The Ravens sputtered for half-hour as their injury-ravaged, pass-first offense got here up empty within the purple zone. They emerged from the halftime locker room as a staff reworked, dominating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with zone runs, run-pass choices and wholesome doses of Devin Duvernay and Isaiah Likely.
They have gained two in a row for the primary time this season, and with only one recreation within the subsequent 23 days, they purchased themselves a treasured cushion to heal up for the stretch run. Here are 5 issues we discovered in Thursday evening’s 27-22 comeback victory:
The Ravens dominated after they reworked into who they have been speculated to be all alongside.
You in all probability thought they have been cooked as they trudged off the sphere at halftime. We all did. What different sane conclusion might we draw after watching half-hour of soul-deadening Ravens offense?
You need futile red-zone possessions? Penalties that buried them in third-and-long? Confused blocking schemes that uncovered quarterback Lamar Jackson to bodily hurt? Injuries that despatched important playmakers to the sideline or the locker room? This stinker had all of them.
A Twitter mob was forming, desirous to usher offensive coordinator Greg Roman out of city as soon as and for all, with this recreation because the closing argument at his trial.
Then, the damnedest factor occurred; the Ravens emerged from the locker room as a staff reworked. Their protection had quietly executed its responsibility for many of the evening and ushered the nice Tom Brady off the sphere in three performs to start out the brand new half. Jackson took command on the Ravens’ 23-yard line and from that second on, the veil of sorrow lifted.
The Ravens ran seven occasions for 27 yards within the first half. But essentially the most artistic floor assault within the NFL returned from exile within the third quarter. Jackson used run-pass choices to place the Buccaneers on their heels. Roman relied on the mobility of his offensive linemen, particularly middle Tyler Linderbaum and tackles Ronnie Stanley and Morgan Moses, to clear expansive lanes for working backs Gus Edwards, Kenyan Drake and Justice Hill. He schemed methods to get the ball to Devin Duvernay, Jackson’s most dynamic goal within the absence of injured tight finish Mark Andrews and injured vast receiver Rashod Bateman. On three straight possessions, all at the least 9 performs, the Ravens powered down the sphere for touchdowns, turning a seven-point deficit into an 11-point lead. They ran for 204 yards on 26 carries within the second half alone.
Afterward, they stated the sport unfolded as deliberate. They wished to take photographs with their passing recreation within the first half and drop the hammer within the second, when an undermanned Tampa Bay protection can be sucking wind. “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,” coach John Harbaugh stated. “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.”
If that was the grand imaginative and prescient, kudos to Harbaugh and his mind belief. If it was additionally a case of Roman and Jackson figuring out sharp countermeasures throughout their 15-minute halftime respite, kudos to them.
The upshot is identical: the Ravens displayed resilience and resourcefulness of their most spectacular all-around efficiency of the season. They wanted to comply with up a decent divisional win at residence with an emphatic efficiency on the street towards a determined however proficient opponent. They did it with actual mettle and a model of soccer that can serve them effectively as they give the impression of being to trample one of many league’s best slates of opponents over the second half of the season.
We’re glimpsing the potential of a extra athletic offensive line.
Jackson’s protectors obtained their worst moments out of the way in which early, with the nadir coming when Buccaneers defensive sort out Vita Vea powered between Linderbaum and left guard Ben Powers for a 12-yard sack on the finish of the primary quarter.
We noticed the true upside of this group within the second half, when Ravens linemen used their quickness to stretch the sphere horizontally and to drop our bodies on the second stage of the protection.
Moses performed his greatest recreation as a Raven, not solely holding his floor as a cross blocker however overpowering defenders as a run blocker. We additionally noticed Stanley pulling and main the cost on outdoors runs. Linderbaum would possibly lose spectacularly sometimes when he’s head up with a a lot bigger man resembling Vea, however his mobility as a run blocker is one thing to behold as he fires into area and wrecks linebackers.
This group has already surpassed the efficiency of final yr’s injury-depleted unit, which left Jackson terribly weak because the season went on. There’s nonetheless room for development, nonetheless, as Roman explores the probabilities created by his nimble huge males.
Justin Houston remains to be the Ravens’ greatest cross rusher as he nears his thirty fourth birthday.
