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Ravens Advance to 3-0

Ravens advance to 3-0
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It’s never easy with the Ravens now, is it?

After jumping out to a 10-0 lead you got the feeling that yesterday’s contest in steamy Jacksonville could’ve been a cakewalk. Instead, as they almost always do, the Ravens made it interesting and nearly gave the game away if not for the generosity of Blake Bortles.

Bortles was supposed to be a star in the making and the Jaguars, one of the NFL’s new favorite flavors. Now they are (0-3) thanks in large part to Bortles whose performance was nothing less than a comedy of errors.

On his team’s third possession Bortles overshot Marquise Lee who had beaten Jimmy Smith deep down field. Later on he did the same with tight end Julius Thomas who had gained separation behind the Ravens linebackers.

The Ravens gave Bortles plenty of opportunity to put the game away. After the Jaguars recovered Devin Hester’s fumble at the Ravens 39, three plays later the Jags kicked a field goal to take a 17-16 lead after advancing the ball just 8 yards.

On the Ravens next possession Joe Flacco gave it right back to the Jaguars with a bad interception following an errant pass intended for Dennis Pitta. Bortles had another chance and a new set of downs starting at the Ravens 31 but three plays later he was intercepted.

Ravens advance to 3-0
Photo Credit: Will Dickey, The Florida Times-Union

Two plays into the Ravens new set of downs, Flacco gave it back to Jacksonville when his arm was hit by Dante Fowler forcing yet another interception. The Jaguars took over at the Ravens 29 and three plays later Bortles did exactly what you are told not to do. He took another sack which forced a 52-yard FGA that was blocked by Brent Urban.

After Justin Tucker put the Ravens up 19-17 with a 54-yard boot, Bortles was at it again. Facing a 2nd and four from his own 31 and 1 timeout in his pocket, Bortles scrambled left towards the sideline and instead of just throwing it away to kill the clock, he was sacked by Terrell Suggs and was forced to burn his final timeout.

After an offensive holding call Bortles chucked a desperation pass down the middle into the teeth of the Ravens defense. It was tipped by Lardarius Webb and intercepted by Zach Orr to put the final nail in the coffin of Bortles and the Jaguars. While watching Bortles it was hard not to think back to the Kyle Boller years.

Bortles, more than any player wearing purple, was responsible for the Ravens win.

THE GOOD

The Jaguars plan was to take away the deep ball from Joe Flacco and for the most part he did a nice job of taking what Jacksonville allowed, completing 21 consecutive passes before his beautifully placed teardrop into the arms of Mike Wallace in the right corner of the end zone. But Wallace failed to finish the play and dropped it. Overall it was an uneven performance by Flacco who was too quick too often to throw short of the first down sticks contributing to a dismal third down conversion rate (23%). His first interception was a bad read when he threw to Pitta’s back shoulder. The proper throw was to the middle, correctly read by Pitta. Nice to see Joe run it when the opportunity presented itself. Nice block from Wallace to seal the sideline for Flacco on the TD run …Terrance West was productive but limited (10 carries, 45 yards). He should move ahead of Justin Forsett on the depth chart…Steve Smith, Sr. had a solid outing with 8 catches for 87 yards a few of which were for key first downs…Rick Wagner had another plus effort at right tackle.

The Ravens tackling was very good as they quickly choked off any YAC. The front seven did a nice job of thwarting the Jacksonville rushing attack. They managed just 48 yards on 21 attempts. They also came up strong in the fourth quarter despite the heat, while registering all four of the team’s sacks during the final frame…Terrell Suggs was stout at the point of attack when setting the edge in run defense. He also had 2 sacks, one of which was a very athletic move to take down Bortles who had space to escape…Timmy Jernigan continues his outstanding season. He had a sack, two hurries and two tipped balls.

Ravens advance to 3-0
Photo Credit: Gary McCullough, The Florida Times-Union

One led to an interception (Tavon Young) and another prevented a third down conversion…Brandon Williams and Michael Pierce effectively clogged the middle v. the run…Inside linebackers CJ Mosley and Zach Orr were all over the field, attacking the line of scrimmage and dropping into coverage. Both had interceptions. Mosley’s was a spectacular play…The Ravens now have 5 interceptions after 3 games. They had 6 in total during the 2015 campaign…Eric Weddle was menacing in support of the run and influencing Bortles’ decision making. He made a great play breaking up a pass intended for Allen Hurns at the goal line in the second quarter…Special Teams had an up and down day. As for the good Maurice Canady and Tavon Young contributed excellent tackles covering punts. Brent Urban had a key blocked FGA…The win was John Harbaugh’s 80th as the Ravens head coach. That ties him with Brian Billick.

THE BAD

Facing a third and 11 in the second quarter Flacco seemed oblivious to the expiring play clock. He was saved by his sideline who called for the timeout…The Ravens running game is still stuck in first gear. West showed some signs of life but Justin Forsett seems to have lost a step and his shiftiness is not nearly as explosive as it once was. That pitch to the right out of the shotgun and into the teeth of the Jaguars defense on 2nd and four at the Jacksonville 38 with 1:18 to go was feeble at best. Is this Marc Trestman’s version of hot potato?…The Ravens receivers had 3 drops – Wallace in the end zone and Breshad Perriman had two…Ronnie Stanley had a rough day. He was beaten badly by Yannick Ngakoue for a sack and he had two penalties (false start, holding)…Jeremy Zuttah had his doors blown off by Malik Jackson for the other sack surrendered by the offensive front.

Jimmy Smith and Shareece Wright were a step late too often. Both remain inconsistent. They’ll have to play better when they start facing real quarterbacks…The Ravens had 8 penalties for 58 yards, two of which were on consecutive plays by the punt team.

THE UGLY

The Ravens were 3 for 13 on third down conversions against a team that yielded first downs at a rate of 54% the previous week…Devin Hester, the fumble was ridiculous and nearly very costly. The Ravens defense answered limiting Jacksonville to a 3-and-out during the ensuing drive…The coverage on Rashad Greene’s 42-yard punt return was uncharacteristically poor.

THE MEGAN FOX AWARD

Justin Tucker was a tad off his game in 2015 but so far this season he has been flawless. He’s a perfect 9 for 9 and connected four times at EverBank Field yesterday from 43, 42, 37 and 54. The game winner was absolutely crushed and would have been good from 60+ yards.

Ravens advance to 3-0
Photo Credit: Baltimore Ravens

 

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