It wasn’t quite, as a minimum offensively, but the Ravens secured their fourth-immediately win Sunday against the Carolina Panthers, thirteen-three, at M&T financial institution Stadium.
The Ravens are 7-3 and continue to be in the first location within the AFC North.
Here are five minds at the Ravens’ win:
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This dominant protection is here to stay
The reports of the Ravens defense’s demise had been greatly exaggerated. Cough cough, Rex Ryan.
Reflect on consideration on how some distance this defense has come because of Week 2, while the Miami Dolphins torched it in a surprising fourth-quarter comeback. Baltimore’s defense has been improving recreation by way of the game considering that then, and we have now reached the factor whilst it is secure to say this unit isn’t always most effective very tons alive but thriving.
Baltimore’s defense gave up season lows in factors (three), general yards (205), yards-in-line with-play (three.8), and speeding yards (36), at the same time as getting 3 turnovers and 4 sacks.
The Ravens are going to stand greater risky offenses and quarterbacks this season, in particular, if they make it to the postseason, as they’re in a sturdy role to do. But the utter domination Baltimore had over Carolina Sunday indicates this isn’t simply a good defense. It is awesome protection. The Panthers maybe caught a whiff of the cease area all day, and that was simply because it become windy.
The Ravens’ inside linebacker duo of Patrick Queen and Roquan Smith has to be excellent within the NFL. Marlon Humphrey is having arguably his satisfactory season in coverage, and Marcus Peters is his normal feisty self, proven with a seize strip. The skip rush warmness is popping up across the board and 2nd-spherical rookie David Ojabo is coming quickly. The protecting line is mauling in the trenches. Marcus Williams, the biggest offseason addition of all, will go back sooner or later to try and pick out what he left off.
After the sport, Humphrey said the Ravens are seeking to measure as much as conventional Baltimore bullies of the beyond. There may be reason to trust this Ravens defense can not handiest measure up with some of the satisfactory gadgets of seasons past, but perhaps even surpass them. What might Ryan think about that?
Splash performs close-out games on protection
As soon as ranked within the NFL cellar in overall protection, the Ravens have dug their way out to No. 19 coming into this recreation and could move up from here. We’ll see how a long way up the ratings they get by way of the season’s cease, but the most important distinction with this yr’s unit or even true ones of new seasons is the splash plays.
With the Ravens preserving only a three-factor lead midway through the fourth quarter, whatever ought to have happened. It truly is while Peters ripped the ball away from Panthers receiver Shi Smith for the play of the day. That set up the Ravens’ lone landing and it changed into pretty a lot of a wrap from there.
The Ravens protection had 15 takeaways all of last season (the handiest teams had fewer). They have 19 to date this yr, the second one most in the league. The Ravens have recorded at least one takeaway in every recreation this season and 12 consecutive games universal, the longest streak in the NFL. Baltimore has 23 sacks in its beyond six games and 31 at the season, to put the Ravens inside the top 10 by the end of the week.
Offenses mount comebacks all of the time within the NFL. The Ravens positively noticed that early this season. Splash plays to close out games. At halftime of Sunday’s win, the protection took the mindset that the game become on its shoulders and it added down the stretch. The Panthers’ final 4 possessions: fumble, turnover on downs (through sack), interception, interception.
Without a sturdy run game, the offense struggled to locate an answer
The Ravens ran over their beyond 3 opponents in 3 straight convincing wins. They’d eight video games with at least one hundred fifty speeding yards – the longest streak within the league. That ended in opposition to a sturdy Panthers defensive front and protective method devoted to slowing Baltimore’s ground assault.
Whilst the ground recreation bumped into a wall towards the Panthers for plenty of the game, the Ravens did not have enough answers. That is a trouble due to the fact Rashod Bateman isn’t coming returned and because the weather keeps getting colder, the passing game likely won’t all at once take off.
Baltimore’s dashing assault could be better once Gus Edwards (hamstring) and, finally, J.K. Dobbins (knee) are again. However, there are going to be more days against tough protective fronts dedicated to stopping the run ahead.
With this 12 months system, the Ravens need to be efficient within the passing game, and they ought to play properly situationally. The Ravens had been quite green inside the passing recreation Sunday, with Jackson completing a season-high 72.7% of his passes (24-of-33) attacking quickly and on the intermediate edges. But Baltimore turned into now not correct situationally, specifically while in scoring range.
