Baltimore Beatdown
Quarterback: B+
It was a tale of two halves for Lamar Jackson. In the first half, he and the entire offense were slowed down and struggled to get much going. Jackson himself had some uncharacteristic overthrown passes and appeared out of sync with his pass-catchers. The Browns’ pressure flustered him on multiple occasions. However, Jackson was much sharper as the game progressed. He strangely only ran the ball two times for 13 yards on the day but wound up completing 19 of 29 (65.5%) of his passes for 225 passing yards and four touchdowns. Jackson’s deep ball was on-point, and he connected on several long throws to Deandre Hopkins, Devontez Walker, Zay Flowers, and more. Jackson put the ball in harm’s way more than usual but still finished with zero turnovers. By his lofty standards, this wasn’t Jackson’s best performance. However, he still had a more-than-fine day overall and orchestrated a second consecutive 40+ point showing for the offense. His passing prowess in the second half was especially paramount given the Ravens’ struggles to get the ground game going.
Running Back: D+
After tearing up the Buffalo Bills’ defense for most of the game in Week 1, Derrick Henry was unable to get anything going in this game. He had several rushes that were stuffed at the line of scrimmage or went for negative yardage. He finished with 11 carries for only 23 yards, with a longest rush of eight yards. The Browns made a concerted effort to sell out to stop the run early in the game, which was a successful strategy. As the game progressed, the Ravens went away from the rushing attack and spread the Browns’ defense out more through the air. Henry also lost a fumble for a second straight game, but this time it was fortunately recovered by the Ravens. Backup Justice Hill saw only three rushing attempts and gained seven yards, as well as 18 more yards through the air via three receptions. Rasheen Ali, who once again was active over Keaton Mitchell, did not make an offensive impact. A harsh grade is only fair given the high expectations of Henry and company and the near lost fumble that threatened a scoring drive.
Tight End: D+
For the second straight week, the Ravens’ tight ends were essentially absent from the team’s offensive game plan. Mark Andrews once again had just one lone reception, which gained only two yards. One of his other three targets should have been a touchdown but Andrews had the ball jarred loose in the end zone after initially catching it cleanly. Right before that play, third-string Zaire Mitchell-Mitchell Paden had another would-be touchdown catch slip through his hands. Mitchell-Paden was flagged for a costly false start just a play earlier two that backed the Ravens up from the Browns’ goal line. Charlie Kolar was not targeted again. The lack of receiving production combined with little-to-no notable push in the run blocking department was disappointing. The forthcoming return of...
