As the Ravens went into halftime trailing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 10-3 on Thursday evening, most observers needed to be puzzled.
Did offensive coordinator Greg Roman simply permit quarterback Lamar Jackson to throw 30 passes within the first half? Was this actual or some new model of the most recent online game?
In the second half, Roman and Jackson got here to their senses because the Ravens rushed for 204 yards within the remaining two quarters to safe a 27-22 come-from-behind victory.
Sometimes coordinators blow a fuse looking for a method to manufacture factors, and which may clarify the bizarre play calling early Thursday evening. But this was a workforce looking for an identification, and so they might need discovered one.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh mentioned throwing the ball early and infrequently was a part of the workforce’s sport plan.
“It really laid out exactly how we had anticipated, in terms of what we called, when we called it in terms of the run-pass ratio,” he mentioned. “I thought we’d do a little bit better than three points; we all thought we’d score a little bit more than three, but their defense is tough, and we couldn’t get going with first downs and getting drives extended, but that was how we planned on doing it.”
That wasn’t too good, no matter the truth that the Buccaneers have been lacking three beginning cornerbacks and a security due to accidents. The sport plan for this workforce needs to be easy: run, run, and run some extra.
It’s unlikely the Ravens will probably be profitable within the postseason with this run-oriented method, however that’s wanting too far into the longer term.
The Ravens wanted one thing now, one thing they may construct on. They wanted a “go-to pitch,” a Nolan Ryan fastball that had been eluding them for seven video games once they have been shuffling offensive linemen and operating backs.
Now, they acquired one thing. They thought operating again J.Ok. Dobbins was the reply when he returned from a season-ending knee harm. That lasted about two weeks till his knee tightened up in a win over the New York Giants. Now he’s going to have arthroscopic surgical procedure that might sideline him for 4 to 6 weeks.
Then got here Gus Edwards, a.ok.a. “The Bus.”
Like Dobbins, Edwards spent final yr rehabilitating from a torn ACL. He lastly acquired on the sphere Sunday and rushed for 66 yards and two touchdowns in a 23-20 win over the Cleveland Browns.
Then got here the encore the Ravens have been ready for. Edwards rushed 11 occasions for 65 yards towards Tampa Bay after solely carrying the ball seven occasions for 27 yards within the first half.
Edwards exited with a hamstring harm that isn’t thought-about severe, however the remainder of the NFL acquired to see what an affect a 6-foot-1, 236-pound halfback can have on an offense. Apparently, the Ravens acquired a wake-up name at halftime and Edwards simply wore down the Buccaneers within the second half.
And once they had sufficient of Edwards, the Ravens gave them some Kenyan Drake (seven carries for 62 yards), some Justice Hill (4 carries for 28 yards) and slightly Lamar Jackson (9 carries for 43 yards).
By halfway by way of the fourth quarter, the Buccaneers have been pleading “no mas.”
Rookie tight finish Isaiah Likely mentioned proper sort out Morgan Moses was shouting to the sideline to run the ball within the second half.
“Playing for so long, you get a rhythm of the game, and you kind of get a feeling from the [defensive] guys across from you, and you know when it’s time for them to tap out,” Moses mentioned. “So, that was simply me feeling out the sport, feeling the D-lineman, feeling like, ‘Hey, this is an opportunity where we can take advantage of it.’
“I think we executed well, and I think everybody that ran the ball, who touched the ball. … You look at the first half, I think we had negative yards, and we come out and finish the game with [231 rushing yards] so it was a [heck] of a job, not only the offensive linemen, but the quarterback, the running backs, the receivers blocking, the tight ends blocking, all 11 people on the field.”
The sturdy operating sport additionally helped Jackson get his groove again. Before Thursday evening, he struggled along with his accuracy and mechanics. But within the second half, he didn’t have to hold the offense.
He was 8-for-8 within the remaining half-hour because of lots of play-action fakes, which helped him end 27-for-38 for 238 yards and two touchdowns.
The operating sport additionally stored Baltimore’s much-maligned protection off the sphere because the Ravens ran 71 offensive performs in comparison with 59 for Tampa Bay. By the top, the Ravens had almost a 17-minute benefit within the time of possession.
Jackson appeared extra comfy within the pocket than in earlier video games and was capable of get extra receivers concerned than ordinary. With tight finish Mark Andrews (shoulder) and broad receiver Rashod Bateman (foot) out with accidents, Likely (six catches for 77 yards) and veteran broad receiver Demarcus Robinson (six catches for 64 yards) stepped up, as did third-year wideout Devin Duvernay (4 catches for 31 yards).
That’s why establishing the run was so vital. In at the moment’s pass-happy NFL, it’s arduous to think about a workforce successful with this method. It can occur, however lots of issues need to fall into place.
At least for now, the Ravens have a superb basis with a robust operating sport. It’s solely two video games, however it’s lastly constant.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com