Baltimore Beatdown
Quarterback: D-
After leading a touchdown drive on the Ravens’ opening possession, Lamar Jackson’s night quickly took a downward spiral. The rest of the first half saw him lose two fumbles in Baltimore’s own territory, the second of which he was untouched on and merely lost the ball during his throwing motion. He misfired on a few passes including a bad overthrow to Zay Flowers that would have converted a third down. Jackson was not helped by two long would-be touchdown passes being negated, one by an offensive pass interference and the other by Isaiah Likely fumbling just before crossing the goal line. Later in the fourth quarter, Jackson was intercepted in the red zone on another deflected pass at the line of scrimmage, which deflated any chance of a late-game comeback. Against a defense that has been one of the worst in NFL history, statistically, a three-turnover performance with no touchdowns and a 63.7 passer rating is not good only level — and injuries cannot be a viable explanation.
Running Back: B
Derrick Henry was a lone silver lining for the Ravens’ offense in this game. On the team’s opening drive, he rushed three times with a long 28-yard breakaway touchdown. He was then iced out for most of the rest of the first half, which was strange given the advantageous matchup and that the Ravens were not trailing until the end of the second quarter. Henry had a long 44-yard catch-and-run reception later in the second half that put the Ravens in scoring position. He finished with 104 combined yards and averaged 6.0 yards per carry with a score. He ran hard and found more success than last week. Keaton Mitchell also found the end zone with a long 18-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, which was his first time scoring since 2023.
Wide Receiver: D+
The Ravens’ wide receivers accounted for just 31 receiving yards in this game, making up a small fraction of Jackson’s 236 passing yards overall. It was a rough day at the office for Zay Flowers, who finished with two catches on seven targets for just six yards. Flowers lost a fumble late in the fourth quarter and was called for offensive pass interference — albeit questionably — that negated what would have been an impressive long touchdown reception in the second quarter. Deandre Hopkins caught two of three targets for 25 yards to lead all wideouts. Rashod Bateman was targeted only once in his return from injury, while Devontez Walker saw two deep shot attempts from Jackson but he failed to haul in either.
Tight End: C-
Likely and Mark Andrews were unsurprisingly productive against a Bengals’ defense that struggles to defend tight ends. Likely caught a season-high five catches for 95 yards on six targets, while Andrews also saw six targets and finished with four catches for 47 yards — both second on the team. Unfortunately, Likely’s receiving prowess was overshadowed by two costly blunders. He ruined what would have...
