ExtremeRavens Posted yesterday at 05:42 AM Posted yesterday at 05:42 AM ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Here’s how the Ravens graded out at every position after a 41-40 loss to the Bills in their season opener: Quarterback Lamar Jackson was content to dink and dunk for most of the first half, but he threw some nice crossing routes to slot receiver Zay Flowers. He also showed good touch on the 29-yard touchdown pass to veteran DeAndre Hopkins down the right sideline in the third quarter. Most damaging to Buffalo were Jackson’s keepers on option runs off the perimeter. Most teams keep a player outside to keep Jackson inside the tackles, but he took advantage of the Bills for 70 yards on six carries. Jackson finished with a passer rating of 144.6 to go with 209 yards and a pair of touchdown passes, but even that wasn’t good enough. Grade: A Running backs Buffalo wanted no part of Derrick Henry. At 6-foot-3 and 252 pounds, he ran both inside and outside, several times bouncing outside on tosses. Henry, though, showed good vision with several cutback runs, and he finished with two rushing touchdowns and 169 yards on 18 carries. There were times when it seemed as if Buffalo defensive backs purposely took the wrong pursuit angles because they wanted no part of Henry. But Henry’s fourth-quarter fumble led to a touchdown that brought the Bills within 40-38 with just under two minutes left. The Ravens couldn’t reboot the offense on the next series. Grade: A- Offensive line There were only a few instances in which the Ravens were beaten up front. This group dominated the Bills and got a good push off the ball. But the Ravens still need to make some improvements. Right tackle Roger Rosengarten needs to step up his game, and center Tyler Linderbaum still struggles with big nose guards over top of him. Both Linderbaum and Rosengarten had problems with defensive end Joey Bosa at times, as well as defensive tackle Ed Oliver, who finished with three tackles for loss and a sack. Both players came up big for the Bills late in the game, even though the Ravens dominated up front for nearly 3 1/2 quarters. The Ravens will learn from this, but Sunday night still seemed like a wasted effort. Grade: B Receivers This group was the best on the field. The Ravens worked the short passing game to perfection for most of the first half and then shifted to more middle-of-the-field passing in the second. The Bills couldn’t contain Flowers, who had seven catches for 143 yards and a touchdown. Hopkins had a nice one-handed touchdown catch down the right sideline in the third quarter, and at times it looked as though the Ravens were running a seven-on-seven passing drill. The Ravens also got a strong effort from tight end Zaire Mitchell-Paden, a practice squad call-up who was Henry’s lead blocker on several runs around the corner. But not even this group could save the Ravens from a pending disaster. Grade: A Defensive line The Ravens had a good mix up front, and they held Buffalo to 54 rushing yards in the first half. But they couldn’t get a lot of pressure on quarterback Josh Allen when it counted. When they did, he was elusive and brought the Bills back in dramatic fashion. End Nnamdi Madubuike had six tackles and nose guard Travis Jones finished with three. But when the game counted the most, Buffalo outscored the Ravens, 22-6, in the fourth quarter. One touchdown came off a Ravens turnover, but that’s when great players make big plays. Buffalo finished with 497 yards of total offense. Grade: C- Linebackers The Ravens shuffled a lot of players in and out of the lineup, which at times included rookies Teddye Buchanan and Mike Green. But an old problem resurfaced. When this team needs a sack in crunch time, who is going to be the outside linebacker to deliver? Green might one day become that player, but probably not in his rookie season. Middle linebacker Roquan Smith led the Ravens in tackles with 10, but he has problems in pass coverage. Weak-side linebacker Trenton Simpson struggled getting off run blocks for most of the game and finished with one tackle compared with three for Buchanan. Outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy had a strong game and finished with three tackles and one quarterback hurry, and backup outside linebacker Tavius Robinson was decent. The Ravens need a stronger presence on the outside, a game-changing pass rusher. Grade: C Secondary Maybe it was an omen when Buffalo drove 48 yards in four plays at the end of the first half, which resulted in a 43-yard field goal by Matt Prater. Because in the final quarter, when the Ravens should have taken over, they had virtually nothing. All this talk about a rebuilt secondary was just that: talk. Cornerback Nate Wiggins struggled, and so did Jaire Alexander, who missed two weeks of practice toward the end of training camp. He looked bad and slow. Both safeties, Kyle Hamilton (nine tackles) and rookie Malaki Starks (seven tackles), played well and controlled the middle of the field. Nickel back Marlon Humphrey also had a strong game with four tackles. But there is still something missing from the back end of this defense. It might be communication, because even though the group played in preseason, this was the first time they were on the field for a full 60 minutes. The unit played well when Buffalo used its vanilla offense, but in crunch time, they didn’t get it done. In fact, we’ve seen this act before, like at the beginning of last season. Grade: D Ravens cornerback Jaire Alexander, left, is called for pass interference on Bills wide receiver Joshua Palmer. Alexander struggled in his Ravens debut. (Jeffrey T. Barnes/AP) Special teams Rookie Tyler Loop converted on field goal attempts of 52 and 49 yards, but he did miss an extra point try. The Ravens gave up kickoff returns of 41 and 31 yards as both Brandon Codrington and Ty Johnson averaged 27.6 yards per return. The Ravens’ Rasheen Ali averaged 27.8 yards on six kickoff returns, but they got very little from rookie punt returner LaJohntay Wester. He only fielded one punt for 6 yards. Backup safety T.J. Tampa Jr. had two special team tackles. Grade: B Coaching Offensive coordinator Todd Monken had the Bills completely off balance for most of the game. He ran dives up the gut and tosses to the outside. The Ravens had a good mix of passes both short and intermediate, and the defense played well enough to win before the fourth quarter. Regardless, every team wants to win the first game. It’s a big relief, but the Ravens have to wait until game No. 2 to experience a victory. They wanted to avenge last year’s divisional playoff loss to the Bills, but Buffalo wasn’t having it at Highmark Stadium, which will be torn down after the season. Maybe the Ravens can win here in the new stadium. Regardless, they put a lot of time and effort into this defense, including adding free agents and assistant coaches. Yet, in crunch time, they faded. That’s not good enough. The prevent defense prevented nothing. Grade: B Have a news tip? Contact Mike Preston at epreston@baltsun.com, 410-332-6467 and x.com/MikePrestonSun. Ravens running back Derrick Henry runs for a touchdown during the first half of Sunday's 41-40 loss to the Bills. The Ravens' offense graded out well in its first game of the season, but the defense struggled against the Bills' explosive offense. (Adrian Kraus/AP) 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.