Ravens News 11/17: Outside Targets

2023 NFL season, Week 11: What We Learned from Ravens’ win over Bengals on Thursday night

Eric Edholm, NFL.com

Lamar Jackson also nicked up, but Ravens still hum offensively. Although the Bengals were shorthanded defensively coming into the game, the Ravens also were playing without left tackle Ronnie Stanley. His replacement, Patrick Mekari, had a few rough moments, but the Ravens were still able to ring up 401 yards of offense and 34 points — even if it came with a few breath-holding moments. Jackson was hit by Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson on a throwaway near the sideline in the first quarter, and Jackson appeared to injure his left ankle.

He didn’t appear quite as effective scrambling or extending plays after the injury, although Jackson slipped out of a sack late in the third quarter and nearly hit Zay Flowers for an insane would-be TD that was just out of bounds, proving that even at less than full health, Jackson is just different. He threw for 264 yards and two TDs, ran for 54 more and didn’t turn the ball over. It wasn’t an entirely clean night, but the downfield passing game hit on a few big throws and drew some flags. It was a really good night offensively, and that’s even with a 68-yard Flowers touchdown taken off the board on an Odell Beckham hold, although it wasn’t evident from the broadcast where the hold was.

Next Gen stat of the game: Lamar Jackson had 163 of his 264 passing yards come after the catch (61.7%) on Thursday, the third-highest YAC percentage in a game in his career.

Five Thoughts on the Ravens Getting Right on Thursday Night

Clifton Brown, BaltimoreRavens.com

Baltimore’s Pass Rush is Relentless

Burrow was sacked twice and hit often before he left the game, and backup Jake Browning was sacked three times.

Give Browning credit for hanging tough in a difficult situation, but Baltimore leads the NFL with 44 sacks and can generate pressure against any quarterback. That’s a key ingredient that the Ravens can hang their hat on. The Ravens’ run defense still isn’t as solid as they’d like it to be, but the NFL is a passing league, and when you throw the football against Baltimore, you always risk getting your quarterback hit.

The Ravens got a sack from five different players – Justin Madubuike, Odafe Oweh, Kyle Van Noy, Jadeveon Clowney, and Tavius Robinson with his first career sack.

It’s been a group sack attack for the Ravens all season. Madubuike leads them 9.5 sacks and is having a monster year, but opponents can’t just key on him, or any other pass rusher. Baltimore’s pass rush comes at opponents in waves, and from many directions, and this was another game when it helped set the tone.

Report card: Position-by-position grades for Ravens’ 34-20 win over the Bengals

Mike Preston, The Baltimore Sun

Receivers

Despite Jackson missing several open receivers on long passes, the Ravens were still successful with short and intermediate throws. The Ravens had success running slants and quick screens, and Jackson completed a 51-yard pass to receiver Odell Beckham Jr. in the fourth quarter. Beckham finished with four catches for 116 yards but exited late with a shoulder injury. Zay Flowers had three catches for 43 yards, including one for 33 yards. The Ravens averaged 16.5 yards per catch but turned some of those short passes into big gains. Grade: C

Secondary

Safety Kyle Hamilton was the best player in this group. He knocked down two passes and finished with three tackles. His pass coverage was tight for most of the game, especially on the outside. The Ravens had little trouble holding down Bengals star receiver Ja’Marr Chase, who had only two catches for 12 yards and a meaningless touchdown with 1:08 left. When Burrow left the game, the Bengals were more content to run out the clock than challenge the Ravens downfield, but safety Marcus Williams did knock down two passes and finished with seven tackles. The Bengals had only 136 passing yards. Grade: B

Grading the Ravens: Mostly high marks vs. Bengals, but 2 stars struggle again

Paul Mancano, The Baltimore Banner

Offensive line

Tackle Patrick Mekari was pressed into action again in the absence of starter Ronnie Stanely. Matched up against professional game wrecker Trey Hendrickson, Mekari was less than perfect to start but improved as the game continued. Jackson was sacked three times for 16 yards, though at least one of those could be blamed on the quarterback. Center Tyler Linderbaum led a strong performance from the interior offensive line, paving the way for the running backs.

Grade: B

Inside linebackers

The inside linebackers remain the spine of the Ravens’ top-flight defense, but this is two consecutive games in which the group has looked vulnerable. Patrick Queen appeared less than 100% and, aside from his second-quarter demolition of Joe Mixon, Roquan Smith looked to be just a tick less effective than usual. With a longer week ahead and the bye on the horizon, these guys could use a rest.

Grade: C+

Ravens TE Mark Andrews’ season likely over due to ankle injury

Jamison Hensley, ESPN

“Mark Andrews has a very serious ankle injury,” Harbaugh said. “I think it’s a form of a high ankle [injury] but more than just a sprain.”

Over the past six years, Andrews caught 287 passes from Jackson — 123 more than any other player.

Andrews also connected with Jackson for 33 touchdowns, which ranks behind only Mahomes-Travis Kelce (50 touchdowns) among quarterback-tight end combinations.

Jackson saw Andrews get injured but said, “I was hoping he was going to get up.”

“I believe it’s going to be a huge challenge,” Jackson said of moving forward with Andrews, “but we have [tight ends] Charlie [Kolar] and [Isaiah] Likely. Those guys are going to step up. We’re going to build chemistry.”

With Andrews out, Jackson relied more on his outside targets than he ever has in the past. Jackson totaled 206 yards passing when targeting wide receivers Thursday, his most in a game over the past two seasons.

Andrews’ six touchdowns led all tight ends through the first 10 weeks of the season. He was one score away from tying Todd Heap for the most touchdown catches in franchise history (41).