not face a third down until they got to the three yard-line. They faced nine more over the course of the game, plus two fourth downs, and only moved the chains twice. Baltimore’s pass rush was not as effective without Trey Hendrickson, but Cam Ward struggled to sort through Minter’s coverages and find open receivers. The first-year head coach also dialed up some creative pressure packages that forced Ward to throw the ball out of bounds several times, though he was only sacked once. – Nikhil Mehta
