Report Card: Ravens Hand in a Thanksgiving Stinker

If you’re a Ravens fan who eschewed their Thanksgiving night game against the Bengals to enjoy time with your family, congratulations. The rest of us weren’t so fortunate. Let’s just get to the grades.

Offense Overall: F

It was an absolute failure. Five turnovers? Two scores? Twenty minutes of possession? Against the 2025 Bengals? The highlights came in the form of great individual efforts, as there was no cohesion or suggestion of general competence as a unit. It was an embarrassing effort, and offers very little optimism that this can get turned around. It’s not one problem.

Quarterback: F

Lamar Jackson had two fumbles and an interception, missed passes that he typically hits with ease and just generally was bad. His talent shined on some plays, including a nice play-action pass to Charlie Kolar for 19 on the first offensive snap of the game, a gorgeous back-shoulder throw to DeAndre Hopkins in the fourth quarter, and some great scramble-and-throws to Isaiah Likely. I thought he looked faster than he has the past several weeks. But the lows were very low. The pick was batted at the line, but both fumbles were bad. He missed several throws, either by accuracy issues or not seeing people break open. This was probably one of his worst starts.

Running Backs: B

This unit played well when given a chance. Both Derrick Henry and Keaton Mitchell had explosive touchdown runs. Henry went 10-60 with that touchdown to give the Ravens a 7-3 lead, and had an amazing 44-yard catch-and-run to end the third quarter. Not a lot of volume from this group, but the Ravens also didn’t have the ball very much.

Receivers: D

Isaiah Likely had his most explosive game of the season, registering 95 yards on five catches, including a couple improvisational gems with Jackson. But his fumble through the end zone on one of those plays, and getting steamrolled as a blocker on Jackson’s batted interception, were costly gaffes. Zay Flowers got called for a questionable offensive pass interference penalty to wipe out a touchdown catch, and also fumbled away the Ravens’ last-gasp dreams. He did have a great block on Mitchell’s touchdown run. Mark Andrews was pretty good, with 47 yards on four catches and no comedic mistakes. Tez Walker had opportunities on two deep balls, but couldn’t bring one in and appeared to stop his route on another.

Offensive Line: D

This offensive disaster was not greatly aided by the line in this one, but they weren’t the biggest culprit, either. There were some good moments in run-blocking, particularly by Daniel Faalele on some inside runs. He did get annihilated for a quick pressure in the red zone in the early 4th quarter and was part of the problem on Jackson’s first fumble when the right side of the line dissolved. Emery Jones alternated some series with Andrew Vorhees, and it didn’t look great for either player. Ronnie Stanley had some good moments in both run and pass blocking, but got beaten a few times, as well. They weren’t great, but hardly anybody was on this night.

Defense Overall: C+

They gave up some stuff, and had problems with a certain receiver once again, but they fought hard, especially in the red zone, and made some plays. This would have most likely been a better score had the offense sustained drives and given them some breathers, but they didn’t get a consistent pass rush against a bad line, and kept letting the Bengals off the hook when they’d have them in third-and-long or in high-leverage situations.

Defensive Line: C-

I’ve been impressed with this group the past few weeks, but it this wasn’t their best work in this one. There were some good moments: Travis Jones had a big turnover that let very faint dreams of a comeback seep into our brains, John Jenkins stuffed a third-and-short in the fourth quarter to force a field goal and Mike Green pressured an incompletion in the third quarter. But they got very little pass rush, got beaten in the run game more than they have been and did this against a bad line. Not an impressive outing.

Linebackers: C

Roquan Smith had 11 tackles, and was pretty solid all game, minus getting beaten for a third-quarter touchdown pass. Teddye Buchanan was active with five solo tackles, and Trenton Simpson forced an incompletion with pressure in the second quarter. They were solid, but didn’t make many explosive plays in this one.

Defensive Backs: B-

Marlon Humphrey and Nate Wiggins were both beaten on throws to Ja’Marr Chase, and, yeah… that’s going to happen. The unit played well before losing Wiggins to an injury, and was the main reason the Ravens were holding up so well in the red zone in the first half. Nobody was open. Chidobe Awuzie made a few nice plays, and Humphrey did get that early sack. Kyle Hamilton was more quiet than he has been lately, but had a pass break-up on fourth and 1 in the first quarter, and a great tackle for loss late. He did get beaten for a touchdown catch. Alohi Gilman was up and down again, and it looked like Malakai Starks had a pretty decent night.

Special Teams: B

The coverage teams were solid, and Mitchell had a couple nice kick returns, running with some physicality at the end of the runs. Jordan Stout was good again, and Tyler Loop made his kicks. No game-changing plays, but they were good,

Coaching: D

I can’t blame them for the turnovers. Every one of them was human error on the players. But this team was not prepared in this game, and the only big plays the offense had were terrific efforts by playmakers, as they functionally looked incompetent for long periods of time. It’s hard to judge the defensive game plan in this one as they were on the field entirely too much, but they didn’t seem to have answers for Chase. I got not taking the 10-second runoff at the end of the first half, and it would have benefited the Ravens had they not shot themselves in the foot again.

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Source: https://russellstreetreport.com/2025/11/28/report-card/bengals-32-ravens-14/