ExtremeRavens Posted September 6 Posted September 6 Here’s how the Ravens (0-1) graded out at every position after dropping their season opener, 27-20, to the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday night at Arrowhead Stadium. Quarterback The Ravens need to get Lamar Jackson outside the pocket more because that’s where he does most of his damage. Their best play is still him scrambling around and improvising, which resulted in a 49-yard touchdown pass to tight end Isaiah Likely in the fourth quarter. Jackson, though, missed running back Justice Hill on a short crossing pattern late in the first half, which should have been a touchdown. Jackson also underthrew Flowers streaking down the right sideline early in the third quarter after he beat cornerback Jaylen Watson. He also missed Flowers in the back of the end zone on the Ravens’ last drive. Jackson did find Likely in the back of the end zone on the last play of regulation to seemingly pull Baltimore within a point, but the tight end stepped out of bounds to end the game. Jackson is still the best offensive weapon the Ravens have, but he has to make the big plays for the team to take the next step. He completed 26 of 41 passes for 273 yards and rushed 16 times for an additional 122 yards. Grade: B+ Running backs The Ravens should have used running back Derrick Henry more, as he had only 13 carries for 46 yards, including a 5-yard touchdown run to open the game. The Ravens, though, are becoming too predictable using backup halfback Hill in passing situations and throwing to him in the flats. Hill had six catches for 52 yards. The Ravens need a change-of-pace running back, and they won’t get one until Keaton Mitchell returns from a knee injury later in the season. Grade: C- Ravens vs. Chiefs, September 5, 2024 | PHOTOS Offensive line Left tackle Ronnie Stanley kept getting called for illegal formation penalties, especially in the first half, and that cost the Ravens. Baltimore needs to cut down on the rotation at right tackle with Patrick Mekari and rookie Roger Rosengarten and just play Mekari for a couple of games. Mekari needs to get his timing down, and the more work, the better. Both guards, Andrew Vorhees and Daniel Faalele, struggled, and Faalele looked lost in pass protection for most of the first half. Grade: D Receivers The Ravens need to get their receivers involved more in the game plan because this looked more like the Zay Flowers (six catches for 37 yards) show for most of the game. Where were the two-tight end formations the Ravens talked about a lot during the offseason with Mark Andrews and Likely? Andrews had two catches for 14 yards. Did Nelson Agholor play? The Ravens need Rashod Bateman to have a breakout season and he wasn’t involved much in the offense until the second half, when he had two catches for 53 yards. The Ravens need to use these players more. Grade: C+ Defensive line The Ravens handled Kansas City’s running game, holding the Chiefs to 72 yards on 20 attempts, and they kept Isiah Pacheco in line by holding him to 45 yards on 15 carries. But the Ravens failed to get pressure on quarterback Patrick Mahomes, and when they did, he still moved around in the pocket. The Ravens didn’t play nose guard Michael Pierce and tackle Nnamdi Madubuike in the preseason, and it showed. Madubuike had only two tackles; Pierce finished with four. Both will get better as the season goes on, but they need help from backups Broderick Washington and Travis Jones, who combined for three tackles. Madubuike added half a sack. Grade: B- Linebackers Kansas City took advantage of middle linebacker Roquan Smith in pass coverage, and he couldn’t keep up with receiver Rashee Rice on crossing patterns over the middle. Smith also needs to cut down on the cheap shots on opposing players, which has become an annoying habit since the second half of last season. There were times when he was getting blown out on running plays. Malik Harrison missed several tackles and the Ravens’ outside linebackers missed several assignments covering the Chiefs running backs out of the backfield. Grade: D Secondary The Ravens had a lot of blown coverages on the back end and were questioning themselves in the second half. Overall, the group was still a strength of the defense and played well enough for the Ravens to win, but they just couldn’t cover long enough. Safety Marcus Williams had six tackles and cornerback Brandon Stephens had four. The Ravens need to get a stronger game out of safety Kyle Hamilton. He is good near the line of scrimmage, but he got exposed in coverage. Mahomes, regardless of the situation, always finds a way to beat the Ravens. He threw for 291 yards and finished with a passer rating of 101.9. Grade: B Special teams Justin Tucker missed a 53-yard field goal attempt in the first half and the Ravens also allowed a 28-yard kickoff return, which helped lead Kansas City to its first touchdown of the game. Tucker, though, converted on field goal attempts of 25 and 32 yards. Jordan Stout averaged 37.5 yards on two punts, both finishing inside the 20-yard line. Neither team had much of an advantage in the return game. Grade: C+ Coaching Coach John Harbaugh gambled and made a poor decision to go for it on fourth down with 9:45 left in the second quarter. The move handed Kansas City a short field and a 31-yard field goal by Harrison Butker about four minutes later. Clock management was poor as usual for most of the game and some of the play calling, especially on the offensive side, was poor. Offensive coordinator Todd Monken needs to get more out of his players and defensive coordinator Zach Orr’s linebackers looked lost in coverage. Harbaugh seemed willing to go for a 2-point conversion after the near-touchdown reception by Likely, but that probably would have failed on that, too. The coaching staff was a mess. Grade: D View the full article Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.