Baltimore Beatdown
This is it. The Ravens have had their bye week. Lamar Jackson isn’t playing yet, but instead of Cooper Rush, it’s Tyler Huntley who is starting. If the Ravens win this, they have a chance to double up and get to 3-5 within a week. If they lose, they fall to 1-6, and their season is probably over. What do they need to do to avoid that?
The Ravens could arguably be standing at 3-3 or better if it weren’t for turnovers. Derrick Henry’s fumble against Buffalo sparked the massive comeback for the Bills in a game the Ravens should have won. Henry’s fumble against Detroit ruined any chance of keeping pace with the Lions to pull out a win there. The multiple turnovers against Kansas City never allowed the Ravens to compete at all. They had six total turnovers in the last two games with Jackson out, not a formula to follow if you want to win with a backup quarterback. Overall, turnovers have been a massive reason for the Ravens’ struggles this year and their record.
Meanwhile, the Bears’ defense leads the league with 16 takeaways to give Chicago the best turnover differential in the NFL. It’s a strength against weakness matchup there, not in Baltimore’s favor. If the Ravens want to get back in playoff contention, a change there is needed, and this game is the first step. Play clean football, running backs need to hold on to the ball, and Huntley needs to keep things simple and the ball out of danger.
It’s arguably the biggest problem with this Ravens team. They simply can’t get to the quarterback, whether they blitz or not. The edge rushers have been non-impactful the entire season, and their best defensive linemen is down for the season. In fact, even though Nnamdi Madubuike only played in two games and the Ravens are six games into the season, Madubuike is still tied for the lead in sacks on this team. The other player is Tavius Robinson, who is also on IR now.
Defensive coordinator Zach Orr specifically said that the Ravens staff spent a lot of the bye week looking over their ability to get to the quarterback. They put a lot of effort into recreating their pressure plan and blitzes to impact opposing quarterbacks. There are a lot of things they can look towards: Travis Jones has the potential to be a monster, a post-bye-week breakout from rookie Mike Green, Kyle Hamilton in the box, Trenton Simpson playing more on the edge, and they just signed Carl Lawson. With extended time to prepare for Caleb Williams and the Bears, I hope to see Williams hit the ground often.
With no Jackson once again, the big focus has to be on big #22, Derrick Henry. While they have improved in recent weeks, the Bears are allowing 5.3 yards per carry, the second most in the...
