Baltimore Beatdown
The Ravens’ offense was on the field for 51 snaps in their season-ending loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night. Lamar Jackson played the entire game in his return to action under center, as did offensive tackles Ronnie Stanley and Roger Rosengarten, and center Tyler Linderbaum.
Both starting guards suffered in-game injuries at different points. Daniel Faalele exited the game first for a brief period before returning and was spelled by Emery Jones Jr. Faalele played 94% of snaps (48), while Andrew Vorhees played 39 snaps. Jones filled in at left guard when Vorhees got injured too and finished with 15 snaps.
Wide receiver Zay Flowers was spelled for just one play all game, playing 50 snaps. He finished with 138 yards and two touchdown catches, both of which were long 50+ yard scores in the fourth quarter. Devontez Walker played a significant role in Rashod Bateman’s absence again. He was on the field for 37 plays (73%) and had a 38-yard touchdown catch on the first drive of the game. Deandre Hopkins played only 13 snaps (25%).
Derrick Henry unsurprisingly dominated running back snaps again. He was in the action on 36 plays and rushed 20 times for 126 yards. He had only 14 rushing yards in the second half, though, on five carries. Rasheen Ali and Keaton Mitchell combined for just 15 snaps between the two of them. Fullback Pat Ricard received 26 snaps.
Tight end snaps were distributed as follows: Mark Andrews with 30, Isaiah Likely with 25, and Charlie Kolar trailing with 13. Kolar’s playing time dropped significantly from the week prior, where the Ravens ran the ball 40+ times. Likely’s 26-yard, fourth-down conversion catch on the final drive of the game was one of the best plays of his career — regardless of what transpired right after.
Defensively, the Ravens were on the field for 75 total snaps. Roquan Smith was the only defender to play 100% of them. His fellow starting linebacker Trenton Simpson saw 49 snaps (65%) and finished with nine tackles, tied for most on the team. Smith had only three tackles in total.
The biggest development defensively was Kyle Hamilton’s concussion injury, which took him out of the game early in the third quarter. Hamilton did not return after playing 39 snaps and the Ravens’ defense suffered without him. Safeties Alohi Gilman (72 snaps) and Malaki Starks (67 snaps) saw heavy playing time as usual. Most of Ar’Darius Washington’s 17 snaps (23%) came after Hamilton exited.
Marlon Humphrey played all but one snap at cornerback, followed by Nate Wiggins (66 snaps) and Chidobe Awuzie (45 snaps). Wiggins suffered an in-game injury as well but returned after missing some plays. He recorded multiple pass breakups in man coverage. T.J. Tampa played a handful of snaps in his relief. The Ravens’ secondary as a whole struggled to get stops on passing plays late in the game.
Up front, Travis Jones’ 64 snaps led all defensive linemen by a...
