The Baltimore Ravens are 4-2 after their loss to the Cleveland Browns with a tough slate of opponents on the docket. Before we turn the page on Sunday’s game, let’s grab a few positives out of the defeat to take into Week 7.
Nikhil Mehta
Kyle Hamilton has been the Ravens’ primary nickel defender this year, but between his versatile deployment and Jesse Minter’s use of dime personnel, the team still needs a reliable slot corner. Second-year UDFA Keyon Martin won the job out of training camp, but was benched after
an up-and-down Week 1 showing. Fifth-round rookie Chandler Rivers’ performance was even more of a rollercoaster, leading to Martin’s return in Week 6. He practically shut down one Browns drive on his own with a PBU and a sack, and he did not deserve the pass interference flag that set up Cleveland’s game-tying touchdown in the fourth quarter. Martin also downed a Ryan Eckley punt at the one-yard line.
Dustin Cox
The silver lining for me coming out of the Ravens’ loss to the Browns was the pass rush. Seeing Trey Hendrickson and Nnamdi Madubuike playing at a high level on the field together was an encouraging sign of what the pass rush can look like going forward. Getting Mike Green going at the same time as Hendrickson is the dilemma now, as both appear to be most effective rushing from the right side of the defense. Hendrickson and Madubuike are the two highly-paid stars up front, though, and they certainly played like it on Sunday with 11 pressures.
Zach Canter
My biggest silver linings was how well the defense played, only allowing 13 total points with five sacks and 10 quarterback hits, and the return of Ja’Kobi Lane. The defense only allowed one touchdown all day, which was practically gift wrapped to the Browns. A Derrick Henry fumble gave them possession at the Ravens 35 and then an excellent Keyon Martin 3rd down stop was inexplicably called a pass interference, giving the Browns the ball inside the 10 with a fresh set of downs. They were nails all game, until the final drive where a great play call from Cleveland’s head coach Todd Monken against Minter’s Tampa 2 put them in field goal range. While it sucks they gave up the final points, only allowing 13 is an excellent performance in today’s NFL.
Ja’Kobi Lane was another bright spot, finishing with 4 catches for 40 yards. The offseason hype machine was put on hold after an early Week 1 injury put Lane on IR for four weeks. But he came back and immediately showed himself as a quarterback friendly target with the hands that made him special. Hopefully we’ll get to see some highlight reel plays downfield thrown from Lamar Jackson soon.
Frank Platko
A silver lining from the Ravens’ defeat in Week 6 was the performance of rookie pass-catchers Ja’Kobi Lane and Josh Cuevas. Lane was essentially making his season debut again having only played the first half of Week 1 and made an immediate impact. He made four catches for first down conversions and looked comfortable over the middle of the field as a space-eater. Lane should be a fixture in the passing game from here on out. Cuevas took on an elevated role with Matthew Hibner sidelined and had a season-best performance. He caught four passes for 44 yards, with a long 29-yard snag and fourth-down touchdown as well. With Mark Andrews on a declining trajectory and Durham Smythe out for the year, the Ravens will need their young tight ends to quickly acclimate into big roles. Cuevas showed a lot of promise against the Browns as a receiving threat moving forward.
