9 winners and 4 losers from the Baltimore Ravens 13-9 win over the Buffalo Bills

The Baltimore Ravens held on late for 13-9 win over the Buffalo Bills. With the win, the Ravens’ record improved to 3-0 in the preseason. It was a pretty brutal game for the offense, but another good game from the defense. Here are my winners and losers from tonight’s game.

Winners

Matt Judon

Judon had a really strong game, and took a big step in solidifying his starting OLB spot. Throughout his time on the field, Judon put consistent pressure on whoever the Bills had in at quarterback.

During the first half, Judon was beat in coverage along the flat by Charles Clay. He went off to have his ankle taped, but quickly came back on. Upon coming back, it wasn’t long until Judon was tasked with covering Clay again. He responded very well, and provided excellent coverage on Clay.

On top of this, Judon knocked down a pass at the line of scrimmage in the second half. Judon also had four total tackles, two of them for loss, as well as a QB hit.

Terrell Suggs

Suggs didn’t have a tackle in this game, but he was a clear winner during his time on the field. Suggs had two pass deflections. In addition Suggs provided good pressure. In the first quarter, Suggs exploded off the edge and put a hit on quarterback Tyrod Taylor. Suggs wasn’t able to bring him down, but Judon finished off the sack. Suggs looks to be in good form coming into his 15th season.

Offensive line in pass protection

The quarterbacks, especially when Ryan Mallett was in the game, had a lot of time to work. Quarterbacks had time to go through their progressions. The offensive line, overall, did a good job of keeping its quarterback clean. The unit did not allow a sack in the first half, and only had one for the whole game.

Ryan Mallett

No, Mallett was not great tonight, but he was much better than he has been. For me, while it is somewhat of a low standard, that’s enough to make him a winner. Mallett didn’t fully restore whatever confidence I may have had in him, but he took steps forward in that direction. Mallett didn’t make any big mistakes, and showed much better accuracy tonight than in the previous two preseason games. Mallett completed six of 10 passes for 58 yards.

Jaylen Hill

It was a brilliant game for Hill. He did everything well. Most notably, Hill made another interception.

Not only did Hill play well in coverage yet again, but he showed another element of his game tonight. In the first half, Hill was sent on a blitz, and was able to get to Bills quarterback Nathan Peterman. Hill didn’t get the sack, but he did get rewarded on the stat sheet with a hit on the quarterback.

In coverage, Hill saw a lot of second round pick Zay Jones, and he did an excellent job. Jones was unable to make a big impact on the game as Hill shut him down. Hill looks like a virtual lock to be this year’s UDFA that will make the roster.

Taquan Mizzell

Mizzell still faces a pretty steep uphill climb to make the roster, but he sure made his case heard tonight. He didn’t do much running the ball, but he did a lot receiving the ball out of the backfield. Mizzell only had 14 yards on six carries, but he was the Ravens leader in receiving with 54 yards on six catches. Mizzell had a 15 yard catch for a touchdown in the third quarter, the Ravens only touchdown of the game. Mizzell looked good with the ball in his hands tonight.

Chuck Clark

Quietly, Clark had a really good game. With six total tackles, Clark was the Ravens’ leading tackler tonight against the Bills. His tackles came downfield against the pass, but he also came up to stop the run. He showed that he is a reliable tackler that can be on the field against both the run and the pass. Clark hasn’t received much attention this offseason, but he too has a real shot to make the roster.

Tyus Bowser

Bowser had four total tackles including two for loss. Bowser was all over the field yet again, defending the run, in coverage and rushing the passer. Bowser has been one of the Ravens preseason stars, and he continued to shine tonight.

Patrick Onwuasor

Onwuasor had three tackles, including one for loss, and a pass defended. But his biggest play of the game came as he stripped the ball from Brandon Reilly late in the fourth quarter, and proceeded to recover the fumble.

Onwuasor is competing with Kamalei Correa for the starting inside linebacker job next to C.J. Mosley. Correa holds the edge as of now, but Onwuasor has steadily closed the gap throughout the preseason. Onwuasor’s strong performance tonight helped him pull even closer.

Losers

Keenan Reynolds

Michael Campanaro had a good game returning punts, and it took until the second half for Reynolds to see any action in this game. In other words, things do not look good for Reynolds to make the roster.

Reynolds only had one punt return, and he only had four yards on that return. Campanaro had 48 yards on four punts, and he didn’t have an exceptionally long return. Campanaro was consistently around 10 yards each return. If he can stay healthy, Campanaro appears that he will win the punt return job.

Lorenzo Taliaferro

Taliaferro lost a lot of ground in the competition to be the Ravens’ starter at fullback. Patrick Ricard saw more time playing fullback, and he played well in doing so. His size makes him a force to be reckoned with opening up holes for running backs. Ricard showed versatility to play both offense (including multiple positions on offense) and defense is surely helping his case to make the roster.

Taliaferro didn’t see the field much at all in this game. His chances to make the roster are slipping rapidly.

Penalties

Penalties were absolutely brutal for the Ravens. The Ravens had 13 penalties for 126 yards in the win over the Bills. The offensive line received the bulk of the penalty calls. The penalty yards did not cost the Ravens tonight, but it’s something that has to be improved on in the regular season. It’s really hard to win a regular season game committing 13 penalties.

Quincy Adeboyejo

Adeboyejo has gained attention for the performances he has had in practice, but he didn’t do much to help his case in the game. It wasn’t until halfway through the fourth quarter that he recorded his first catch, and it was only a seven yard gain.

Who did you think was a winner or loser from tonight’s game?