Report Card: Ravens 37 Rams 31

It was hard for us longtime Ravens fans not to feel a little nostalgic today.

An uneven performance on both sides of the ball, a puzzling challenge decision, breath-altering chest pains, barking profanity at the television and being saved by special teams — yes, it feels like Ravens football.

There was a lot out there to digest. Let’s take a look, position by position, at the grades.

Offense

Overall: B-

The Ravens had big-time drives at the end of each half, generated 449 yards of offense against a defense that has played good ball recently and scored 37 points. These are all good things. That being said, there were a lot of hiccups throughout the day, the Ravens were only 4-for-12 on third downs and scored one TD on three trips into the red zone. They didn’t run considerably well, or probably frequently enough, and there were too many drops. Yeah, it was rainy and muddy and all of that stuff, and we saw a lot of the same things from the Rams, so that’s a consideration. But this feels like the right grade.

Quarterback: B+

Lamar Jackson was a little uneven throughout the day on a pass-to-pass basis, and was even a little behind on those early touchdown passes to wide-open receivers. But he did hit those big passes, and the throw to Zay Flowers to give the Ravens the lead in the last 90 seconds of regulation was an absolute dime. He also dipped in and out of a busy pocket all game, and generated 70 rushing yards, including a staggering nine-yard run with about 4:00 left that left jaws dropped. He looked a little rusty after the bye, but he stepped up big time in key moments.

Running backs: C+

Keaton Mitchell ran hard, and looked explosive on a 27-yard run that accounted for half his yards on the day, but he also seemed to struggle a little in pass protection. Gus Edwards didn’t have an easy day, and fought hard for his 15 yards on only six carries. Pat Ricard stood out on a few blocks. It wasn’t a bad day — they just didn’t make a huge difference today.

Receivers: B+

Odell Beckham Jr. had another very productive day, picking up 97 yards on four catches, including a 46-yard touchdown where he abused two defenders to get wide open, and then made a terrific adjustment to haul in the pass and get over the goal line. He also had a great diving catch on that huge late drive to give the Ravens the lead late. Flowers had a couple drops on the day, but also made some big plays — none larger than his touchdown catch late. Isaiah Likely had another good day, looking fast with the ball in his hands and producing 83 yards on five catches and a 54-yard touchdown. Nelson Agholor seems pretty close to automatic on those crossers, doesn’t he?

Offensive Line: C

This was a tough assignment, and there was definitely a lot of early pressure up the middle throughout, but they also did a good job against Aaron Donald, limiting the superstar to one broken-up pass on the day. Tyler Linderbaum cost the Ravens two points on a bad snap that Jackson was not ready for that gave the Rams a 22-20 lead. Patrick Mekari got a nice lead block on a pull in front of Mitchell late in the fourth quarter, and Morgan Moses got in on a few nice runs.

Defense

Overall: C-

They gave up way too much on the ground, and there were far too many open receivers throughout the day. There was poor tackling on the back end several times, and they couldn’t create a turnover. Still, it wasn’t all bad. They did come up with some big plays at crucial times, and they certainly looked better in the second half — outside of that late field-goal drive to send the game to overtime. It was not this unit’s best performance, but they did come up with some clutch plays.

Defensive Line: C-

Justin Madubuike had another sack and hit Stafford five times, and Travis Jones added a sack and two quarterback hits. The line got gashed on the ground way too much, but they did do a good job putting pressure on Stafford. It was just the consistency the Rams were able to run with all day that lowered this score. Odafe Oweh had a good hit on Stafford, and forced him into Madubuike’s pass for the latter’s sack.

Linebackers: B

Roquan Smith had 10 tackles, including two for loss. He also pressured an incompletion on third and goal on the Rams first drive, limiting them to a field goal. Patrick Queen was a little more quiet today than normal, but he still had six tackles. Kyle Van Noy had a giant tackle for loss late, knocking the Rams out of field-goal range when the Ravens were down two.

Defensive Backs: D+

There were a ton of open receivers out there, and the Ravens were bailed out a few times by big drops from the Rams. Kyle Hamilton was making an impact early, but he did something to his knee and later came out for the game. That bears watching. Marlon Humphrey had a tough game. He got called for a questionable pass-interference call, but he got beaten late on a series of play, and couldn’t haul in an interception that could have sealed the game for the Ravens. Brandon Stephens get beat on a Demarcus Robinson touchdown, but also destroyed a screen pass for a loss to kill a drive. Marcus Williams got beat a few times and got a flag, but he also had a great pass break-up on the sideline. Arthur Maulet was up and down.

Special Teams: A-

Tylan Wallace got called for a flag on a Rams punt that gave them new life and ended up in a touchdown. But we’ll get back to him in a minute. He made up for it. Justin Tucker was perfect, going 3-3 on field goals, and Jordan Stout was also very good. Devin Duvernay made a questionable decision to return the opening kick, and later came out with a back injury. Wallace took his place, had a couple decent returns and THEN ENDED THE GAME WITH AN ATHLETIC, EXPLOSIVE 76-YARD RETURN IN OVERTIME. So, that was good. Justice Hill, by the way, had a terrific block to help spring him at the end.

Coaching: C-

This team did not look ready coming off a bye. Sure, some of that falls on the players. But, also still, some of that comes down on the coaches. The challenge on the Rams’ touchdown seemed more emotional than informed, and could have hurt the Ravens had they needed that time out later. I thought the defense made key adjustments in the second half. On offense, I liked the aggressive approach downfield, but felt like Mitchell should have had more touches. He was effective when given opportunities.