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Strong First Quarter Set the Tone Against Cincy

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Mark Andrews scores a TD against the Bengals
Joey Pulone/Baltimore Ravens
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Just as they did in Week 2 of the 2021 season against the Chiefs, the Ravens got a monkey – albeit a smaller one – off their back on Sunday night against the Bengals, proving that their defense was perfectly capable of stopping Cincinnati’s vaunted offensive attack.

Though the first quarter ended with Baltimore only leading 3-0, it was still one of the team’s best opening efforts of the season – and a Mark Andrews touchdown quickly took the lead to 10 points early in the second quarter.

The Bengals got the ball to start the game, giving Mike Macdonald and his defense a chance to strut their stuff right away. Let’s dive in!

Cincinnati seemed to be semi-prepared for what the Ravens threw at them on Sunday night. Calling a screen right away is a smart change-up – there’s no way the Ravens were going to allow an easy deep ball on the first play from scrimmage.

The Bengals’ blockers outnumber the defenders, making a first down easy for Chase. But it also tipped that Cincinnati would be running much of their offense through 2021 Offensive Rookie of the Year, like they did on the next play.

Marcus Peters spent the entire game showing the NFL how much of a difference he would’ve made last year, starting with this stop. Notice he triggers not on Chase’s left foot going backwards, but his right foot not going forwards. Peters’ split-second instinctiveness means he’s already at the line of scrimmage by the time Chase catches the ball, giving him no chance at gaining positive yardage.

After a six-yard gain on second down, the Ravens slammed the door shut on this drive. Notice how Jason Pierre-Paul (270 lbs.), Justin Madubuike (293 lbs.) and Calais Campbell (307 lbs.) line up very close together on the offensive right side of the line. That’s a lot of beef!

I’m not even sure what to call that alignment, but it certainly isn’t easy to block. The stunt is supposed to free up Madubuike for a free run at Burrow, but Campbell swims through the gap for the QB hit. It helps that Burrow was staring down Chase all the way; even if he get the pass off, Peters is still well-positioned for a PBU or INT.

The Ravens get the ball back and launch a 10-play drive with a few highlight plays. Here’s one:

Duvernay knows the snap is going to hit him, so he’s more ready than anyone to pick up the ball. He’s proving to be one of the most heads-up players on the team (remember him snagging that crazy tipped pass against the Bills). Not letting this play be a negative would have been enough, but to turn it into a positive is huge.

And then Greg Roman starts to get cooking, scheming up a play-action look that gives Duvernay an easy 9 yards.

Easy yards are key to this offense, especially early in games – it takes the onus off Lamar Jackson’s shoulders to carry the offense the entire time. Duvernay is the team’s third best ballcarrier (behind Jackson and Dobbins), and I’ve been screaming to get the ball in his hands more. Thanks, Greg (and for going no-huddle on the next play to quickly pick up the first down)!

A few plays later:

Ooh, now we’re cooking! Matt Waldman does a really good job explaining how this toss lets Duvernay navigate like a returner, one of the things he does best. It also, of course, sets up play action fakes in which Duvernay can fake receiving a toss before running a route, potentially against a linebacker. Mismatch alert!

I like this play, too, but it doesn’t work without Duvernay or Dobbins as the decoy.

The Bengals don’t bite at all, and Isaiah Likely – who I think is Jackson’s second read here – has to alter his path to avoid a defender. I did feel like Jackson did a great job getting rid of the ball in this game when there was nothing downfield instead of throwing it up.

I do expect more from his ball placement here; there’s no need for this throw to be so far in front of James Proche.

Jackson was not his usual accurate self on Sunday night. He still came through when it mattered most, but he’ll need to hit those passes in January.

Cincy used these delayed blitzes to  give their defenders much better pursuit angles on Jackson than if they blitzed off the snap.

Jackson stays calm to take the easy yards and protect the ball, but I’m a little surprised that he didn’t connect with Andrews here. But again, Jackson is limiting the potential for mistakes by taking a simple throw even if it’s not a first down.

The Ravens took a 3-0 lead on that drive, and their defense immediately forced a 3-and-out.

Here’s a great breakdown from Baltimore Beatdown’s Spencer Schultz of the first play of that Bengals drive:

The Bengals then start to get a little gimmicky by funneling the ball to Chase. This type of running also isn’t his strong suit the way it is for Duvernay; Chase does more of his damage after the catch in open space.

JPP beats his block but can’t make the stop, but Broderick Washington is immovable and forces Chase towards the sideline. Travis Jones, Pepe Williams and Josh Bynes usher him out of bounds, and the Bengals face third and long. Spencer does a really good job with that, too:

Three punts later, the Ravens have the ball back and are driving down the field. Greg Roman dials up one of the weirder run designs I’ve seen, and it just doesn’t work.

With three blockers but no ballcarrier headed for the left side, the Bengals don’t have any reason to surge in that direction, leaving them well-positioned to stop the real play. Andrews has improved drastically as a run-blocker in his career, but he missed a few on Sunday night, and the backside defender sneaks in, too. I will say that Ronnie Stanley’s combo block on the left side of the play demonstrated some really encouraging mobility and strength.

On the ensuing third down, Roman throws some more oil in the pan with a jet sweep read option.

High leverage playcall is my biggest gripe with Roman, but I love this! The defense is expecting the ball in Jackson’s hands on third down, so the Ravens give them that exact look except the ball ends up with Duv. He beats everyone to the edge and Mike Davis lead blocks to get some more.

A few plays later, that set up the Mark Andrews touchdown that extended Baltimore’s lead to 10 points.

This mesh concept is well-designed by Roman and well-executed by the offense. Andrews is the first read, and Proche helps him get the separation needed for the YAC and TD. But the rest of the play is solid, too.

Jackson has plenty of options: Duvernay is ready as a trailer if the defense keys on Andrews which, on a third down in the red zone, they should have! Likely’s dig would have also run into open space had Andrews not been mystifyingly left alone. Proche is focused on clearing space for Andrews, but Likely’s route also gives him a 1-on-1 opportunity towards the sideline if the front side of the play isn’t open.

The first quarter really set the tone for the game. The Ravens defense was playing strong, smart football, and the offense was able to move the ball well but couldn’t hit any huge plays in the passing game. That was the story of the rest of the game, which I’ll get in to later this week!

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Picture of Nikhil Mehta
Nikhil Mehta
Nikhil Mehta is a sportswriter and football analyst from Marriottsvile, Maryland who grew up on Ed Reed interceptions and elite QB play from Joe Flacco. He has written for RSR since 2020, focusing on film analysis, salary cap management, and roster buildling. He first attended training camp in 2022 before adding offseason practices in 2023 and the NFL Scouting Combine in 2024. He currently writes Battle Plans with Dev Panchwagh and can also be found writing about the Orioles at Eutaw Street Report. Check out his Russell Street Replay and Baltimore Birdwatchers podcasts, and find him on X @nikknowsball.
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