PFF: Joe Flacco, Marlon Humphrey and Za’Darius Smith produce solid results vs. Broncos in Week 3

The Ravens bounced back strong after a tough lose against the Cincinnati Bengals. The 2-0 Broncos rolled into M&T Bank stadium but left with a loss. Now, the Ravens are sitting right behind the Bengals for first place in the AFC North.

OFFENSE

QB Joe Flacco led the team with a 89.5 game grade, his highest of the season so far. He was pressured on only 19% of his dropbacks, completing three-of-six attempts for 24 yards and two sacks in such situations.

Unsurprisingly, Joe produced a good game. Once more, when you give a quarterback weapons and an adequate offensive line, he becomes a better quarterback.

The Ravens offensive line did a great job containing star pass rusher Von Miller, limiting him to only a single hurry. LT Ronnie Stanley topped everyone with a 79.4 game grade, and while RT James Hurst gave up only two hurries, his poor run blocking resulted in a 48.2 overall grade.

After the ugly game against the Bengals many feared this matchup was a loss. The Ravens O-line couldn’t handle Cincy, how were they going to manage Von Miller and Bradley Chubb? Somehow, someway, they did it.

DEFENSE

OLB Za’Darius Smith continued a solid start to the season with a team-leading seven total pressures. He ranks ninth in Pass Rushing Productivity among all edge defenders so far in 2018 (10.4).

Smith is quickly playing himself out of a possible re-signing with Baltimore. He’s roaring across the field and disrupting plays every game. Hopefully, Tim Williams and Tyus Bowser can fill in next season.

Starting CBs Marlon Humphrey and Brandon Carr had wildly differing fortunes in coverage. Humphrey allowed only two-of-four targets to be completed in his coverage for 13 yards; Carr gave up seven catches on eight targets for 88 yards.

Carr couldn’t quite handle Emmanuel Sanders or Demaryius Thomas in man coverage on Sunday. These are big men with great hands and ball skills, which far too often demonstrated their ability to adjust and reel in the tough back-shoulder throws by Case Keenum. I’m not surprised by Marlon’s stats; he’s a first-round cornerback who has practiced against Michael Crabtree and John Brown all year. Let’s hope the two play even better against the Steelers in Week 4.