Ravens News 11/20: Chunk Plays Everywhere

5 things we learned from the Baltimore Ravens’ Week 11 win over the Bengals

Gordon McGuinness, PFF

ODAFE OWEH REMAINS ON TRACK FOR A CAREER YEAR

The 31st selection in the 2021 NFL Draft, Oweh had another nice night as a pass-rusher. He generated pressure on 35% of his pass-rushing snaps and produced a 28.6% pressure rate, registering a sack and six hurries.

He has now generated 31 total pressures from 172 pass-rushing snaps this season, and his 80.5 PFF pass-rushing grade is tied for the 16th-best mark in the NFL among edge defenders. His 20.3% pressure rate ranks fourth. While the Ravens’ defensive scheme has rightly received a lot of praise, the 24-year-old Penn State product is coming into his own.

THE RAVENS ARE FINDING CHUNK PLAYS EVERYWHERE

As they have grown more accustomed to Todd Monken’s offense, the Ravens are getting chunk plays out of most of their skill-position players. Both Keaton Mitchell and Gus Edwards broke off 20-plus-yard gains on the ground against Cincinnati, something they also accomplished in a win over the Seattle Seahawks. It also marked the third straight game that Mitchell had a 20-plus-yard run.

In the passing game, Odell Beckham Jr., Nelson Agholor and Zay Flowers each had 30-plus-yard receptions, and Flowers would have had a second big play had a dubious holding call on Beckham not negated a 68-yard touchdown on a screen pass. Unlike Ravens offenses of old, this team has some serious depth in both the run and pass games.

Defensive Notes vs Bengals Week 11

Ken McKusick, Filmstudy Baltimore

SECONDARY SHUFFLED AGAIN

With Marlon Humphrey out, the Ravens were back to some of the same players they needed to step up early in the season. To summarize:

Marcus Williams again played every snap but was much less tentative as a tackler and delivered a pair of PDs, including one that ended the first Bengals drive.

Kyle Hamilton had a penalty and 2 missed tackles as I scored it, but also delivered pressure and had a drive-ending strip of Boyd among 2 PDs.

Geno Stone raced downhill to discourage Ja’Marr Chase from hauling in a WR screen.

Ronald Darby had his best game as a Raven with 3 PDs and just 1 catch allowed.

Brandon Stephens was outstanding in coverage of Chase.

Arthur Maulet took down Mixon for PL2 after he came off his own man and played SCB in the standard nickel that allowed just 2.5 yards per pass play.

Rock Ya-Sin played 17 snaps in the first half during which he allowed a 13-yard catch by Boyd. On his only snap of the second half, he was flagged for a 34-yard DPI to negate a drive-ending incomplete.

The Ravens will need to hope for a similar performance next week versus the Chargers and Justin Herbert, who is having a very similar season to Lamar Jackson as a passer.

50 Words or Less: How to Deal With Losing Mark Andrews

Ryan Mink, BaltimoreRavens.com

There is no replacing Andrews. He’s a special player, a special teammate, and the peanut butter to Lamar Jackson’s jelly. But I disagree with ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith that it’s a “devastating blow.” The Ravens offense and Jackson have time, including six games before the playoffs, to adjust.

The Ravens invested heavily at wide receiver this offseason to diversity the passing attack and take pressure off Andrews to be “the guy.” He was still “the guy,” but the Ravens have four first-round picks leading the receiving corps. They’re all capable of feasting with more food on their plates.

The red zone is the area where Andrews’ absence will be felt most. Jackson often trusts Andrews to find openings in tight quarters in the end zone. Beckham’s strong hands and Flowers’ suddenness to uncover in tight spaces helps, as does the fact that Baltimore is running well down there.

Kyle Hamilton is one of the defense’s best five players and one of the best safeties in the NFL. In his second year, Hamilton has come into his own as a jack-of-all-trades talent that is invaluable to the Ravens’ ability to disguise their pre- vs. post-snap intentions.

Replacing Mark Andrews will be tough. It’s on the Ravens’ receivers to step up.

Kyle Goon, The Baltimore Banner

From taking Bateman and Flowers as first rounders to signing Beckham to a $15 million contract, the Ravens invested a ton in the receivers this season. But, through the first 10 weeks, they totaled only 1,250 yards, ranking No. 24 among NFL receiving corps, including teams that have played just nine games. They came in even lower on the list with touchdowns by receivers (5, No. 28), outpaced by Andrews by himself.

That will have to change — and we saw what necessity brought out of the receiving corps against Cincinnati. Jackson averaged 14.7 yards per target when looking for his wide receivers against the Bengals, an extremely impressive number. The Ravens rattled off receiving gains of 51, 37 and 31 yards to different receivers (Beckham, Agholor and Flowers).

It’s always been the plan under Todd Monken to squeeze more juice out of the receivers, a position that perpetually seems to need a little boost in Baltimore. Now, losing Andrews forces their hand.

It’s no small challenge to fill the shoes of a player who does as much as Mark Andrews. But, against the Bengals at least, the Ravens showed they have the pieces to do it.

Ravens WR Odell Beckham Jr., with legs back underneath him, is starting to look like his old self

Brian Wacker, The Baltimore Sun

Ravens wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. has always operated with the premise that his season in Baltimore is about where it ends, not necessarily where it is in the moment. In his often contemplative way, it’s about the journey and the destination.

Over the past few weeks, the two have finally started to come together.

That merging has been significant. In his past three games, Beckham has found a rhythm with quarterback Lamar Jackson as well as a level of speed that he had yet to display since joining the Ravens, with 10 catches for 212 yards and two touchdowns in that span. That included 116 yards in Baltimore’s 34-20 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday night, the most he’s had in a game since Week 2 in 2019 when he was with the Cleveland Browns.

It was against the Browns on Sunday that Beckham also showed off his wheels, taking a short slant and turning it into a 40-yard touchdown. On the play, he hit 19.2 mph, according to Next Gen Stats, his fastest speed as a ball carrier since Week 14 in 2021.