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Yesterday, the Hall of Fame Game featuring the Bears and Ravens lit the torch for football in 2018, and fans stuck around through the second half as they clamored for Lamar Jackson. But the rookie quarterback was not the star of the show, not by a long shot.
Our friends at Pro Football Focus sent their ‘PFF insights,’ and there is a lot to be excited about.
OFFENSE
The right side of the Ravens’ offensive shone in pass protection, with both Jermaine Eluemunor and rookie Orlando Brown Jr. only surrendering one pressure each on 48 pass blocking snaps.
While the later second- and third-team offensive line gave up far too many pressures, Jermaine and Orlando bullied anybody in their way. The rookie is a star in the making.
Ravens quarterbacks struggled when under pressure from the Bears’ defense. On 14 dropbacks, they completed 2-of-5 attempts and were sacked eight times, with Lamar Jackson and Robert Griffin III each charged with a sack.
The pressures were likely far more related to the left side of line allowing any rusher to run right by, but not every play can be pointed to just the blockers. Decision making is key, and it was the first game back in over a year for RGIII and the first NFL contest for Jackson. Also, Jackson getting third-string blockers was ugly.
DEFENSE
Ravens edge defender Kamalei Correa was the standout performer on Thursday night. He led the defense with three sacks and five defensive stops, and also shone in coverage, allowing only 1-of-4 targets to completed for four yards, along with one interception and one pass defensed.
Unreal. Absolutely unreal play by the linebacker. We all put him as a by-gone, and it is time to eat crow. Correa, go prove every one of us wrong.
Free safety DeShon Elliott led the team with 63 defensive snaps. The sixth-round pick didn’t allow any of the three targets thrown into his coverage to be completed.
The hyped up late-round pick from Texas brought down the hammer on a forced fumble tackle. He looks like he will suffer from the helmet rule, though, so he will need to be careful when lighting up ball-carriers in the future.