:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/48407869/usa-today-9007419.0.jpg)
The Ravens didn't exactly play pretty football this week, and it showed on the scoreboard. In the 14-34 defeat, the Ravens' offense, defense, and even special teams just simply weren't firing on all cylinders. However, Pro Football Focus was able to find who played well in the loss, and there are some surprising names mentioned.
Top Performers:
- LG Ryan Jensen (+3.7)
- RG Marshal Yanda (+3.7)
- DT Brandon Williams (+2.7)
- WR Kamar Aiken (+1.6)
- RB Terrance West (+1.3)
At receiver, Kamar Aiken greatly elevated the play of Jimmy Clausen. When the ball came Kamar's way, Clausen had a 120.0 passer rating. Kamar's eight catches on thirteen targets for 128 yards and a touchdown was arguably the best performance of the day by any Raven. Things simply can't go wrong with Aiken.
Good news for the 2015 draft class came from this game too, as Za'Darius Smith quietly had a really good game. He notched two sacks on nineteen pass rush snaps, and was great in setting the edge on the run defense.
Finally, it was bad news for the Ravens' pass defense, in particular, the linebackers. 111 of Alex Smith's 176 passing yards came after the catch, largely in part due to bad tackling in space. Linebackers C.J. Mosley (-1.6), Zachary Orr (-1.7), and Daryl Smith (-1.7) all received very bad grades, they simply allowed too many catches, and missed too many tackles in this contest.
As the Ravens finish up the season, they look to finish on a positive note as they develop their team even more. The name of Za'Darius Smith on this week's list of top performers is very encouraging, and we hope to see even more young guns receiving these mentions in the next couple of weeks.