The Ravens couldn’t afford to blow one other recreation per week after they fell aside in Pittsburgh, and so they didn’t, scoring sufficient within the first half and making sufficient crucial defensive performs within the second to return house from London with a 24-16 win over the Tennessee Titans.
Here are 5 issues we realized from the sport.
This was a crucial week for the Ravens’ season, and so they acted prefer it
The Ravens boarded their flight to London as a staff in peril. Their lack of ability to complete overmatched opponents, a pattern that reached a brand new nadir as they unraveled in opposition to the Steelers, had followers in Baltimore apoplectic. Their 44-7 loss the final time they traveled abroad hovered as a reminder of what may occur in the event that they confirmed as much as Tottenham Hotspur Stadium woefully unprepared.
Coach John Harbaugh revered the opportunity of a catastrophe that will ship his staff spiraling, so he handled the previous week as something however regular. The Ravens (in distinction to the Titans) flew to London on Monday, giving themselves as a lot time as doable to solid off jet lag and acclimate to Tottenham’s services. They held a 45-minute staff assembly to place the travesties of Pittsburgh behind them and discover a unified path ahead.
Once kickoff arrived, the United Kingdom version didn’t look so completely different from the Ravens we had seen by way of the primary 5 weeks. Their offense nonetheless performed extra tentatively within the second half than the primary, giving a struggling opponent house to rise from the mat. As firmly as their protection held on most possessions, it practically gave up a late landing due to poor tackling. What may have been a tidy victory turned bizarre and messy for some time there.
This week, nonetheless, the Ravens pulled themselves again from the precipice. With Tennessee driving for a possible go-ahead landing within the third quarter, security Geno Stone intercepted Ryan Tannehill to blunt their cost. Lamar Jackson drove them for 2 fourth-quarter discipline targets, consuming greater than 11 minutes of clock within the course of. Patrick Queen made a clutch open-field sort out to make sure one other empty Titans possession.
Every time Harbaugh had an opportunity to go for it on fourth down, he as a substitute opted for a positive discipline purpose from Justin Tucker, who made six (yet one more than he’d hit over the primary 5 video games).
These had been profitable performs and selections the Ravens didn’t make per week earlier.
“We’re kind of looking in terms of what are we capable of becoming,” Harbaugh stated. “We lost some games we should have won. We played good football in stretches, but we made mistakes. We’ve shot ourselves in the foot way too many times. … We keep improving, at some point in time you get over the top, you break out and you start winning by larger margins. That’s what we’re going to try to do.”
Was this a results of the seriousness with which they approached their transcontinental journey? Perhaps, or maybe they had been merely due to not kneecap themselves as that they had in opposition to the Steelers and the Indianapolis Colts.
The upshot is that they’re 4-2, once more in first place within the AFC North, and so they’ll be free to organize for the superb Detroit Lions with out listening to questions on their season coming undone. That’s what the Ravens purchased by dealing with a doubtlessly treacherous week like professionals.
The Ravens received’t get away with these second halves in opposition to prime opponents
Chalk up one other overpowering first half for coordinator Todd Monken’s offense, which ran 39 performs to Tennessee’s 18 and averaged 6.2 yards to the Titans’ 3.7.
On his first third down of the day, Jackson modified the decision on the line of scrimmage in anticipation of strain, flicking the ball to Nelson Agholor within the left flat for a 22-yard catch and run.
The subsequent time he had the ball, he appeared to make one other adjustment on the line on third-and-5, zipping it to Odell Beckham Jr. for a 32-yard catch and run.
Without these performs, which required Jackson pondering and throwing sharply, the Ravens may not have scored within the first quarter. From early in his profession, he stated his final purpose was to change into a recreation commander a la Tom Brady. Monken has given Jackson latitude, and we’re seeing glimpses of the payoff each week.
That stated, the identical Ravens who construct leads over the primary half-hour emerge from the tunnel mysteriously tentative for the final 30. The Titans went three and out to begin the second half, however as a substitute of urgent his benefit, Jackson stopped trying downfield. The Ravens started their three third-quarter drives with a display move for a 3-yard loss, a 1-yard Gus Edwards run off left sort out and a 1-yard dump to Justice Hill. That’s no method to put a recreation away.
Does Monken have an excessive amount of religion in an influence recreation that has not labored persistently? Do we blame Jackson for the sloppy stretches which have marred in any other case good performances the previous few weeks?
After the Titans kicked a discipline purpose to make it 18-6, he fed their momentum with an interception due to miscommunication — that phrase retains arising — with vast receiver Rashod Bateman, who turned inside whereas the ball went outdoors. This time, Tennessee took benefit with a landing.
The Ravens went three and out on their subsequent drive after Jackson missed a wide-open Beckham on second down.
He did sufficient to win the sport down the stretch, together with his runs organising Tucker for one simple discipline purpose and his 38-yard reference to tight Mark Andrews — “Without that play, it’s a completely different game,” Harbaugh stated — facilitating one other.
Six factors after halftime isn’t going to chop it, nonetheless, in opposition to the Lions or the San Francisco 49ers or the Miami Dolphins, all of whom stay on the Ravens’ schedule. The stability and creativity which have served them effectively after they’re working off Monken’s script early in video games can’t merely vanish.
The protection by no means allowed Tennessee to be a front-runner
More than most groups, the Titans, who grind defenses with Derrick Henry and arrange play-action strikes from Tannehill, must function from in entrance.
