Risers and fallers after Ravens’ 30-23 win against the LA Chargers
The Baltimore Ravens were able to avenge last week’s loss in Pittsburgh by beating the LA Chargers, 30-23 on Monday Night Football. The start of this game was eerily similar to the performance’s fans have seen the last two weeks. The Ravens defense looked unprepared, and the offense couldn’t get out of their own way with flags and missed throws. After falling down 10-0, the Ravens kicked it into gear, engineering two touchdown drives to end the half and never looked back.
Stock up
John Harbaugh, HC
John moved to 3-0 in the NFL against his brother Jim. On a night where the “Harbowl” was a well-documented spectacle, the Ravens HC coached like it was his last game. In the defining moment of the game, Harbaugh and the Ravens went for it on 4th and 1 from their own 16-yard line with a Mark Andrews QB sneak. The conversion seemed to be the momentum shifter Baltimore needed as the conversion sparked a crucial touchdown drive.
Malik Harrison, LB
The absence of LB Roquan Smith looked like it was going to be a brutal blow for a Ravens defense that was coming off its best game of the season in Pittsburgh. Early in the game, Smith’s absence was apparent as Chargers QB Justin Herbert picked apart the middle of the Ravens’ defense. However, as the game progressed, the physicality of LB Malik Harrison was very apparent, who ended the game with 13 total tackles and finished with a PFF grade of 81.5. Harrison was hitting with a purpose and looked to be playing a classic brand of Ravens football. While Harrison is more often used as an early down OLB, it might be worth giving the veteran a look on early run downs in place of Trenton Simpson.
Defensive evolution
The Ravens defensive struggles have been a well-documented source of pain for Ravens fans this year. However, their recent play suggests they might have turned a corner. Excluding a late garbage time touchdown by LA, the Ravens have now allowed just one touchdown over their last two games (9 field goals). DC Zach Orr and the rest of the staff deserve a lot of credit for making difficult personnel decisions like benching S Marcus Williams, cutting S Eddie Jackson, and many other decisions, that, while difficult, have helped the team tremendously. If Baltimore can slow down a red-hot Eagles offense next week in Baltimore, there might be hope this unit has truly turned things around.
Run game and identity
It’s pretty remarkable. When Derrick Henry runs for 90+ yards, the Ravens win. Monday night should serve as a blueprint and reminder that, even when the Ravens are losing, they don’t have to abandon their identity to get back in the game. Following a Chargers field goal which made the score 10-0, the Ravens got the ball back and ran it right down the field to pull within 3. The Ravens offensive line was solid on Monday night and helped Henry bounce back from a few pedestrian games. We’ve seen Baltimore regularly abandon their identity and become unbalanced in big games, but Monday night should serve as a reminder that they don’t need to and can stay true to their identity against good defenses.
Justin Tucker, K
Tucker looked more like the kicker who is widely acknowledged to be the best ever at his position. While he wasn’t tested from 50+, Tucker knocked in a 45-yard field goal in the third quarter along with multiple XP. More importantly, all of his kicks looked straight and didn’t drift wide left.
Rashod Bateman, WR
Bateman is having a career year in Baltimore and has become the preferred deep threat for QB Lamar Jackson. Late in the first half, Bateman made a terrific, 40-yard contested catch for a touchdown that gave the Ravens a 14-10 lead. With a lot of attention being given to Zay Flowers and Mark Andrews in the passing game, Bateman has found opportunities and is making the most of them. The fourth year wideout is now up to 574 yards and 5 touchdowns on the year.
Stock down
Lamar Jackson, QB
Even on an off day, Lamar Jackson is still a top quarterback and player in the NFL. However, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say Jackson hasn’t been particularly sharp the last two weeks. Despite ending the game with a 121-passer rating, Jackson missed multiple throws high and was helped by a dominant rushing performance. Jackson still made multiple highlight throws and runs including the 40-yard touchdown to Rashod Bateman late in the first half. Unfortunately, Jackson has set such a high standard for himself this year to the point where perfection is almost expected. While a performance like this will get the job done against a solid Chargers team in the dome, Jackson will need to be playing closer to the level we saw in weeks 2-10 if the Ravens want to make a deep playoff run.