ExtremeRavens Posted December 2 Posted December 2 Ravens wide receiver Rashod Bateman exited Sunday’s game against the Eagles with a knee injury and didn’t return because it was “too sore,” according to coach John Harbaugh. Bateman wasn’t targeted in the game before leaving. Oddly, fellow wide receiver Diontae Johnson didn’t play any snaps, even with Bateman leaving early. The Ravens added Johnson at the trade deadline from Carolina, where he had 30 catches for 357 yards and three touchdowns in seven games with the Panthers. Since joining Baltimore, Johnson has one catch for 6 yards across five games. Harbaugh was asked about Johnson’s lack of involvement in the passing game, and the Ravens coach offered a puzzling response. “I’m not really ready to comment on that right now,” Harbaugh said. “I will be, just don’t have enough information right now to comment on that.” A couple of weeks ago, Harbaugh claimed he would “ramp up” Johnson’s workload within the offense. Quarterback Lamar Jackson said at the time they were hopeful to work Johnson into the offense in future games, even though he didn’t make an impact in his first few weeks in Baltimore. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” Jackson said. “That’s probably how Coach and those guys are feeling. But we definitely want to get him involved because he’s a great talent and a great addition to our offense.” That hasn’t been the case. Johnson doesn’t have a catch for the Ravens since the team’s Nov. 7 win over the Bengals, and he’s only received three total targets across 17 total snaps in the three games since. His zero snaps in Sunday’s game leave unanswered questions about his future in Baltimore. As for Bateman, Sunday marked his first game of the season without a reception. He entered the game as Baltimore’s second-leading receiver with 574 yards, behind only Zay Flowers (789 yards). With Bateman unavailable and Johnson not a part of the game plan, the Ravens targeted Nelson Agholor down the field in the second half, but the former Eagles receiver struggled. He couldn’t come down with what would’ve been a large gain toward the end of the third quarter on a key third down. The Ravens, trailing 14-12 at the time, opted to kick a 53-yard field goal on fourth down, which Justin Tucker pulled wide left. Agholor finished with no catches on two targets. Tight end Mark Andrews played well in Bateman’s absence, catching six passes for 67 yards and a touchdown on an impressive grab over two defenders in the first quarter. Fellow tight end Isaiah Likely caught five passes for 38 yards, including a touchdown in the final seconds. It’s the first time since Week 1 (nine catches against the Chiefs) that Likely finished a game with five or more receptions. Flowers caught three passes for 74 yards, leading the team in receiving yards. Tylan Wallace contributed two catches for 14 yards. Have a news tip? Contact sports editor Bennett Conlin at bconlin@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/BennettConlin. 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.