ExtremeRavens Posted yesterday at 11:30 AM Posted yesterday at 11:30 AM It wasn’t always pretty, but Baltimore showed signs that this turnaround isn’t a total fluke. The Ravens won a 27-19 slugfest in Minnesota, improving to 4-5 on the season and inching closer to the top of the AFC North. Here are five things we learned: The Ravens are surging, but they’re not quite where they need to be Take the bad with the good. Lamar Jackson wasn’t his usual dominant self on an afternoon that cornerback Marlon Humphrey called a “smoke break” for the superstar quarterback. Derrick Henry spent most of Sunday afternoon running into a barricade. Three different reliable pass catchers dropped the football. For the third time this season, an opposing receiver eclipsed triple-digit receiving yards. In this case, it was Minnesota’s third option Jalen Nailor, who set career marks with 124 yards on five catches. Nailor’s only touchdown nearly set off an improbable fourth-quarter comeback. And yet, the Ravens prevailed. They squashed a potential game-tying drive in the final minutes, thwarting early-season demons. Rookie kicker Tyler Loop kept them afloat with four field goals until the offense found a groove. And their defense hit the turnover trifecta, which at times this season felt like an impossible feat. The win, Baltimore’s third in a row, confirmed this post-bye week surge could be for real. It served as a reminder, too, that there’s still plenty to clean up. Which is why Jackson couldn’t compliment the defense without kicking himself first, “I feel like we should have helped them out a little bit more, but they got it done,” he said. Getting it done can mask some of the Ravens’ shortcomings. A light midseason schedule (the next two weeks they’ll play teams with a combined five wins) offers a ramp to get that stuff cleaned up by December. Still, Sunday showed what’s possible: a creatively potent offense, an imposing defense and an influential special teams unit. Safety Kyle Hamilton said he was joking coming off the field that it was one of only a handful of instances since he was drafted “where both sides played well.” And they did it in one of the league’s tougher places to play. All week, there was talk about how loud U.S. Bank Stadium would be. It’s so cold in Minneapolis this time of year that everyone packs into the downtown dome and screams their heads off to regulate their body temperatures. The Vikings wound up with eight false start penalties. The Ravens, who have long been plagued by such afflictions, were flagged only once. What did that say about this team in that setting? “I think that’s what won the game for us,” coach John Harbaugh said. “I really do. I think the poise under pressure, handling the noise, one presnap penalty, no turnovers in this environment. “And it’s the two-fold noise. It’s the noise of the crowd, which is incredible, and it’s also the noise of the defense and the noise they create with all their schemes and the way they play.” A pre-bye week version of this team might not have handled such raucous conditions so calmly. The simple stuff doesn’t work on third down A throw short of the sticks. Another skipping through Isaiah Likely’s mitts. A ball thrice swatted at the line of scrimmage. Henry going nowhere. Jackson ditching the ball over the end zone. That’s a sampling of Baltimore’s third-down snafus, all uncomplicated play calls that ended in frustration over stalled out drives. The Ravens went three-and-out six times. As offensive coordinator Todd Monken likes to argue, it’s only a “bad” play call if it doesn’t work. Talent alone failed to get them past the sticks nine times on 15 tries. Converting on third down Sunday required something a tad more unconventional. Monken showed how deep that playbook goes. When everyone inside U.S. Bank Stadium assumed Mark Andrews lining up under center meant a tush push — the short-yardage play that has troubled the Ravens at times, and a cheat code at others — Andrews flipped the ball to his quarterback, who snared an off-target toss with his left hand and picked up the yard and more. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson avoids a tackle by Vikings defensive end Jonathan Allen in the first half Sunday in Minneapolis. (Stacy Bengs/AP) Later, on third-and-1, thinking back to a growing sample size of failed Henry runs in such situations Sunday, Monken gave fullback Patrick Ricard his first carry in nearly three years. He tumbled over the imaginary yellow line with ease. Another funky conversion helped set up a touchdown. On third-and-2 inside Minnesota’s 10-yard line, Monken called for 13-personnel, a (very) heavy formation with one running back and three tight ends. Jackson kept the ball on a sweeper to his left behind a squadron of big bodies. Still, Jackson, who played in his 100th regular-season game, knows there’s more to be done. His mood postgame showed as much. A strong defensive showing gives them “a lot of confidence,” he said. “But I’d have even more if we were putting points on the board like we should. Hats off to our defense, because they played a wonderful game.” Defense is finally delivering on its takeaway promise Marlon Humphrey is undoubtedly the most eccentric player in the Ravens’ locker room. Anything could have been going through his head. But after intercepting a J.J. McCarthy deep shot, Humphrey looked unsure of himself, as if to wonder, where did this ball come from? What do I do with it? He was perhaps assuming a yellow flag might land near his feet, negating the play. Nope, Humphrey registered his first interception of the season (he led the Ravens with six in 2024). It was Baltimore’s second of the day, improving the team total to five on the year and at least one in a third consecutive game. Just last month, only the interception-less Jets had fewer. The Ravens are now at least better than 10 teams in that department, delivering