There was a familiar feeling to yesterday’s game. The Ravens had a shot of pulling off the win if they could only get a defensive stand. The desired turnover on downs didn’t happen in Q4 but the Ravens did hold the Rams to a game-tying field goal to send the contest into overtime. And this time, the Ravens prevailed, thanks to a terrific 76-yard punt return for TD by Tylan Wallace.
The dramatic game ended on the Wallace touchdown, but even that play had its own form of drama. TE Charlie Kolar could easily have been called for a block in the back which probably would have given the Ravens possession inside their own 20. But the play stood, and the Ravens hopes to land the AFC’s No. 1 seed stood even taller.
Every All-22 angle of Tylan Wallace's game-winning 76-yard punt return touchdown.
Enjoy, Ravens fans. pic.twitter.com/oUDz6MokL6
— Ryan Mink (@ryanmink) December 11, 2023
There was some concern when Lamar Jackson & Co. failed to register a first down during their opening possession in OT. The Ravens were forced to punt leaving the Rams one field goal short of the upset road victory. But the Ravens were able to flip the field a bit thanks to a 51-yard punt by Jordan Stout. Yet there was still cause for concern. During the Rams previous 15 plays they moved the ball 142 yards and put up 10 points. But three plays and one positive net yard later, the Rams were forced to punt. Enter Tylan Wallace. Enter an NFL rarity – a walk-off punt return.
Over the years the Ravens have been the authors of some crazy game-ending or saving plays. The Josh Wilson walk-off pick-six in Houston when the defense looked completely gassed; the 4th-and-29 checkdown from Joe Flacco to Ray Rice in San Diego; the Will Hill blocked field goal return for a game winning score; and of course, the thriller of them all, the Mile High Miracle in 2013 during the Divisional Playoff game in Denver, just to name a few. The Wallace return will arguably be just as memorable, particularly if the Ravens manage to grab that coveted No. 1 seed in the conference.
After the 37-31 win the Ravens now own a 44-22 overall and 27-7 home record in interconference play under head coach John Harbaugh (since 2008), which ranks No. 1 in the NFL during that period of time. Lamar Jackson is 19-1 in games started against the NFC, marking the league’s best interconference record by a QB since the 1970 merger. Jackson is also 10-0 at home in starts against the NFC.
The game was a well-played one, with just one turnover and not a single missed kick. Footing seemed to be pretty solid as well. None of these things were expected given the gloomy forecast. Fortunately, the weathermen got it wrong, just like those who predicted a Ravens loss. I’m looking at you Tedy Bruschi.
THE GOOD
The Ravens had 449 yards of offense, 37 points and 23 first downs…Keaton Mitchell touched the ball 10 times producing 62 yards of offense, including a nice 27-yard scamper aided in part by a nice lead block from Patrick Ricard. OC Todd Monken needs to find out ways to get him the ball in space more often. The guy is a house call waiting to happen. Mitchell has now posted a 20-yard-plus ground gain in five consecutive outings since seeing his first career carries (11/5/23 vs. Sea.).
The Ravens offensive line held up well. They struggled to create space in the ground game but Lamar had plenty of time to set and throw more often than not. Collectively, they did a terrific job of neutralizing the game wrecker named Aaron Donald, whose only recorded stat was a PD which happened only because Lamar threw a low trajectory pass that hit Donald in the head…Odell Beckham, Jr. made two terrific in-flight adjustments to passes thrown to his opposite shoulder (unintentionally), one being the 46-yard TD. OBJ had 97 yards on 4 catches…Zay Flowers had 6 grabs for 60 yards although he did have a couple of drops on short passes. He had the 21-yard reception for the go ahead score at the game’s 1:16 mark of the fourth quarter. He then presented himself well in the end zone during his 2-point conversion catch, a rather terrific play by Lamar.
