ExtremeRavens Posted October 6 Posted October 6 Here’s how the Ravens (3-2) graded out at every position after beating the Cincinnati Bengals, 41-38, in overtime in Week 5 on Sunday at Paycor Stadium. Quarterback It was a tale of two halves for Lamar Jackson. In the first two periods, he fluttered some passes and never gained a rhythm with the offense. By the third quarter, Jackson knew he had to carry the team and delivered, completing 17 of 25 passes for 235 yards in the final two quarters and finishing 26 of 42 for 348 yards and four touchdowns. Jackson had a couple sensational scrambles and at times his stiff arm was as good as running back Derrick Henry’s. Jackson carried the Ravens on Sunday. He was the best player on the field. Grade: A Running backs On the Ravens’ opening possession of the game, they came out strong in power formations but still ran wide. But somewhere in the second quarter, the team got away from its strength of running the ball and mixing it with the play-action passes. Henry took over the game in overtime, as his 51-yard run with 3:36 left in the 10-minute extra period secured the win for the Ravens. He finished with 92 yards on 15 carries. The Ravens got little rushing production from backup Justice Hill, who had only 17 yards on five attempts, but he pass protects extremely well. Grade: C+ Offensive line The Ravens were strong running the ball inside, but they struggled in pass protection, especially tackles Ronnie Stanley and Roger Rosengarten. There were times when the Ravens stepped out flat instead of back and gave up too much ground off the snap. Overall, it was a decent effort by a group playing without injured left guard Andrew Vorhees and then temporarily losing Rosengarten early in the game with an ankle injury. Jackson made this group better. He was sacked only once but hit seven other times. Grade: C Ravens vs. Bengals October 6, 2024 | PHOTOS Receivers Zay Flowers does a great job of finding holes in the defense, and he can turn short receptions into big plays. He can play inside or outside and almost came close to turning short screens into long receptions. He was targeted 12 times and had seven catches for 111 yards. The Ravens, though, tried to establish the running game early, and when that doesn’t happen they aren’t a good comeback team. Fellow wideout Rashod Bateman had four catches for 58 yards, and he got more involved in the game plan as it went on. Jackson found both his top tight ends in the final quarter and they were essential to pulling over the victory. Isaiah Likely had three catches for 13 yards, including two touchdown receptions. Mark Andrews had four catches for 54 yards. Both played key roles in the fourth quarter. Grade: B+ Defensive line The Ravens held Cincinnati’s running game in check with 71 yards on 23 carries, but the Bengals had some success in the second and third quarters mixing the run with the play-action pass. End Nnamdi Madubuike led the linemen with four tackles but needs to cut down on those roughing the passer penalties. They might be questionable, but still carry a heavy price. Madubuike stepped up with a sack late in the fourth quarter. He also had two hurries on Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow. Grade: C Instant analysis from Ravens’ 41-38 OT win over Cincinnati Bengals in Week 5 Linebackers As well as the Ravens played a week ago against Buffalo, they were in total disarray vs. Cincinnati. The linebackers were lost in coverage, especially over the middle, and at times didn’t get deep enough drops when it came to defending the Bengals’ running slants. The outside linebackers didn’t get much pressure on Burrow, especially starters Kyle Van Noy and Odafe Oweh. When a team throws five touchdown passes, that team is supposed to win. Middle linebacker Roquan Smith, though, might have played his best game of the season leading the Ravens in tackles with 15. Grade: C- Secondary It was tough to determine which team, the Bengals or the Ravens, had a tougher time covering on the back end. Cornerbacks Brandon Stephens and rookie Nate Wiggins had trouble stopping receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins on those stop routes, and nickel corner Marlon Humphrey couldn’t slow Higgins down on slants inside the red zone. Humphrey, though, might have had the play of the game, intercepting Burrow on a slant to Higgins late in the fourth quarter to set up Justin Tucker’s game-tying 56-yard field goal with 1:40 left in regulation. Strong safety Kyle Hamilton had four tackles, but the Ravens didn’t get many big plays from free safety Marcus Williams, who several times failed on the last line of defense. Grade: D- Special teams Jordan Stout averaged 56 yards on three punts, but Chris Collier fumbled a kickoff out of bounds and the Raven also allowed one kickoff return of 27 yards. Overall, there is still something missing from these units. The Ravens need to occasionally get a big play from this group, but so far it hasn’t contributed much. Tucker did hit a clutch 56-yard field goal and also had a 24-yarder to win the game. That will ease some concerns about his leg strength. Grade: C Coaching It’s hard to believe the Ravens won a game allowing 442 yards of total offense. Offensive coordinator Todd Monken used Henry well to wear down the Bengals in overtime, and it was good to see Bateman involved in the offense. Defensively, the Ravens made plays late in the game, and that’s critical for this team going forward. But coach John Harbaugh’s clock management was poor, especially late in the first half, and it’s been that way for years. The Ravens might need to consider getting some type of game manager to help influence Harbaugh when critical decisions need to be made. It might eventually cost this team. Grade: C- Have a news tip? Contact Mike Preston at epreston@baltsun.com, 410-332-6467 and x.com/MikePrestonSun. View the full article Quote
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