Report Card: Ravens Fall Flat in Loss to Rams

There was never a moment in last week’s disaster to the Texans when it felt like having Lamar Jackson back would have made all the difference between victory and defeat. But it felt like today’s loss to the Rams could have been entirely different with the return of their perennial MVP candidate quarterback.

Still, there were still enough rough spots out there today in different parts of the team to question if it would have been enough.

Let’s look at the grades.

Offense Overall: D

There was a lot to like about the running game today, particularly out of Derrick Henry, and they went a respectable 7-for-17 on third downs. Still they generated only 296 yards, 3.1 yards per pass and produced three points. They couldn’t get points when they were within a ball of the end zone to end the first half, and the only time the pass protection looked remotely good was in the quick-passing game. Oh, and three turnovers. Oh, and a slew of penalties that destroyed the down-and-distance game the offense was predicated on today. They did get a late spark out of Snoop Huntley, but still couldn’t produce any points out of it.

Quarterbacks: D

Cooper Rush and Huntley combined to go 21-for-34 for 117 yards. Huntley was better, going 10-for-15 in late work, for 68 yards, with a somewhat-miraculous ball to Zay Flowers that made it through a defender’s arms like a golf ball somehow escaping every leaf when you blindly fire one in that direction. Rush’s most deadly play against the Rams was his cadence, drawing three neutral-zone infractions. Rush’s interception was both late and behind Flowers — not typically a good combination. He also missed Flowers in the third quarter on a play with no pressure and no defender anywhere near Flowers. He did have a great scramble-and-throw to Mark Andrews on a third-down pass, but Tom Brady was curious why Rush scrambled in the first place. Huntley was greatly successful with his legs, with 39 yards on three carries, including a huge fourth-down pickup. But he also reminded us that he can hold the ball too long, with four sacks on 19 drop-backs.

Running Backs: A-

Henry ran hard all game, and earned every one of his 122 yards on 24 carries. He also showed again what he could do in the pass game, with a nice run after a catch for eight yards. Justice Hill caught five balls and ran six times for 16 yards. He was pretty good in pass protection, as well. Do we talk about Andrews’ rushes in this spot, or is it better for the coaching section? For here, it wasn’t wildly productive. He had two yards on three carries, but did pick up one first down.

Receivers: D-

Let’s start with this — DeAndre Hopkins is probably due a few more balls when the Ravens get back their star quarterback. He had another remarkable grab in this one, bringing in a ball while clearly being interfered with at the same time. Flowers was trying desperately to make plays all game, and it bit him as he lost two fumbles. The one was reminiscent of Andrews’ in last year’s playoff loss as Flowers cut across the grain trying to make something happen. Andrews had a bad interference flag thrown against him, and brought in four of his six targets for 24 yards. Rashod Bateman caught one ball for eight yards and Isaiah Likely brought in two for six yards. Not an inspiring effort from this group, but they were working with… well, let’s hope Jackson comes back soon.

Offensive Line: D+

I didn’t think they were awful today. They did some nice things on the edges getting Henry to the second level with some momentum behind him. It didn’t appear they got beat cleanly a ton of times off the snap, as they have throughout a lot of this season. But, again, they get no surge on those third- and fourth-and-shorts, and they can’t consistently lock up pass-rushers for any significant amount of time. Ronnie Stanley’s injury is a factor, for sure. But this is why they brought in Joe Noteboom, and this unit should be better than it is right now. Both guards struggled, again, and Roger Rosengarten got beaten for a late snack (though it felt more like a coverage sack at first view). Still, this was better than in some games this year.

Defense Overall: B

The Rams missed a few opportunities, and there were some concerning open gaps in the zone defenses at times, but this was better in just about every way, and against a good opponent. The Rams only had 241 yards of offense, averaging 4.7 yards per play. The Ravens had two sacks, but they both came in big moments and both turned the ball over to the Ravens — one with a fumble, and one on fourth down. They mostly tackled well, and outside of a few busts, played a solid game.

