Baltimore Beatdown
After a devastating 32-14 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Thanksgiving, the talk around the Baltimore Ravens has been, rightfully, very negative. So, for this rendition of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, I’m going to turn it around to be positive. After the Pittsburgh Steelers lost on Sunday, the Ravens remained in first place of the AFC North. With a ten-day break following their Thursday game, the Ravens have one more mini-bye to fix the last of their issues and make a run towards the postseason with five games remaining. It’s all in their control.
Lamar Jackson’s health: We’ll get into his play later, but for now, I’d like to talk about the biggest reason I could see the season turning around. On Thursday, despite the poor play, we saw Jackson move the best he has since his injury, maybe since Week 1. Multiple times, he ran the ball decisively and without hesitation, something that’s been lacking recently. At one point, he audibled out of a play on third down and changed it to a read call, calling his own number to pick up the first down. These are positive signs for his health. Now with a break after a Thursday game, we can only hope that Jackson will continue to get healthier and more comfortable, eventually settling back into his MVP play.
Derrick Henry: Another strong showing with 6.0 yards per carry. Henry continues to show the Ravens can lean on him if they want. Even more importantly, he seems to be becoming a fixture in Jackson’s pass game, someone he can rely on. Unfortunately, Henry only received 10 carries in this one, with all three backs totaling fewer than 20 carries in this game combined. The Ravens continue to abandon the run in their biggest games for no reason.
Keaton Mitchell: After two long years, Mitchell finally found the end zone for the first time since his spectacular 2023 season. It’s not hard to see that his speed is in full effect. He can delete tackling angles like few can. With Justice Hill on IR, Mitchell needs to see a larger workload, along with Henry, to help kickstart this struggling offense. Even when plays break down, Mitchell is able to turn negative plays into positive or neutral gains because of his speed.
Rasheen Ali: Hill’s injury will also put Rasheen Ali in a bigger role. It seems as though he’s taken over Hill’s role as a pass-down back, with most of his snaps coming on passing plays. He received an 81.1 pass blocking grade from Pro Football Focus. That being said, even with his limited carries, Ali still out-snapped both Henry and Mitchell, something that can’t happen going forward.
The tight ends: Outside of his fumble, it was great to see Isaiah Likely finally get involved for the first time this season with five catches for 95 yards on six targets. After losing training camp and the beginning of the season to...
