The Ravens pulled out a tense 37-26 highway win over the New England Patriots thanks to a different elegant efficiency from quarterback Lamar Jackson, the resurrection of their operating sport and clutch turnovers created by linebacker Josh Bynes, cornerback Marlon Humphrey and rookie security Kyle Hamilton. Even in such a “meaningful” victory, nonetheless, their protection struggled to stop double-digit features, and so they confronted a brand new assortment of damage worries.
Here are 5 issues we realized:
They gained a battle however suffered extra painful blows to their conflict effort.
Let us by no means change into so spoiled that we flip up our noses at a double-digit highway win towards a Bill Belichick-coached group. The Ravens impressed in loads of methods as they bounced again from a horrific collapse of their residence opener towards the Miami Dolphins.
When they appeared in peril of coughing up one other lead, Humphrey ended one Patriots drive with an interception, and Hamilton ended the following with a world-class restoration and punch out.
Jackson added one other chapter to his Most Valuable Player narrative, utilizing exact passes and well timed scampers to ensure the Ravens completed drives in the long run zone.
Their operating sport, dormant in Week 1 and bottled up save for Jackson in Week 2, roared again to life with J.Ok. Dobbins lastly within the lineup.
The Ravens scored 30 factors as soon as within the final 9 video games of 2021. They have averaged 33 via the primary three weeks of this season. If we wish to spin their loss to the Dolphins one other approach, let’s imagine they’ve been the higher group for 11 of the 12 quarters they’ve performed in 2022.
But, and also you knew this was coming, they can’t appear to play per week of soccer with out watching a key performer — or three — limp off the sphere.
In this week’s installment of injury-hell bingo, they needed to play their No. 4 left sort out, rookie Daniel Faalele, as a result of Patrick Mekari, who was already filling the breach left by Ronnie Stanley and Ja’Wuan James, sprained his ankle. Faalele discovered his bearings, however for a number of possessions there, Jackson appeared in peril of struggling severe bodily hurt from Patriots defensive finish Deatrich Wise Jr.
On the opposite facet of the ball, the Ravens misplaced two of their front-seven stalwarts, nostril sort out Michael Pierce and out of doors linebacker Justin Houston. Coach John Harbaugh didn’t sound terribly involved about Houston’s strained groin, however the Ravens have been already stretched to a breaking level on the sides. Pierce’s arm damage may very well be extra severe, and although the Ravens have depth on the inside with rookie Travis Jones again in motion, they have been relying on No. 58 to be a robust anchor.
Even when a sport goes nicely for this group — Harbaugh rightly known as this a “very meaningful win” — the attrition narrative lives on. They suffered the worst damage luck of any NFL group in 20 years final season, and so they have but to undergo per week of this new season untroubled by well being woes.
What enjoyable it might be to observe the Ravens at full energy internet hosting the Super Bowl favourite Buffalo Bills in a Week 4 slugfest. But are the Ravens ever at full energy?
The operating sport improved with extra dynamic backs.
Dobbins didn’t gentle it up (seven carries for 23 yards) in his first sport motion because the finish of the 2020 season, however we noticed a few of his outdated sizzle on a spin transfer late within the first half that turned a possible no-gain into 3 yards. Such dynamism was absent with Mike Davis and Kenyan Drake carrying the load within the first two video games. More importantly, the Ravens’ operating sport functioned higher general, with Jackson enjoying off Dobbins and Justice Hill to select up chunks of yardage on mesh-point keepers.
Hill once more made probably the most of restricted alternatives with 60 yards on six carries. He put the Ravens in place for his or her third landing when he veered exterior for a 34-yard acquire within the third quarter, profiting from an annihilating block from fullback Patrick Ricard on former Raven Matthew Judon.
Jackson is the important thing to Greg Roman’s floor assault irrespective of who’s beside him within the backfield, and his runs — a 38-yard jolt up the center to arrange a brief landing cross to Devin Duvernay and a 20-yarder to arrange his personal 9-yard landing late within the fourth quarter — put the sport away. We know he scrambles like nobody else, however he has destroyed opponents with designed runs — significantly these up-the-middle carries when he methods the protection into flowing exterior — the final two weeks.
“Lamar did a good job on keeping some of those, not keeping those, the option choices that he made,” Belichick mentioned.
It’s humorous to suppose we puzzled if the additional 20 kilos Jackson packed on within the offseason would diminish this a part of his sport.
The Ravens completed with 188 yards on 26 carries towards a wise, skilled protection, and for the primary time this season, they resembled the bash-and-dash operation that overpowered so many opponents in 2019 and 2020.
Give Faalele props, however bother brews once more at sort out.
On Faalele’s first sequence, Wise dipped rapidly across the rookie’s exterior shoulder to sack Jackson with the Ravens within the purple zone. Wise did it once more on the Ravens’ subsequent possession, with Dobbins doing Faalele no favors as he did not shade over to impede Wise’s path to Jackson.
The destructive ripples went past sacks as Jackson appeared to lose confidence for a number of drives within the second quarter as he sensed Wise bearing down on him many times.
