ExtremeRavens Posted 9 hours ago Posted 9 hours ago Here’s how the Ravens graded out at every position in their 41-24 win over the Green Bay Packers on Saturday night at Lambeau Field in Wisconsin: Quarterback Tyler Huntley played within the offense. He came out early and threw short timing patterns to get in sync, and he stayed with them most of the game. He also ran several times up the middle on quarterback draws and caught the Packers without a spy in the middle of the field. Huntley completed 16 of 20 passes for 107 yards and a touchdown and finished with a passer rating of 105.6. Combined with the superb running game, he was the near perfect complement. Grade: B Running backs Running back Derrick Henry controlled the pace of the game, and he dominated Green Bay from the opening whistle until the end of the game. Henry finished with 216 rushing yards on 36 carries and had four touchdowns. The Ravens did themselves a favor and didn’t take Henry out of the game as they did a week ago with an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter against the Patriots. Backup running back Keaton Mitchell had nine carries for 31 yards. Fullback Patrick Ricard proved that he has improved throughout the season and is still one of the best lead blockers in the NFL. Grade: A Offensive line This group has been much maligned for the entire season, but the unit played well for the second straight week. The biggest difference has been sustaining blocks and not allowing penetration after initial contact. Both guards, Daniel Faalele and Andrew Vorhees, played well and Baltimore wasn’t afraid to run behind either. Both tackles, Ronnie Stanley and Roger Rosengarten, had some slipups, but overall this group played well. The Ravens had 414 yards of total offense, including 307 on the ground. Grade: B+ Receivers I like when an offense pounds the ball with a running game and only uses its receivers sparingly. It forces Baltimore’s hand when a backup quarterback is starting in place of the injured Lamar Jackson. Slot receiver Zay Flowers had four catches for 30 yards and tight end Mark Andrews also had four for 28. Tight end Isaiah Likely had three catches for 27 yards, but the Ravens got some nice blocks from the tight ends on pitches and runs off the edge. Baltimore went with a lot of “heavy” packages and simply outmuscled Green Bay. Grade: C+ Defensive line Green Bay had no running game. Absolutely none. Malik Willis had nine carries for 60 yards, but the Packers had only 79 yards on 17 carries. It was a total beatdown. Tavius Robinson, who doubles as both an outside linebacker and defensive end, had four tackles and tackles John Jenkins and C.J. Okoye combined for one, but both were stellar inside against the run. The Ravens could use more of a pass rush up front, but that’s not going to happen with this group. Its forte is stopping the run. Pass rush has basically become secondary: Grade: B- Linebackers This is a puzzling group. There are times when it plays well, such as middle linebacker Roquan Smith stuffing the run on the Packers’ early fourth-down attempt, but then it looks lost in pass coverage. Smith finished with three tackles and the Ravens had two sacks and only four quarterback hurries. Weakside linebacker Trenton Simpson is playing exceptionally well as a pass rusher and “go fetch” guy coming off the edge. He finished with seven tackles. The Ravens, though, still need a dominant pass rusher. Robinson had a half-sack and Kyle Van Noy didn’t register any tackles, so they weren’t dominant factors in the game. Dre’Mont Jones had 1 1/2 sacks, but those came from Willis holding the ball so long. Grade: C- Secondary Baltimore continues to give up big plays, and it’s not all because of the lack of pass rush. Willis completed 18 of 21 passes for 288 yards and one touchdown. He had completions of 39, 30, 40 and 34 yards. There are times when the Ravens look lost in coverage, and it clearly showed when Smith and safeties Kyle Hamilton and Alohi Gilman shook their heads in disappointment after plays. There were times when cornerbacks Marlon Humphrey and Nate Wiggins gave up leverage on outside runs, two of those by Willis on runs around the right end for touchdowns of 22 and 11 yards. This group still needs major help, but the worst part is that it’s late in the season. Grade: D Special teams The Ravens really didn’t need a lot of assistance from special teams. They only punted once, and Jordan Stout kicked it 42 yards. The kickoff coverage was outstanding, as the Packers averaged only 23.3 yards on seven returns. Rookie Tyler Loop converted on field goal attempts of 22 and 34 yards. Grade: A Coaching Oh, oh, someone must have gotten in the ear of coach John Harbaugh and told him to give the premier closer, Henry, the ball more in crunch time. Now, stick with this game plan for the rest of the season. Baltimore’s plan was on target with coordinator Todd Monken having Huntley throwing a lot of safe and quick passes. As for the defense, this group makes every fan in Baltimore nervous. It continues to give up big plays and miss tackles, but at least the Ravens won. That’s the best that can be said about the defense. Grade: B- 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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