What an incredible sequence for both Lamar Jackson and Zay Flowers to put the Ravens ahead late in regulation
Jackson makes two great throws with unreal movement in the pocket, while Flowers works his way wide open to be available for his quarterback🐙pic.twitter.com/415nDmo7zu
— Kevin Oestreicher (@koestreicher34) December 11, 2023
Give credit to Nelson Agholor who caught 5 balls, mostly on short crossers to help sustain drives. Then there was this little tidbit demonstrating the behavior a consummate teammate.
“Nelly was telling me if we do that play, he’s going to run to the safety and run him out of the window [then] Zay should be wide open. That’s exactly what happened.” ~ Lamar Jackson.
Check out Agholor's (No. 15) celebration after the catch.https://t.co/3kCWwC9GgK
— Tony Lombardi (@RSRLombardi) December 11, 2023
Isaiah Likely had 5 receptions for a season-high 83 yards and 1 TD – a 54-yarder – for Baltimore’s first score of the game. Likely’s TD grab marked the longest of his career and the longest by a Ravens TE since Hayden Hurst (61 yards on 12/8/19 at Buf.)
Ravens' top @PFF grades vs. Rams, Week 14:
Offense
WR Odell Beckham Jr. (87.2)
RT Morgan Moses (83.3)
FB Pat Ricard (82.2)
LT Ronnie Stanley (75.1)
RB Keaton Mitchell (68.3)Defense
OLB Kyle Van Noy (80.5)
DT Justin Madubuike (76.0)
LB Patrick Queen (74.8)
DT Travis Jones… pic.twitter.com/5VS890kTxc— Ryan Mink (@ryanmink) December 11, 2023
Justin Madubuike registered a third-down sack of QB Matthew Stafford, marking his 11th QB takedown of the season and his 10th-consecutive game with at least a half-sack. The NFL record for consecutive games with at least a half-sack is 11, accomplished by several players. Madubuike also added 5 QB hits on the day. All Madubuike’s 7 tackles (5 solo) and 1 sack were registered in the first half making him the first Ravens D-lineman since NT Kelly Gregg (12/16/07 at Mia.) to post those figures in a single half of a game. Justin’s sidekick Travis Jones had the Ravens’ other sack. The Rams had not allowed a sack in two consecutive games. The two Ravens QB takedowns brings their season total to 49, a league-high. Through 13 games, this is the franchise’s highest sack total.
Roquan Smith registered a couple of TFL’s that came at key points during the game. One came on a flanker screen that Roquan read perfectly, sifting through the wash to take down the receiver…Patrick Queen played violently as evidenced by this terrific play to fight through traffic and drop Williams for no gain.
Patrick Queen wow😳💪 pic.twitter.com/Vw0B7hePbh
— Kevin Oestreicher (@koestreicher34) December 11, 2023
Kyle Van Noy came up with two big plays. The first took place with the Rams holding a 22-20 edge with a little over 2 minutes to go in the 3rd. Facing a 3rd-and-8 the Rams called for a screen to Kyren Williams. KVN dropped him for a loss of 8.
Sheeeeeesh @KVN_03 😅
Back in action Sunday at 8:20 pm on NBC! pic.twitter.com/czp6e2dtV4
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) December 11, 2023
Then during the Rams last offensive snap in overtime, KVN beat the Rams left guard forcing Matthew Stafford to unload the ball prematurely. Next up, the walk-off punt returned by Wallace.
Facing a 3rd-and-9 in overtime, the Rams had three vertical routes on with their WRs.
Matthew Stafford was forced to check down to the TE because of quick pressure from @KVN_03. 🌪️ pic.twitter.com/rHnCLMfyxa
— Ryan Mink (@ryanmink) December 11, 2023
Before leaving the game in the third quarter with a knee injury, Kyle Hamilton registered 7 total tackles, including 1 for loss. With his TFL of RB Kyren Williams (-2 yards), Hamilton surpassed Ed Reed (8 in 2003) for the most TFL (9) by a DB in Ravens single-season history. That figure also leads all NFL DB’s this season. With Hamilton on the field the Ravens held the Rams to 4.1 yards per play. Without him on the field, LA moved the ball 7.7 YPP, per @RavensFilmStudy…Marcus Williams was the best of the DB’s who finished the game on Sunday and he seems to be rounding into form at just the right time.
