THE GOOD, BAD & UGLY: Ravens Dominate

The Ravens dominated the Browns in Cleveland by the score of 28-3. During the week leading into the game the Ravens were 2 ½ to 3-point underdogs. By kickoff, on the heels of the announcement that Dorian Thompson-Robinson would start in place of the nicked-up Deshaun Watson, the Ravens were 1 ½ point favorites.

The game didn’t start out all that well. Initially it looked like it would be an extremely long afternoon. Save the drive that started at the Browns 10 yard-line following a Brandon Stephens interception, three of the first four drives resulted in 3-and-outs – 9 plays that netted a paltry 6 yards.

But the Ravens were resilient. They were grinders. They stayed the course and eventually put the game out of reach, particularly for a quarterback making his NFL debut. The win coupled with losses by the Bengals and Steelers leaves Baltimore singularly atop the AFC North. And now they’re off to Pittsburgh to face a team that could be missing its starting quarterback and top tight end Pat Freiermuth.

THE GOOD

The Ravens running game was workmanlike and patient, eventually punching through DC Jim Schwartz’ stingy defense that oftentimes strings 9 defenders across the defensive front. The plus runs seemed to come at a time when the Ravens needed them most. The power trio of Gus Edwards, Melvin Gordon and Justice Hill registered 21 carries for 102 yards. All were productive in the passing game as well – Edwards as a checkdown option, Gordon on a beautiful wheel route down the left sideline, and Hill on a nice little screen pass that went for 55 yards but was called back. Patrick Mekari was guilty of a hold on Myles Garrett.

Mark Andrews made some big plays. He had 5 catches for 80 yards to go with 2 scores. He also had a big 36-yard catch and run from the Ravens 17 yard line that helped set up the team’s second Lamar Jackson TD run to go up 14-3…Zay Flowers showed veteran savvy, extending his route to aid a scrambling Lamar. The result, a 43-yard connection…the Ravens were 4-for-4 in the red zone against a Browns defense that hadn’t given up a touchdown at home during the previous 2 outings at Browns Stadium.

Doesn't get much better than this 43-yard strike from @Lj_era8 to @ZayFlowers. 🎯🎯

We're back in action Sunday at 1 p.m. vs. Pittsburgh on CBS.

🏠: https://t.co/qGePcZn447 pic.twitter.com/ZQryxmH3LT

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) October 2, 2023

The Ravens defensive front applied constant pressure in both the run game and when DTR dropped back to pass. Mike Macdonald’s unit yielded just 2.6 yards/play (1.8 yards/pass) and sacked the elusive Thompson-Robinson 4 times…The Ravens were predominantly in a nickel defense. Despite the light front, the Browns still struggled to get untracked on the ground…Justin Madubuike had his best game of the season. He was disruptive during his 35 snaps, contributing 2 tackles, a sack and a couple of QB hits…Kyle Van Noy had an impressive first game as a Raven. He was limited to 16 snaps and while he didn’t register much in the way of stats (1 PD and a QB hit) his get-off was explosive and his presence certainly felt.

Jadeveon Clowney was relentless. His all-out hustle, 100% of the time, wrecks the flow of opposing offenses…From the department of redundancy, Roquan Smith and Patrick Queen were beasts – Macdonald’s Batman & Robin. They were all over the field making plays. Roquan had 10 tackles and two near-picks when dropping into coverage and closing throwing windows that initially provided hope for DTR. Queen had 5 tackles, three for losses. He also had one of the Ravens four sacks, a relentless effort during which he tossed aside RB Jerome Ford like he was a rag doll. It was considered a foregone conclusion that Queen would leave Baltimore at the season’s conclusion to cash in as a free agent. I’m not so sure anymore. “RoQueen” is quite the collective force…Tavius Robinson was solid, hopefully a performance for the rookie to build on.

The Ravens secondary was tight. Even when DTR had time to throw or he extended plays, Thompson-Robinson struggled to find a teammate downfield with separation…Kyle Hamilton is growing into a star…Brandon Stephens is close to being a formidable CB if he’d only turn his head towards the ball…Arthur Maulet was scrappy. He tackled well and his efforts contributed to Stephens INT…Rock Ya-Sin and Ronald Darby were both sticky in coverage. The unit combined for 3 INT’s…Overall the defense gave up just 166 yards and they yielded a stingy 4-of-16 on Browns 3rd down conversion attempts.

[Ravens at Browns Report Card]

THE BAD

Cleveland has a stout defensive front but still, the Ravens O-line has to protect Lamar better than they did yesterday. The Ravens QB was sacked 3 times but if Lamar wasn’t Lamar, it could have been much worse…Devin Duvernay looks stiff and indecisive as a return specialist. His fair catch with plenty of room to make a play shows a lack of awareness. He lacks the lateral agility to create separation when running routes at WR. It remains a mystery why the Ravens opted to carry him and his $4.5M cap figure on the roster. Here’s to better days ahead for that investment.