It was straightforward to tear Faalele in that second, however he was thrown right into a horrible place. We knew he was a developmental prospect with out the best foot quickness to guard a quarterback’s blind facet. No one who watched him in coaching camp envisioned him enjoying significant snaps at left sort out this quickly.
To his credit score, he settled down after his preliminary woes and helped maintain Jackson clear within the second half whereas throwing some good run blocks. “Faalele started dominating like he did in college,” Jackson famous encouragingly.
The Ravens couldn’t flip to anybody else, as a result of accidents worn out their insurance coverage sort out, James, and their super-utility lineman, Mekari, inside the first 9 quarters of the brand new season. The very scenario basic supervisor Eric DeCosta had mentioned he would do every thing to keep away from was smacking the Ravens within the face.
This dialog comes again to Stanley, in fact. The Ravens are paying him greater than $12 million this 12 months to be one among their cornerstone gamers. Harbaugh says he’s in terrific form, and we’ve watched him transfer nicely in apply drills. But Stanley has but to really feel assured sufficient to play on his surgically repaired ankle. “When he feels like he’s ready to go out there and be Ronnie Stanley at his best, then he’ll be out there,” Harbaugh mentioned Friday.
It’s hardly ever good or truthful for us as outsiders to inform a high-level athlete the right way to handle his well being. We can’t know what Stanley is feeling or considering. But the Ravens have by no means wanted him extra, and the scrutiny on his deliberate ramp-up is just going to accentuate.
Takeaways saved them however there’s nonetheless loads to be alarmed about on protection.
They did what they might not do towards the Dolphins per week earlier, making large performs as an alternative of permitting them within the fourth quarter. Humphrey didn’t let a poor determination by Patriots quarterback Mac Jones go unpunished, pulling in an over-the-shoulder interception within the nook of the top zone to disclaim New England a simple likelihood to chop the Ravens’ result in two. On the Patriots’ subsequent possession, Hamilton made the clutch play of the sport, operating down Nelson Agholor and knocking the ball free after a catch that would have set New England up for a go-ahead landing.
The Ravens hardly ever swung video games by creating turnovers in 2021, so it’s an enormous deal that they’ve taken the ball away a number of occasions every week of this season.
Those opportunistic performs masked one other shaky efficiency, nonetheless, because the Ravens allowed seven catches of 20 yards or extra, 5 of them by DeVante Parker. Their No. 1 run protection from final season allowed 5.2 yards per carry, together with a number of scrambles by the heavy-footed Jones. Opponents have typically shied away from difficult the Ravens on the bottom, but when they proceed surrendering 5 yards per try, as they’ve via three weeks, that may change.
Jones began the sport with a 31-yard completion to Parker, who beat rookie cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis on a slant and stored going. On the Patriots’ subsequent drive, Parker, who had only one catch coming in, beat Armour-Davis for a 41-yard acquire off play motion.
These weren’t the nobody-knows-who’s-picking-up-the-deep-man shenanigans from per week earlier. Parker, an eight-year veteran, merely outmaneuvered Armour-Davis, who’s enduring a tough introduction to the NFL.
The Ravens let the Patriots drive 43 yards in simply 30 seconds to select up three factors earlier than halftime as they went with curiously tender protection to stop a home-run play.
On New England’s first drive of the second half, Parker beat cornerback Brandon Stephens twice — these have been glorious catches towards affordable protection, to be truthful — for a complete of 61 yards, and linebacker Patrick Queen dropped a possible pick-six on the objective line.
Later within the third quarter, Parker discovered tender area between cornerback Marcus Peters and security Chuck Clark for a 24-yard catch, placing the Patriots in place so as to add one other landing.
New England completed with 447 whole yards, averaged 7.1 yards per play and picked up 22 first downs, besting the Ravens in every class. Defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald gained’t be happy with these numbers, even when he appreciated the top consequence.
Duvernay has emerged as an important playmaker.
Duvernay made All-Pro as a returner final season to construct on his glorious work there in his rookie season. If something, he has upped his return sport in 2022. He ran again the opening kickoff 103 yards for a landing in Week 2 towards Miami and danced alongside the sideline for a 43-yard return to jump-start a landing drive towards the Patriots. Most groups would kill for one such play in the midst of a season. Duvernay and Justin Tucker are the principle the reason why the Ravens soar above the remainder of the league on particular groups.
So he can be a useful participant even when he by no means caught a cross. Here’s the factor although: Duvernay has hauled in all eight balls thrown his approach via the primary three video games. Against the Patriots, he caught a 21-yarder over the center and leaped within the nook of the top zone to catch a 4-yard lob from Jackson, tapping his toes inbounds to finish the play.
At occasions in Duvernay’s first two years, the Ravens appeared extra focused on utilizing him as a jet-sweep risk than a downfield goal. He all the time mentioned he would take benefit if given a higher alternative. Now, he’s doing simply that.
You take one of the best returner and make him a sturdy, sure-handed goal over the center and within the purple zone; you’ve fairly a participant. That’s 2022 Devin Duvernay.
Week 4
BILLS@RAVENS
Sunday, 1 p.m.
TV: Chs. 13, 9
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
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Source: www.bostonherald.com