on a preseason promise they had previously failed to deliver on. They’ve forced seven turnovers in three games after stealing three through the first six. It’s hard to blame Humphrey for looking so out of place after the catch, the return and a little bit of celebration. Sunday was the first time the Ravens’ defense logged two interceptions (rookie Malaki Starks secured the other) in a single game this year. Tack on the special teams fumble and Sunday was the second time in as many games the Ravens forced three takeaways, the daily goal defensive leaders set for themselves back in August and failed to roll into September or October. They’ve come a long way since. Take it from the new guy, Dre’Mont Jones, whose only thought was, “Wow, this Ravens defense is legit.” “We’re not satisfied with just getting one or two,” outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy said. “We need to get multiple. We need to get as many turnovers as we can get, and today was a great example of that.” Linebacker Roquan Smith nearly made it four with an interception that officials narrowly called back. On that one, the defense celebrated in full before the review. It wasn’t until Saturday that they even started to brainstorm how to revel in their success. Hamilton had just watched “Coach Carter,” starring Samuel L. Jackson playing a rigid basketball coach whooping his team into shape. The idea was whoever forces the turnover would roam the goal line, hands tied behind their back, imitating the legendary actor while his teammates ran gassers in the end zone. Smith ran them anyway, looking a little unsure he was doing the right thing. A replay review showed the ball had nicked the turf, and it was called back. “I’m glad that one just got thrown out. We’ll figure something else out,” Hamilton said. “At least we have stuff to celebrate now.” The Ravens talked a big game about forcing turnovers. They’re finally starting to deliver, which means they’re relearning how to look like they’ve been there before. It’s too late to buy Keondre Jackson stock In August, there were three undrafted rookies dominating the discourse. More accurately, they captured the hearts of a fan base eager for football. None of them were named Keondre Jackson. The Ravens cut him loose on Aug. 26. They signed him to the practice squad a day later. Jackson was a penny stock back then. Ten weeks into the season, the UDFA safety from Illinois State known for backflipping on the sideline is playing like a special teams ace. “He said he was gonna make a name for himself,” Harbaugh said, “I think he’s doing it.” Jackson’s ascension climaxed on a third-quarter kickoff. He wasn’t first to the ball carrier. But he raced in to finish the tackle and punched the ball from Myles Price’s grasp — his first career forced fumble. Jackson blanketed the ball. “At the bottom of the pile, it was crazy down there,” he laughed. Jackson earned the right to high-step upfield in celebration for having given Baltimore the ball three steps from the red zone. Ravens safety Keondre Jackson, shown during training camp, has developed into a special teams asset for Baltimore. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff) “This dude loves playing football,” special teams coordinator Chris Horton said. “You turn on that tape, and you watch him play, he’s an impactful player in our phase of the game.” Jackson’s forced fumble was his loudest contribution this season. But he’s been a steady special teams force in recent weeks. So much so that when Baltimore waived safety Sanoussi Kane (who they signed to the practice squad days later), Jackson took his place on the 53-man roster. Credit his five tackles in three games, including a pair in wins over Miami and Chicago. “Keondre Jackson’s been great for us since he’s been active,” Hamilton said. “Big ball of energy.” Ravens embrace early season ‘scar tissue’ When a team endures the kind of turmoil the Ravens did earlier this season, players tend to wax lyrically about a singular focus. Everything is about the game in front of them, they say. One win to snowball the next. After three in a row, Hamilton finally, and reluctantly, admitted what no player had publicly. The NFL’s highest-paid safety prefaced to say he doesn’t speak for the whole team. But if there is anyone who does, even just for the defense, it would be Hamilton. “What got us — not trying to bring up the past — partially what got us to 1-5,” Hamilton said, “was the fact that we came into the season maybe thinking, ‘We’re the Baltimore Ravens. We’re gonna do this, we’re gonna do that. Teams are just gonna lay down and let us win games.’” That sentiment should have been obvious to anyone watching Baltimore’s wretched start. For weeks, opponents waltzed into M&T Bank Stadium, putting on the kind of offensive and defensive showings not seen at the home stadium since the turn of the century. The Ravens looked lost. It would be a stretch to say they’ve been found, but a three-game win streak is enough to reckon with their past and acknowledge things have changed. Or as Hamilton put it, “we’re starting to hit our stride” after getting “punched in the mouth” to start the season. “We’ll have that scar tissue going forward,” he said. Harbaugh admitted to letting his emotions bubble up after the clock wound all the way down. “I didn’t shed a tear,” he clarified. “I wouldn’t let that happen.” But he was proud to see how his team persevered. The Ravens didn’t fold over when history counted them out. They’ve got a long way to go. They’re at least making things interesting. Have a news tip? Contact Sam Cohn at scohn@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/samdcohn. Ravens running back Derrick Henry turns upfield in Sunday's 27-19 win over the Vikings. Baltimore is 3-0 since its bye week. (Bruce Kluckhohn/AP) View the full article Quote
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