Just a few lapses within the second half apart, the Ravens by no means allow them to.
Tennessee has two guys who scare you in Henry and vast receiver DeAndre Hopkins. They mixed for 33 yards within the first half, with the Ravens doing stellar work denying Henry his most well-liked outdoors lanes.
The officers handed the Titans factors on their first drive, flagging Ravens security Marcus Williams for a 22-yard move interference penalty after Hopkins bowled into him. But Tennessee managed only one extra first down earlier than halftime.
Williams, who didn’t look himself per week earlier in his first recreation again from a pectoral harm, made a terrific play to interrupt up a downfield throw on the Titans’ final drive of the half. Queen, all the time an efficient blitzer and now flat-out the staff’s finest move rusher, adopted up by dropping Tannehill for a 9-yard loss on third down. That cease allowed the Ravens, who knew the Titans would get the ball to begin the third quarter, to pad their result in 18-3.
Henry ultimately broke a 63-yard run out of Wildcat formation, solely doable due to a weird roughing name on Ravens nostril sort out Michael Pierce, who had made routine contact with Tannehill’s torso.
Tennessee scored once more on its subsequent possession, benefiting from Jackson’s interception in his personal territory and a helmet-to-helmet shot that acquired security Kyle Hamilton ejected (his intent didn’t seem vicious; the ensuing hit was).
Just when the lead gave the impression to be slipping from their grasp, Stone made arguably an important play of the sport together with his interception.
Defensive sort out Justin Madubuike continued his current surge with a pair of sacks and 4 quarterback hits. The Ravens roughed up Tannehill for 3 quarters, and he needed to hand the offense to Malik Willis, who has but to show he’s regular sufficient to win a good recreation. Queen stepped up with one other crucial play within the fourth quarter, shedding a blocker to drop Willis when he appeared on his method to scrambling for a primary down.
Aside from the penalties he drew, Hopkins by no means did get untracked, catching one move on 5 targets.
Whatever doubts we wish to increase concerning the Ravens’ trajectory, their protection has performed effectively sufficient to win each week this season.
The Ravens can’t depend on energy operating to construct and defend leads
Though nonetheless a top-10 operating offense, the Ravens got here in averaging 4.5 yards per carry, which might be their lowest mark since 2018. We noticed extra of the identical in opposition to Tennessee’s rugged entrance as they averaged 3.6 yards on 39 carries.
More particularly, their prime short-yardage choice, Edwards, is averaging 3.9 yards per try after by no means averaging under 5 in any earlier season.
The downside is two-pronged. Edwards got here in averaging a career-low 2.46 yards after contact per try, per Pro Football Focus. He’s additionally being hit sooner than earlier than due to so-so blocking.
On the Ravens’ first drive, Edwards was stuffed for no acquire on third-and-1 when his blocking on the left facet — Ronnie Stanley was the chief wrongdoer — broke down utterly.
In the second quarter, that they had first-and-goal from the 6-yard-line after Devin Duvernay’s 70-yard punt return and couldn’t punch the ball in on three straight runs. Jackson tried to maintain it on third down however was dropped for a 4-yard loss by Titans linebacker Harold Landry, who’d discarded a block by fullback Patrick Ricard.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, they reached second-and-goal at Tennessee’s 4-yard-line and once more failed to succeed in the tip zone with a pair of runs, one by Edwards and one by Jackson. Again, their makes an attempt to make use of a motioning Ricard as their sledgehammer didn’t work.
The Ravens had been superb within the pink zone by way of 5 video games, scoring touchdowns on 72.2% of their possessions, third finest within the league. But they transformed on simply one among 5 journeys in London. Their lack of ability to realize significant yards on first down — gamers stated the slippery turf didn’t assist — additionally contributed to their stagnant third quarter.
For years, the Ravens have defaulted to bully ball when defending a lead, and maybe they’ll once more if their beginning offensive line can keep wholesome. Right now, that device isn’t a lot of their bag.
Want to laud a quiet hero? Thank Geno Stone.
It’s doable we haven’t talked sufficient about how effectively the Ravens have defended by way of a storm of accidents to their secondary. Brandon Stephens is beginning to obtain the laurels he deserves for changing into a professional cornerback after he started the summer time as a reserve security.
Meanwhile, it’s laborious to say sufficient good issues about Stone, whom the Ravens re-signed in March. Teammates gushed about how ready he was to step in for Williams final season. Stone proudly treats each week of apply as if he’s going to begin, whether or not he expects to play a defensive snap or not. It’s a self-discipline he realized as an ignored recruit and an underestimated draft prospect.
He needed to be a binding agent for the protection once more Sunday. Williams left with a hamstring harm. Hamilton was ejected. Stone was the highest security left standing, and he made the play that turned the tide again towards the Ravens. He all the time excelled at understanding the place to be; now, he’s making extra performs on the ball.
“Geno Stone, how well has he played this year?” Harbaugh marveled afterward.
Pro Football Focus had him graded because the fourth finest protection security within the league coming into the sport, so phrase is getting round.
“It just goes to show how deep we are as a team,” stated Hamilton, who was dissatisfied to be ejected however didn’t quarrel with the decision after the sport.
Week 7
Lions at Ravens
Sunday, 1 p.m.
TV: Chs. 45, 5
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
Line: Ravens by 2 1/2
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Source: www.bostonherald.com