A dropped bypass ended their first power. With 3 photographs on the top quarter at the top of the first half, the Ravens did not get near on any. A facemask penalty and sack allowed by Morgan Moses pushed the Ravens out of area-aim range late inside the 0.33 region. An excessive snap and postponement of the recreation penalty left them settling for a field aim on the subsequent.
The Panthers protection is higher than market, however, the Ravens have been too sloppy when it mattered. If they may be going to conquer higher groups than Carolina down the stretch and/or inside the playoffs, they’ll need to be better in that regard. Still, not every win is going to be quiet.
Demarcus Robinson steps to the forefront of the WR corps
Without Rashod Bateman, the Ravens’ receiving corps is a patchwork outdoor of Mark Andrews. On this day, Demarcus Robinson stepped to the forefront when it became badly wished, hauling in 9 catches for 128 yards – the second one hundred-backyard game of his profession.
Only one extensive receiver aside from Robinson caught a pass and it changed into Devin Duvernay with one snatch for three yards. Whilst Bateman went down, it became assumed that Duvernay, who had gotten off to this type of strong begin this season, might step into the top extensive receiver spot. He had one goal in New Orleans and one toward the Panthers. The Ravens should find approaches to get Duvernay extra concerned, but regardless, it turned into suitable to peer Robinson’s step up.
Robinson changed into picked-up all through schooling camp when he turned into launched by using the Las Vegas Raiders and he is running like the Ravens’ WR1 proper now. Robinson additionally led the Ravens receivers with 4 goals in New Orleans earlier than the bye. In opposition to the Panthers, Robinson confirmed top chemistry with Jackson, converting numerous times on out-routes to take what the Panthers protection was giving them with toe-tapping sideline grabs.
The Ravens have commonly picked up veteran receivers eliminated through other teams, now and again with achievement and different times no longer. Robinson seems successful.
Greater points
The lingering situation from this recreation is with the fitness of Ronnie Stanley and rookie Kyle Hamilton, who both exited with accidents and did not go back. Stanley informed Jackson that he turned in very well after the game and Hamilton turned into questionable to return, indicating that it wasn’t too critical of a knee hassle. Still, each has been playing at an excessive stage and it might be a tough blow if they have to overlook time. Their progress might be monitored closely.
At the same time as the addition of Smith has garnered plenty of well-deserved acclaims, it must not overshadow how well Queen is playing. Queen tallied a whopping 12 tackles to guide the crew, as well as a 1/2-sack and every other tackle for loss. This is the great ball Queen has ever played, as his 12 months, 3 breakout premonition is coming properly.
Welcome lower back, Mark Andrews. On the first play from scrimmage, he hauled in a catch and dragged the complete Panthers defense for a pair of yards. Andrews completed with six catches for 63 yards on 8 goals and became the 1/3 Raven in franchise history to attain four,000 receiving yards, following Todd Heap and Derrick Mason.
Jason Pierre-Paul changed into shut out of the container rating the past video games in Tampa Bay and New Orleans. He got here roaring again after the bye with a sack, address for loss, and an interception. The fellow veteran out-of-doors linebacker Justin Houston upped his season sack overall to nine to stay the various league leaders. With another sack, Calais Campbell is now up to 4. Five is the most he is had in his 3 seasons as a Raven. The “vintage” men continue to get it accomplished.
Kenyan Drake had -1 dashing yards within the first 1/2. Credit him for striking in there and persevering to pound away, as his shifty 29-yard run set up Jackson’s 1-backyard landing plunge. Drake completed with 10 consisting of forty-six yards as the lead returned.
Justin Tucker has now made sixty-five consecutive subject goals inside the fourth area or extra time, marking the longest such streak in NFL history. It appeared like a day whilst the kicker might rating all the Ravens’ points. Matt Stover would’ve been proud.
The Ravens could have been Jerome Boger’d. They received one challenge whilst a punt became incorrectly dominated a touchback. They must have received any other mission while Andrews changed into incorrectly dominated out of bounds, however that grew to become out to not be reviewable, which the referees and league didn’t comprehend until after it became reviewed (what an abnormal rule). Then Peters’ strip turned into incorrectly blown lifeless earlier than Humphrey might have had a scoop-and-rating landing. At the least on that one, the refs huddled and modified the decision earlier than another assignment became vital.