Defensive Line: B+

This unit has had some bad grades this year, but this felt like one of their best performances to date. Despite only having four interior linemen, and depleted further when Brent Urban was out in concussion protocol, they often were pushing back the Rams’ line. John Jenkins was really good at times out there, recording a strip-sack and recovery when he bull-rushed a lineman into Stafford’s lap and knocked the ball loose. He had another tackle for loss and three total tackles. Mike Green also recorded a tackle for loss and held down the edge well on several snaps. Urban made his presence felt a few times, and Travis Jones seemed to win his snaps more often than not. Kyle Van Noy only had one tackle, but he altered a few plays by beating his man.

Linebackers: C+

Teddye Buchanan and Trenton Simpson both had nine tackles on the game, and they combined for a huge fourth-down sack. Simpson also made a great play early in the second quarter when he broke up a pass. But there are times when it looks like they aren’t getting deep enough on their drops on some of these wide-open passes we are seeing against Baltimore’s zones. It’s hard to know exact roles, but that’s been on my radar the last few weeks. They both played with great energy today and ran to the ball consistently.

Defensive Backs: B

Raise your hand if you thought the Ravens would give up 167 passing yards to the Rams today. Anybody? There were some passes that Stafford missed that he normally doesn’t, and Davante Adams didn’t always look like Davante Adams today, and Puka Nacua got hurt early and only had two catches. All of those things are true. But Marlon Humphrey nearly brought in a pick on that play Nacua got hurt, getting position on the superstar receiver in the end zone. Alohi Gilman, Malaki Starks and Kyle Hamilton all were active and around the ball, and Nate Wiggins combined with Starks to break up a third-down pass in the second quarter. Yes, Starks got destroyed in space by Adams on the opening drive, but was saved by Stafford’s overthrow. And T.J. Tampa and Gilman got juked by Blake Corum on a second-quarter run. There were a few breakdowns with wide-open receivers, but it’s hard to know who is to blame on them. Today was better. And it was a good test.

Special Teams: B+

LaJohntay Wester nearly had a terrible day, fumbling a return late in the second quarter of a 3-3 game. But a penalty gave him another chance, and he responded with an electric 35-yard return. Tylan Wallace returned two kickoffs for 44 yards, but was nearly launched into space on a third-quarter return. Tyler Loop cleanly made his only attempt, and Jordan Stout booted his only punt 53 yards and into the end zone for a touchback. The Rams only had 25 yards on two kickoff returns.

Coaching: C+

There were some things I really liked today. The run-heavy offensive scheme with quick, three-step drop passes for Rush seemed like a good idea all week, and the Ravens marched right down and kicked a field goal on their opening drive. But turnovers and negative runs changed the math on their down-and-distance game and things got out of wack quickly. Still, I hated the play-calling at the end of the half, and not just because it didn’t work. After the two sad “tush-push” plays, everyone in the stadium knew the next play was going to Henry, who got tackled before the echo of the quarterback yelling “hut” left the stadium. Also, the fourth-and-three decision in the second quarter? Sure. Why not try everything? But why throw deep with this quarterback? And maybe the move to Huntley should have been more obvious, but to be fair, he didn’t generate any points, either, and we’ve seen his ceiling before. Defensively, the decision to dress four interior linemen seemed concerning to me, and it definitely looked riskier when Urban went into the tent. I thought the coverages looked better at first glance, and Stafford looked a bit confused on several snaps. Overall, it looked like the Ravens got out of this defense what you could have hoped for today. The Ravens have two weeks now to get this thing on the tracks again. Let’s see what this staff has.

The post Report Card: Ravens Fall Flat in Loss to Rams appeared first on Russell Street Report.

Source: https://russellstreetreport.com/2025/10/12/report-card/report-card-ravens-fall-flat-in-loss-to-rams/