Offense
Lamar Jackson and the starting offensive line went the distance as per usual. Behind them, Justice Hill’s absence opened the door for Rasheen Ali to play a career-high 12 offensive snaps in the backfield.
He caught one pass for 15 yards on a third down conversion in the first quarter. Keaton Mitchell’s 16 snaps were a season-high mark while Derrick Henry rushed 18 times for 103 yards and a touchdown in 33 snaps (54%).
At wide receiver, Deandre Hopkins’ snap count jumped to 42 (69%) in the No. 2 role with Rashod Bateman sidelined. Hopkins only caught one reception on a handful of targets. Tylan Wallace also jumped up the pecking order with 26 snaps, followed by Devontez Walker with nine and LaJohntay Wester with six. Zay Flowers played 54 of 61 snaps (89%) and led the team with 78 receiving yards.
It was a busy day for Mark Andrews, who led the tight end snap share with 37 plays (61%). Andrews caught three passes for 32 yards and scored the game-sealing touchdown in the fourth quarter, which came on a 35-yard run via a trick play. Isaiah Likely played 32 snaps and caught two passes, while Charlie Kolar was a distant third with 19 snaps (31%). Pat Ricard received 19 snaps in his usual in-line blocking role.
Defense
Four defenders played all 100% of snaps and the suspects were usual: Kyle Hamilton, Alohi Gilman, Roquan Smith, and Nate Wiggins. Hamilton played a starring role with a stat sheet-stuffing performance, while other defensive playmakers also stood out in an all-around effort.
Wiggins reeled in a second-half interception, his third of the season. He was flanked by Chidobe Awuzie at cornerback for most of the day with Marlon Humphrey absent. Awuzie played all but three snaps (52) and made a big impact with three pass breakups and solid coverage throughout the game. Keyon Martin also stepped up in his 18 snaps, recording a pass breakup, sack, quarterback hit, and tackle for loss.
Travis Jones took on a heavy workload up front, playing almost 80% of snaps (43). The next highest defensive lineman was John Jenkins at 22 snaps, followed by the trio of Brent Urban, C.J. Okoye and Taven Bryan, who once again played between 11-14 snaps each.
Mike Green still led all edge rushers in snaps (37) despite being questionable entering the game. Dre’Mont Jones played 33 snaps and had two quarterback hits for a second consecutive week, while Kyle Van Noy had a sack in his 29 snaps as the third edge rusher. Trenton Simpson played only five snaps at linebacker but made an impact a pass-rusher with two quarterback hits as well.