On special teams, of course there was the game-winning play featuring Tylan Wallace and some key blocks, most notably those of Charlie Kolar, Ronald Darby, Jalyn Armour-Davis and Justice Hill. You have to be excited for Wallace. He’s a lunch pail kind of guy who puts in the work, hustles on teams and gives 100% for the scout team during practice. The return also represented redemption for Wallace who was flagged for being offsides during a punt return giving the Rams a new set of downs that they later converted into a touchdown…Justin Tucker was perfect, nailing 3 FGA’s and two PAT’s.
“I probably should have checked with the ref before I got there. I kind of looked at it … It was maybe, very slightly, but like I said, that’s on me. I have to check with the ref to be sure I’m good before I line up.” ~ Tylan Wallace
THE BAD
Lamar Jackson misfired on a few deep balls that should have resulted in big plays. And then on another, he had the game’s only turnover when he was picked off by Ahkello Witherspoon, his third on the season. He also seemed to be off the mark on several other throws – some that were high, low or late…On third down the Ravens were just 4 of 12 against a team that yielded first downs at a 40% clip.
On the Rams’ first possession, they ran the ball right down the Ravens throats. LA ran the ball 9 times on that possession for 52 yards. The Ravens looked like a tired team instead of one fresh off their bye. They did adjust as the game progressed, yielding just 76 yards on 21 carries the rest of the way. Kyren Williams forced 11 missed tackles on rushing attempts against the Ravens, good for 0.44 MTFs per attempt, per NextGenStats.
This was a game the Ravens secondary would love to have back. Everyone other than Williams that is, who played well throughout (Hamilton did albeit with an abbreviated sample size).
The Ravens won despite probably the secondary's worst game of the season.
Marlon Humphrey: 92 yards allowed in coverage, DPI
Brandon Stephens: 58 yards, 1 TD allowed
Arthur Maulet: 44 yards allowed
Kyle Hamilton: red-zone DPI(via @NextGenStats)
— Jonas Shaffer (@jonas_shaffer) December 10, 2023
Coverage yards allowed per PFF:
92 – Marlon Humphrey (4/8 targets)
71 – Arthur Maulet (3/5)
49 – Geno Stone (4/5)
37 – Roquan Smith (3/7)
35 – Brandon Stephens (4/5)
12 – Marcus Williams (2/3)
4 – Kyle Hamilton (1/2)
2 – Patrick Queen (1/1)
-8 – KVN (1/1)— Cole Jackson (@ColeJacksonFB) December 11, 2023
The red zone defense, ranked 3rd in the league coming in with a 37.5% failure rate, allowed the Rams to score TD’s on three of 5 (60%) red zone trips…Devin Duvernay has been average at best on kick returns. His decision to bring the opening kick out 8 yards deep was ill-advised. Jacoby Jones he is not!…The protection during punts has been substandard for a couple of weeks and needs to be cleaned up…STAT!
THE UGLY
The Ravens gave up 5 first downs via penalty…Tyler Linderbaum and the premature snap – that’s the second costly snap from the Ravens center this season, the first coming during the game in Pittsburgh…The FOX broadcasts are garbage and Daryl Johnston was pathetic as the game analyst. Both he and PBP guy Joe Davis lamented how the Ravens offense didn’t do much in the first half except for a couple of big plays. They had 243 yards of offense by halftime. That’s like complaining about the Orioles lack of hits when they’ve knocked a few out of the park. And the FOX studio hosts are relics. It’s as if half the analysts sitting at the desk, on a set that looks like it’s from the 90’s much less, are auditioning for the next sequel to Weekend at Bernie’s. CBS all over FOX. Every. Single. Time.