Kyle Hamilton played well overall, but did miss a couple of tackles. He’s been a sure-tackler so I’ll write this off as a temporary blip stemming from a back injury that plagued him all week…Jordan Stout averaged 47.7 yards per punt but he’s wildly inconsistent. He can hit a 39-yard punt; hit a line drive for 44 yards; crush a 59 yard sky-high missile and knock it out at the 7-yard line from 56 yards away; but you just never know which is on its way…

THE UGLY

The Ravens were penalized 8 times for 92 yards, Stephens DPI being the most egregious…Lamar fumbled 2 more times, losing one. That simply must stop. Ball security doesn’t seem like a big priority for Jackson…More injuries! A regular in the trainer’s lab is Jalyn Armour-Davis (hamstring) who managed to leave the game without recording a single stat during 10 snaps…Daryl Worley is a valuable depth piece. He left the game with a shoulder injury. Maulet also left the field…Perhaps the injury of most concern is Morgan Moses who has a shoulder injury, the extent of which may not be known until the team reveals the MRI results later today.

THE MEGAN FOX AWARD

It wasn’t always pretty. It wasn’t always effective. But when he needed to, Lamar Jackson delivered, engineering a perfect 4-for-4 in the redzone, going 15-of-19 for 186 yards, 2 scores and running for another pair of TD’s. His throw on the run to Zay Flowers, the tear drop to Gordon on the 23-yard wheel route on third down and the Roethlisberger-esque strike to Andrews in the back right corner of the end zone, are the kind of throws that can really elevate Lamar to another level of QB play.

COACHING

It’s tough to complain about a 28-3 win against a divisional rival. Todd Monken had his work cut out for him going into the game without two of his best receivers, without his franchise left tackle and with a banged-up center while facing the league’s best defense and arguably the most disruptive defensive force in the game, aka Myles Garrett. And although we might criticize the Ravens lack of killer instinct on offense (that’s a Harbaugh trait) or the refusal to constantly double-team Garrett, they stuck to a plan that eventually worked…Despite the temptation to run at DTR with a variety of exotic blitzes, Macdonald stuck to a basic game plan that suggested, if the Ravens followed the script, the rookie QB would eventually make mistakes. And he did. Plenty of them.

RANDOM THOUGHTS

Roquan Smith quote, “we’re going over there to beat their tails in front of their wife and kids”, was taken completely out of context, perhaps intentionally, to fuel the Browns’ motivation. To which Roquan responded after the game.

“I don’t really care how people take things out of context. I know what I meant, and the people who are close to me know exactly what I meant by those comments. It was just the way I felt about going to war with my brothers. Honestly, if you need bulletin board material in this game to go play the game a different way, you’re playing the game for the wrong reasons. I don’t need anybody to say anything for me, because guess what? When that whistle blows, I’m going 100 miles an hour all game long, and regardless of what someone says, ‘Ro’ is going to play the same way.”

Spot on Ro!

There’s drama in the AFC North. The Steelers looked pathetic against the Texans. They have scored 62 points through 4 games while giving up 100. The Bengals highly acclaimed offense is struggling. Ja’Marr Chase is disgruntled. Tee Higgins has broken ribs. Joe Burrow has morphed into Checkdown Joe and everyone knows it. Plus their offensive line is in shambles. It’s a long season, but at the quarter pole, things are looking pretty solid for the Ravens in the north.

Officiating around the league remains in preseason mode. The inconsistencies and incompetence on-whole, are both staggering. And it was on full display for the nation to see last night at Met Life Stadium.

The call against Sauce Gardner was ticky-tacky in a critical situation, made worse by the fact that game officials allowed even greater contact to go unpunished earlier in the game. The call negated another Mahomes INT and the Jets chances to pull off the upset.

𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗘 𝗢𝗥 𝗙𝗔𝗟𝗦𝗘: This was holding by #Jets CB Sauce Gardner.pic.twitter.com/ITrxg5aiaw

— JPAFootball (@jasrifootball) October 2, 2023

And then there was the no call against Chiefs LT Donovan Smith. His holding, obvious to even Stevie Wonder, should have forced the Chiefs into a 3rd-and-32 situation. Just a pathetic performance from an officiating crew, made worse by the fact that these obvious mistakes occurred during the game’s most crucial moments.

The only holding penalty called on this play was on the Jets… pic.twitter.com/UCMyirzpHG

— NFL Memes (@NFL_Memes) October 2, 2023

As if you didn’t know already, meet the NFL’s new Tom Brady.

Mahomes after the game pic.twitter.com/PmWJAROnI3

— Shooter McGavin (@ShooterMcGavin_) October 2, 2023

Speaking of quarterbacks, the Ravens SBXXXV signal caller Trent Dilfer, owns a warm place in the collective heart of Charm City because his public persona is that of a self-deprecating, team-first guy with an endearing personality. Tell that to players and assistants who have played or coached under him.

There’s no excuses for these behaviors. The only appropriate excuse is to excuse Dilfer from his job at UAB. In no public forum is it acceptable to treat another human being the way Dilfer has in at least two situations. And these were the ones caught on camera.

Former NFL TV analyst Trent Dilfer is now the head coach at UAB… and he's losing his mind on the sidelines. 🏈😡pic.twitter.com/xMTtzMdNUQ

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 30, 2023

Found ithttps://t.co/RFf8KaV5ss

— Madden Film Room (@MaddenFilmRoom0) September 30, 2023

The Ravens are currently listed as 4 ½ point favorites in Pittsburgh.

When is the last time that happened?