Report Card: Ravens Put It Together Against Bills

The defense kicked things off by getting the Bills to punt on their first drive, the offense took early control with a record-breaking run by Derrick Henry and the Ravens put together easily their most-complete performance of the young season with a convincing win over the red-hot Buffalo Bills.

These grades will hang on the fridge at The Castle.

Offense Overall: A+

The Ravens had 427 yards of offense — 281 of which came in the decisive first half — and their first three possessions of the game resulted in touchdowns. When momentum appeared to get a little dicey for Ravens fans who have experienced some stomach-churning second halves this year, they put together consecutive touchdown-scoring drives at the end of the third quarter and start of the fourth to seal the deal. This was a dominant showing against a solid defense that is very well-coached.

Quarterback: A

It wasn’t one of those ridiculous “Jackson 5” games tonight, but it didn’t have to be. Make no mistake about it, however, Lamar Jackson was really, really good. He was 13-18 for 156 yards and a pair of touchdown passes, good for a 135.4 passing rating, and he added 54 yards and a touchdown on the ground on six totes. In that first half, Jackson was 11-13 for 135 yards and those two touchdown passes. He was particularly good on touch passes downfield, and some timing passes to the backs.

Running Backs: A+

Derrick Henry broke a Ravens’ franchise record with an 87-yard touchdown on the first offensive play of the game for the home team, and finished with 199 yards and a touchdown on the ground and another one through the air. He was decisive and powerful and fast and every bit what the Ravens hoped for when they brought him to town. Justice Hill was electric, once again, with 78 yards receiving and a gorgeous move to spring open on a 19-yard touchdown catch. He seems to “Steal” one or two first downs a game with terrific catch-and-runs. Patrick Ricard was violent and brutal and a giant mass of mayhem, and recovered a fumble he had no business recovering for a touchdown.

Receivers: B

For the second straight week, not a lot was put on the pass-catchers’ plates, but some nice plays were made, both in receiving and blocking. Zay Flowers had a 10-yard catch early for a first down, and Nelson Agholor brought in a big third-down catch to pick up a first. Rashod Bateman had a big 23-yard catch, and nearly brought in a touchdown pass while being held. Mark Andrews had a big drop when he looked to have a lot of room to run, but was big-time in blocking, helping spring several long runs. Isaiah Likely contributed in the run game as well, and had a big 26-yard catch.

Offensive Line: A+

This unit has come a long way since the start of the year, and tonight’s re-worked line, made necessary by an injury to starting left guard Andrew Vorhees, truly shined, outside more penalties. Henry gets a ton of credit for that opening run, but the line got him a huge head start running into the second level, Roger Rosengarten and Tyler Linderbaum got behind Ricard’s block to spring Henry, and Linderbaum was out in front of a nice block downfield on a Jackson second-quarter run. Ronnie Stanley helped spring Henry on his 39-yard run in the fourth quarter. Again… too many penalties. But this group ate. The Ravens averaged 8 yards a rush, and Jackson was largely given time.

Defense Overall: A

They held the top-scoring team in the league to 10 points, 236 yards of offense and 3-13 on third downs. The Ravens dominated the line of scrimmage, against a solid offensive line, and the defensive backs were sticky in coverage, even on the plays the Bills did make downfield. The Ravens registered three sacks and had eight quarterback hits. This was a great performance on a big stage against a worthy opponent.

Defensive Line: A

Kyle Van Noy is playing out of his mind, picking up two more sacks, forcing a fumble and getting credit for three quarterback hits. He also drew a hold in the first quarter, and was a genuine presence the entire night. I thought Travis Jones was one of the best players on the field for much of the night. He blew up a run on the Bills’ opening drive, pressured Josh Allen into Van Noy on his second-quarter sack and blew up another run in the third quarter. He was credited with four tackles. Nnamdi Madubuike had a hit to force an incompletion and forced a few runs to change directions early. Odafe Oweh had another sack, a pair of quarterback hits and sealed several edges. David Ojabo blew up a third and 1 in the third quarter by forcing an early pass that resulted in a loss.

Linebackers: B

Roquan Smith and Trenton Simpson were both active, and I felt their drops were deeper and more effective in their zones. There weren’t many splash plays from the pair, but they tackled well and didn’t appear to be taken advantage of in the pass game. Smith stonewalled James Cook with a big hit a few yards downfield that made Ray Lewis proud.

Defensive Backs: A

They’ve taken some heat this year, but they were very good in this one. Marlon Humphrey continued his comeback season with a huge pass breakup on third and 2 at the end of the first half, good run support, and he flushed out Allen on Oweh’s third-quarter sack. Kyle Hamilton was disruptive throughout, in what looked like his best game of the season. He had seven tackles, blew up a screen in the first quarter, recovered a fumble and just appeared to be his 2023 self for much of the night. Nate Wiggins had a good night in coverage, but dropped two potential picks. He’ll probably be reminded of those this week. Brandon Stephens got beat on a few contested catches down the sideline, but he was tight on both plays, and was also in good coverage on a pair of incompletions. Marcus Williams was solid and Ar’Darius Washington made a splash play late with an open-field stop. It’s hard to put blame on them for the Khalil Shakir 52-yarder. Allen made an insane, how-did-he-do-that play and coverage can only stick for so long. Hats off for a great play by a great player.

Special Teams: B

It was an easy and uneventful night for Justin Tucker, who converted all five of his extra points and didn’t allow any kick returns. Jordan Stout was good, putting three of his four punts inside the 20-yard-line. He’s bounced back well from the Raiders’ game. Deonte Harty has looked better the past few games and averaged 11.3 yards on three punt returns, while the Ravens only allowed 6 yards on two returns.

Coaching: B

The two-timeout-thing sullied what was largely a well-coached game by the Ravens, but that was one of those crazy things that can cost a team. It just happens too often. Now, there was also a lot of good. I liked the aggression on the defensive side, while the communication just seemed better on the back end. On offense, you have to love the run game right now, and how they are incorporating more passes to the backs to fend off blitzes. There’s a lot to like. They just have to stop the one or three head-scratchers a game.

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Source: https://russellstreetreport.com/2024/09/30/report-card/ravens-35-bills-10/