We knew the Ravens missed Houston through the three video games he sat out with a groin harm, however man has he hammered that time residence since returning, with 4 sacks in two victories regardless of modest snap counts. He now has six within the 5 video games he has performed, and these will not be hole cleanup efforts. He entered the sport because the staff’s prime graded edge rusher, based on Pro Football Focus.
He additionally offered key run help when the Ravens stuffed the Buccaneers on a 2-point try on the finish of the sport.
The Ravens re-signed Houston after they didn’t land Za’Darius Smith in free company or add a direct contributor on the sting within the first spherical of the draft. He has already earned the $3.5 million they’re paying him.
“I feel young again,” he stated Thursday evening.
Houston was the star of one other robust all-around effort from coordinator Mike Macdonald’s protection. After Brady lower by means of the Ravens on a gap landing drive, they despatched the Buccaneers off the sphere with out a landing eight possessions in a row. Even when they didn’t sack Brady, they obtained their fingers as much as deflect his fast passes and put our bodies on his targets within the flats. They held Tampa Bay in place whereas Jackson and the offense constructed as much as that second-half pounding.
Hey, there’s the Isaiah Likely from preseason.
With Andrews within the locker room after which on the sideline in road garments, the Ravens badly wanted a breakout recreation from Likely. The rookie delivered on their go-ahead drive within the third quarter, bullying by means of a number of defenders on a 17-yard catch-and run and ending with a toe-tapping catch at the back of the top zone for his first profession landing. He added a 16-yard catch on the drive that put the Ravens up 24-13 and completed with six catches on seven targets for 77 yards.
Who secured the ball on Tampa Bay’s determined onside kicks on the finish of the sport? Who else?
Likely clutched the sport ball he had been awarded as he waited for his flip to talk on the postgame information convention. He knew this was an evening he wouldn’t quickly neglect.
This was the Likely all of us noticed all summer time, the one who appeared to make a showcase catch in each follow, the man who seemed like the perfect participant on the sphere in a preseason win over the Arizona Cardinals.
Likely’s cross catching expertise have been by no means in query, however of late, he couldn’t get on the sphere sufficient to point out them due to his deficiencies as a blocker and the daft penalties he dedicated early within the season. After taking part in at the least 20 offensive snaps in every of the primary 4 video games, he performed seven within the staff’s Week 7 win over the Cleveland Browns.
The largest alternative of his younger profession arose out of necessity, however that’s so usually the case in a sport formed by accidents. Likely didn’t pout when his position shrunk, and he answered the decision when requested to run within the footsteps of the staff’s greatest offensive participant behind Jackson.
This win arrange the remainder of the Ravens’ season.
The Ravens exhaled 4 days earlier after they held on to beat the Browns. On Thursday, they lastly stacked one victory on prime of one other regardless of the accidents that gutted their offense and the presence of Brady, the best winner in NFL historical past, on the opposite sideline. That can be sufficient to name this week a rousing success.
But the Ravens’ accomplishment takes on an additional glow after we have a look at the trail forward. First, they may have 10 days to heal and put together for the New Orleans Saints, one other NFC opponent that has didn’t dwell as much as expectations. Then, they may have one other 13 days, with their bye weekend within the center, to relaxation up for the bottom-feeding Carolina Panthers in Baltimore. They will in all probability be favored, handily in lots of circumstances, for each recreation they play till their season finale in Cincinnati.
Their first eight weeks examined the nerves of gamers, coaches and followers, a lot of whom in all probability nonetheless really feel the Ravens ought to be 6-2 or 7-1 as an alternative of 5-3. The blown leads and tense wins, the offensive lifeless spots and protracted accidents — this staff by no means appeared to face on stable floor. But the Ravens performed one of many league’s hardest schedules thus far, they usually have come out of it with a grip on first place within the AFC North.
They will in all probability be a considerably more healthy staff on Nov. 20, once they host the Panthers, than they have been towards the Buccaneers. Players resembling Andrews and Bateman want a break, whereas reinforcements — outdoors linebackers Tyus Bowser and David Ojabo and maybe deep risk DeSean Jackson — are on the way in which.
We can’t say the Ravens have earned a spot beside the Buffalo Bills, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles within the NFL’s 2022 penthouse. But they’re looking at as clear a path to the postseason as anybody else.
Week 9
Ravens at Saints
Monday, Nov. 7, 8:15 p.m.
TV: ESPN
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
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Source: www.bostonherald.com