COACHING
Let’s first address the strange challenge by John Harbaugh when it appeared as if he wasted a timeout by not knowing the challenge rules in a game during which that timeout could have been extremely valuable. But that wasn’t the case. I was told that there was some confusion in the coaching box about getting the right personnel on the field to defend the Rams two-point conversion attempt following the Demarcus Robinson’s TD catch. The last-minute challenge was tossed to effectively get the timeout as requested by Harbaugh’s eye in the sky. A late sprint down the sidelines by Harbaugh to call the T.O. could have failed. A 20+ yard toss of the red flag would not and it did not, thankfully for the Ravens who successfully defended the conversion attempt. Nice throw Harbs!
Maybe John has the best arm in the Harbaugh family… pic.twitter.com/WXPtgALCa2
— Tony Lombardi (@RSRLombardi) December 11, 2023
Nobody:
John Harbaugh throwing the challenge flag: pic.twitter.com/EJOeFZraW9
— King of Phinland🐬👑 (@KingOfPhinland) December 10, 2023
During the Ravens final scoring drive in regulation, they seemed a bit hurried. The results were effective from a scoring perspective, but they left too much time on the clock for Stafford & Co. who needed just a FG to send the game into OT. They just looked like a team that isn’t properly prepared to move the football in a way that leaves little time on the clock. The no-huddle approach while running out of bounds both benefitted LA. But in the end, it all worked out. This time.
My last beef with the staff has to do with the defensive game plan. Granted, Stafford got off some special throws aimed at players with whom he has outstanding rapport. He threw to spots and his receivers got to those spots regularly. But leaving Cooper Kupp uncovered or marking him with a safety is just not an ideal way to defend one of the game’s most dangerous playmakers.
THE MEGAN FOX AWARD
It wasn’t always pretty, it wasn’t always effective but when all was said and done, Lamar Jackson had himself quite a game. He ran more purposefully, bought time in the pocket and kept his head up field to make a play with this arm and perhaps most importantly, he never rattled during the game’s most crucial moments. Lamar had 316 yards by air to go with 3 scoring strikes and he ran it for another 70 yards. That’s a great game by any standard even if he was off on a few of those deep throws.
Just imagine if he starts hitting on those!
PARTING SHOTS
• A few weeks ago the Jaguars looked like they might be quite a formidable opponent. And they still could be but as of late, the Jaguars defense has struggled. Over the course of the last 3 weeks they’ve given up 352 yards, 491 and 389 to the Texans, Bengals and Browns, respectively. That’s an average of 410.7 yards per game during that stretch. The league’s worst defense on the season (Cincinnati) has given up 388.2 YPG. The Ravens open up as 3 ½ point road favorites in Jacksonville.
• And speaking of bad defenses, there’s the Philadelphia Eagles. Over their last six outings the Eagles have given up 428.2 yards per game! Meanwhile, their QB is slumping. Things change quickly in the NFL.
• Since he became the league darling, Patrick Mahomes and the KC Chiefs have gotten their fair share of favorable officiating calls – like most of them! Last week they were absolutely jobbed in Green Bay when a blatant DPI was overlooked during the game’s waning moments. This week they are bellyaching about an offsides call. Instead of whining and dropping f-bombs on the world the way Pacman Jones used to drop Benjamins at strip clubs, maybe Mahomes should channel his frustrations towards the players on his team that aren’t doing their jobs – namely, the wide receivers.
Still can’t believe they called offsides.
Chiefs got screwed. Looks ok to me.
Andy Reid should’ve at least gotten a warning & Mahomes should receive a public apology for the error: pic.twitter.com/PgGPo7jN1n
— Ross Tucker (@RossTuckerNFL) December 11, 2023
• Joe Flacco is getting it done in Cleveland. And while it might be easy to root for Joe, you shouldn’t. The Ravens have a tough schedule ahead that includes the (8-5) Jaguars, (10-3) 49ers, (9-3) Dolphins and their archrival, the (7-6) Pittsburgh Steelers. The Browns will face the (5-8) Bears at home, (7-6) Texans in Houston, the (5-8) Jets at home and lastly the (7-6) Bengals. Comparatively speaking, that’s an easier path. Here’s to Joe coming back down to earth.
