ExtremeRavens Posted 16 hours ago Posted 16 hours ago Here’s how the Ravens graded out at every position in their 23-10 win over the Jets on Sunday: Quarterback Lamar Jackson’s play has become a mystery. He missed a lot of open receivers Sunday, beginning early in the game on a pass to tight end Isaiah Likely in the right flat to later missing a wide-open DeAndre Hopkins after Hopkins beat safety Tony Adams in the fourth quarter. There were times when Jackson might have gotten to the outside with his usual acceleration or burst, but he doesn’t appear to have the type of speed to turn the corner at this time. Jackson completed 13 of 23 passes for 153 yards and finished with a passer rating of 76.9. The problem is that once the postseason starts, the Ravens might face a team just as hot as them and Jackson’s accuracy will be needed. Grade: C- Running backs Derrick Henry finished with 64 yards on 21 carries and had two touchdown runs of 2 yards each. He was effective in the second half when the Ravens needed him most, but the Ravens still need to work Keaton Mitchell more into the offense. Mitchell had only two carries for 10 yards, but he also had a long run nullified in the second half because of a holding penalty. The Ravens need his outside speed to add an extra dimension to the offense. Baltimore needs to find more balance between the two backs because Mitchell is a great change-of-pace weapon. The Ravens might be wasting a great talent. Grade: C Offensive line Watching this group operate can be extremely unnerving. There are times when they can’t get any movement off the ball on initial contact or when they run over each other on combination blocks. Pass blocking has been suspect for the past two or three years; Jackson was sacked three times Sunday and also was hurried seven other times. Regardless, the Ravens won’t make changes because they don’t have a lot of depth, and offensive line is more about timing than almost anything else. Baltimore will stand or fall with this group. Tackles Ronnie Stanley and Roger Rosengarten struggled with defensive ends Will McDonald IV and Jermaine Johnson. The Ravens had only 241 yards of total offense. Grade: D+ Receivers Baltimore at least got slot receiver Zay Flowers involved in the offense early. He had two carries for 11 yards and also caught five passes for 58 yards. Hopkins also had two receptions for 13 yards and the Ravens still need to get him more involved as well, especially on the outside in one-on-one situations. The Ravens, though, have become stale on offense, and they could use more Mitchell, Flowers and Hopkins. Tight end Mark Andrews had one catch for 9 yards but dropped a short touchdown pass in the back on the end zone in the second half. Jackson left a lot of points on the field Sunday by missing receivers. Grade: C- Defensive line The Jets had some success rushing the ball 26 times for 78 yards. It wasn’t a whopping success, but at least it kept the Ravens off balance. The Ravens’ interior group got very little pressure on backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who completed 17 of 28 passes for 222 yards and finished with a passer rating of 82.7. Overall, Baltimore only occasionally got penetration, and Breece Hall was good at slowing the game down and picking which hole to run through. Overall, the Ravens were solid, but far from spectacular. Grade: C Linebackers There were times when Hall made the Ravens look really bad in their attempts to tackle him. Hall was basically a one-man offense, but he did get some help from receiver John Metchie III. Middle linebacker Roquan Smith led the Ravens in tackles with 11, and rookie weakside linebacker Teddye Buccanan had eight. They got a lot of help from outside linebacker Dre’Mont Jones, who had 1 1/2 sacks and finished with two pressures. Baltimore, though, was playing against a team that had allowed 36 sacks in the first 10 games. Grade: C+ Secondary Nickel cornerback Marlon Humphrey does what he always does well, and he stripped Hall after a carry at the Ravens’ 3-yard line with 6:58 left in the game. It was unlikely that the Jets would have mounted a comeback, but they were still in the game at that point. Overall, the Ravens covered well, but their tackling was extremely poor, especially going after Hall, who juked and side-stepped cornerback Nate Wiggins and Chidobe Awuzie and safeties Alohi Gilman and Malaki Starks all over the field. The Jets threw for more than 200 yards after entering the game with the worst passing offense in the NFL, averaging only 139.9 yards per game. Grade: C+ Special teams Jordan Stout saved Baltimore. He had four punts averaging 61.5 yards, including bombs of 56 and 74 yards. That’s a great day, especially when the offense falters. Rookie Tyler Loop converted on field goal attempts of 31, 35 and 27 yards, with the 35-yarder in the fourth quarter putting the Ravens ahead, 20-10, with 9:35 remaining. Cornerback T.J. Tampa Jr. excelled on special teams and had two tackles (plus his first career interception). The Ravens though, still need to improve on kickoff returns. They gave up 156 yards on five returns. Grade: B Coaching It would be nice if the Ravens came out hot on offense just one time. We haven’t seen that since early in the season. Also, this offense needs more jazz, more creativeness, and the Ravens aren’t getting much as far as production. Defensively, the Ravens have improved, but the Jets completed passes of 19, 40 and 26 yards. For Baltimore it’s all about preparing for the postseason. The Steelers continue to falter, and the Ravens will surpass them in the AFC North race. It will come down to which team is hot in the postseason, and right now the Ravens are still cool. Very cool. 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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