PFF: Ravens offensive and defensive lines thrived vs. Browns and Jimmy Smith returned to form

It was another painful road game loss on Sunday as the Ravens couldn’t finish strong against the Cleveland Browns. In the end, Baltimore lost 12-9 in overtime.

OFFENSE

Four of the Ravens’ five highest graded offensive players were offensive linemen, with veteran RG Marshal Yanda leading the pack with 87.2. Rookie TE Hayden Hurst graded the lowest (47.0) in his NFL debut.

I’m rather surprised with this number, but when you think about the offense as a whole, who really played better? Michael Crabtree dropped passes, Joe Flacco looked bad, Javorius Allen fumbled and nobody was a true threat.

Ball security continues to be an issue for the Ravens’ receiving corps; 16 of Joe Flacco’s passes have been dropped this season, a number that leads the league. WR Michael Crabtree is responsible for half of those drops.

Crabtree said it himself, this loss was on him. He’s been struggling these past five weeks and needs to corral these failures. Hopefully, he does so sooner rather than later.

DEFENSE

After a quiet showing against the Steelers in Week 4, the Ravens pass rush fared better against the Browns offensive line by recording 27 total pressures combined. Terrell Suggs and Za’Darius Smith were the top performers with seven pressures each.

The defense did their job. They produced five sacks, an interception, eight passes defensed and continue their no touchdowns allowed in the second half streak. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough as the Ravens offense couldn’t finish the game.

CB Jimmy Smith’s return from suspension was an uneventful one. He played 35 snaps, and gave up zero receptions on the lone target thrown into his coverage.

Unsurprisingly, Smith produced a top-tier game. He was fantastic in camp all year and hopefully he creates some pro-bowl buzz soon.