Hard not to root for Joe Flacco but he is in the AFCN, his team is still contending for the division, so therefore I do root against him and his new team. #Ravens > #Browns, or any team for that matter. #LifeInTheNFL pic.twitter.com/rziu8IgLyK
— Tony Lombardi (@RSRLombardi) December 11, 2023
• The Bills are 1 ½ point favorites over the Cowboys in Orchard Park this weekend. Really?
• Props to the fans in the stands yesterday. While you weren’t rewarded with pleasant weather you certainly were given quite a show by the Ravens and Rams. I’ve long maintained that the diehards, those willing to fight through the elements, are the fans that make the noise. You all did everything possible to uphold that opinion and it sounded on TV like a packed house. Outstanding job!
[Click Here to Read the Ravens Report Card]
THE FINAL WORD
One last time.
Art. Poetry in motion. @OfficialTylan2 #RavensFlock pic.twitter.com/3UUDolIKgJ
— 𝐓𝐞𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝𝐬 (@EDCburner) December 11, 2023
And for Tylan Wallace, many congrats. Given the work, he earned his day to shine and boy did he ever. Judging from the affection extended towards him by his teammates, they certainly concur.
How can you not be romantic about football pic.twitter.com/TgNj79j0hp
— Jake Louque (@jakelouque) December 10, 2023
7 Responses
A Ravens – Browns matchup in the postseason, pitting Flacco vs. his successor, Jackson, would be interesting to say the least……..
No. We should NOT be rooting for Flacco. Nothing against him, but that Browns roster top to bottom is nails! When healthy, that team is every bit as good as the Ravens save for the QB position. And some position groups are better arguably.
I agree with your take on the coaching. Marcus Williams is a very good safety. But any call that ends up with him M2M on Cooper Kupp is a bad call!
It was a good week. Miami lost last night. We are now the 1 seed in the AFC.
A few points to make. Right now all teams are fighting for their playoff lives. Expect the unexpected. As said before officiating and injuries will loom large in the coming weeks.
This last game, after Hamilton went out, the secondary got totally exposed. Enough said. We got better in the second half but Hamilton’s departure hurt. Hopefully he’s back soon.
Most of the pre season favorites are now faltering. Look at the Chiefs, Jags, and Eagles. Can you say parity? The only dominant team appears to be the 9er’s when healthy. We have them in a few weeks. It’s an opportunity to see where we measure up when we play them.
This seems to be a magical season. Let’s just stay healthy and keep improving. We’ve gotten some breaks lately. Take it one game at a time. Just enjoy this journey.
“On third down the Ravens were just 4 of 12 against a team that yielded first downs at a 40% clip.”
Well, 5 of 12, I believe, is 41% so is this criticism/observation really “bad”? I mean, I would love 7 of 12 too but I thought that was a bit much in an otherwise great article.
My “bad” would include Maulet looking horrible on two missed tackles.
I agree with you wholeheartedly on the
broadcast, just horrible.
Fair point on the 3rd down conversions. Probably won’t surprise you that I once believed that 5/4th’s of all Steelers fans failed math. Now I think that dubious distinction has been wrestled away by fans in Cincinnati. But I digress…
Funny stuff!
I, too, held season tix (6) since the Purple came to Baltimore and I was able to grow my dislike for the Black/Gold. I surrendered my PSLs (no $, not as smart as you) 4 yrs ago and moved here to SWFL but the passion remains!
Big game this weekend! Keep up with the great articles and go Purple!
P S. Get Dev to write more!
I love Flacco but he is money in the playoffs so watch out and scares me if we play them. At the end of the year , momentum, chemistry, health and luck determines how far a team will go. This team has things ,still to work on but they seem to be improving and that is all you can ask for. Take 1 game at a time and the seedings will take care of itself.