Here’s how the Ravens graded out at every place after a 10-9 win over the Denver Broncos in Sunday’s Week 13 matchup at M&T Bank Stadium.
Quarterbacks
The quarterbacks had been beneath duress the complete sport however backup Tyler Huntley nonetheless got here by in crunch time, directing a 16-play, 91-yard game-winning drive late within the fourth quarter. Jackson, who exited late within the first quarter with a knee harm, didn’t look sharp within the brief time he was within the sport, and Huntley struggled at instances making an attempt to maneuver across the pocket. But he accomplished 27 of 32 passes for 187 yards and had just one interception. The underhand cross he threw within the final drive was a poor choice. Grade: C
Running backs
The Ravens had 103 yards speeding however 41 of these got here from Huntley’s 10 carries. None of the three working backs gained a lot of a rhythm as Gus Edwards rushed for 12 yards on six carries and Kenyan Drake had 29 on seven. They actually didn’t have a lot of an opportunity — Denver bought loads of penetration and crowded the road of scrimmage to close down the working sport. Coach John Harbaugh declined to speak about what it’ll take to get the working sport going, but it surely higher occur quickly. Right now, the Ravens don’t have an offensive power. Grade: D
Offensive line
The Ravens shuffled tackles due to accidents however that’s no excuse for the way poorly the group performed. The Ravens allowed 4 sacks and Huntley and Jackson had been hit 5 instances. They couldn’t run the ball as a result of Denver’s defensive position dominated the road of scrimmage. The Ravens had 285 yards of whole offense, however most of these had been the results of Huntley working round and making performs on his personal. Grade: D
Receivers
Despite enjoying with a backup quarterback, the passing sport didn’t change a lot because the Ravens stayed with fast, brief strikes. Damarcus Robinson had seven catches for 41 yards and Devin Duvernay added six for 43. Tight finish Mark Andrews proved that he’s not solely the favourite goal of Jackson however Huntley in addition to he had 4 catches for 53 yards and was focused seven instances, one fewer than Robinson. Rookie tight finish Isaiah Likely got here up large of their game-winning drive with two catches for 17 yards. Grade: C
Defensive line
Before I begin on the protection, I preface all grades by saying the Broncos are one of many worst offensive groups within the NFL, and it appeared like they weren’t making an attempt to win. If they’d any kind of productive offense, Denver would have received this sport simply. The Ravens principally needed to shut down Denver’s working sport, which they did, holding the Broncos to 88 yards on the bottom. All three beginning linemen — Calais Campbell, Justin Madubuike and Broderick Washington — had been good up entrance, which is why Denver needed to accept three area targets. Grade: B
Linebackers
Both beginning inside linebackers, Roquan Smith and Patrick Queen, had been stable tackling, particularly after Denver made brief catches over the center. Both struggled in that space every week in the past towards Jacksonville. Smith completed with 11 tackles and Queen had 9 earlier than exiting the sport on a cart with a thigh bruise. Both beginning outdoors linebackers, Justin Houston and Jason Pierre-Paul, struggled to carry the sting on working performs and had been anticipated to place extra stress on quarterback Russell Wilson. Pierre-Paul completed with 4 tackles and second-year outdoors linebacker Odafe Oweh bought his second sack of the season and first since Week 4 towards Buffalo. Grade: B-
Secondary
Cornerback Marcus Peters has been criticized in current weeks for not developing in run help or making an attempt to make tackles on screens or tosses that got here his method, however he was dominant on Sunday. He had 4 tackles and didn’t surrender a giant play in the course of the sport. Cornerback Marlon Humphrey had seven tackles, together with a sack, and in addition bought one other hit on Wilson. Safety Chuck Clark is sweet in run help however his security mate, Geno Stone, will get misplaced in cross protection and Denver took benefit. Backup security Kyle Hamilton had 5 tackles however is beginning to impression video games. He seems to have been finding out extra movie. Grade: C+
Special groups
In a sport as tight as Sunday’s contest, I don’t perceive why Duvernay isn’t allowed to return some punts or kickoffs, particularly when the offense struggles this a lot. There are instances when he doesn’t even seem enthusiastic about returning a punt. One lengthy return may change the course of the sport. Justin Tucker made his solely area objective try from 26 yards and punter Jordan Stout averaged 50.5 yards per punt, together with one for 63 yards, and put 5 of six contained in the 20-yard line. Grade: B
Coaching
Even although the Ravens had been with out Jackson for many of the sport and performed one of many higher defenses within the NFL, the offense had little or no spark and at instances appeared content material to only hold the rating shut. The protection was good however Wilson made throws when he determined to assault downfield. The Ravens had been lucky to win Sunday, but it surely wasn’t all about group character. The Broncos had been pathetic on offense. Grade: C-
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Source: www.bostonherald.com